With the 6 Star O'Neill Evolution halfpipe women's finals finished today, the Swatch TTR female riders move on to the 6 Star Roxy Chicken Jam which is set to kick off this weekend, January 8th-10th, 2010, at its new location in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria. One of the most anticipated events of the season by the women on the TTR Tour, the Chicken Jam will be a showdown of talent as some of the top riders gather in Austria for the slopestyle competition. In its 7th year running, the event was originally organized to push the progression of women’s snowboarding and with this year’s fresh setup, we expect to see nothing less.
Two Weeks Filled With Swatch TTR Points
January is a crucial month for the female contenders on tour with four individual 6Star results available in the space of only two weeks. The first batch was given out on Tuesday, the 5th of January in Davos at the O’Neill Evolution halfpipe. Pushed to her second win on the TTR Tour, Swiss rider Ursina Haller scored the highest at Davos, walking home with 1000 Swatch TTR ranking points and $8000 USD. In second place came 5(SLO) who now sits in World No.3 putting her in a good position for the next two weeks. Sarka Pancochova (CZE) defended her lead with a 6th place at Davos closely followed by Cheryl Maas (NED) who only finished in 11th today but collected enough points to move into World No. 2. The battle will be on at the upcoming events where the chances for Cheryl are good to take over the lead. Most riders will now travel to Saalbach-Hinterglemm where another batch of 1000 ranking points are given out at the Roxy Chicken Jam right before they head to 6Star Burton European Open where two times 6 Star Swatch TTR Points are handed out.
Up And Comers vs. Veterans
Still sitting on the Swatch TTR Ranking top spot the fresh faced and feisty Pancochova is one of the riders who has been pushing it hard and with her ability to effortlessly spin back to back 7's she is aiming for the win, in order to improve her ranking position. However, the road to glory won't be easy as she will have to battle it out with the TTR Tour Champion 05/06 and double winner of the Roxy Chicken Jam Europe, Cheryl Maas, who is currently sitting at TTR World No. 2 and will be a tough one to beat in the slopestyle format.
The dynamic Norwegian duo, Lisa Wiik and Kjersti Oestgaard Buaas, both finished in the Swatch TTR Top 5 at the end of last season, and will be tough contenders at the Chicken Jam. Wiik, sitting in World No 6, will be looking to improve her position while Buaas is still collecting her second result of the season. One rookie to keep your eyes on is the young Enni Rukajärvi (FIN), who earlier this season beat Maas and Pancochova at the 4Star Horsefeathers Pleasure Jam. Swiss rider Sina Candrian, who now sits in World No. 5 after Evolution, will have to battle with Sadar for World No. 3 at Saalbach.