The young guns were unable to hold off Travis Rice (USA) in the land of the rising sun as he blew away all contenders with jaw-dropping maneuvers that sent the entire Tokyo Dome of 35,000 spectators into a cheering frenzy.
Rice's combined results from the Quarterpipe and the Big Air landed him the Title, earning him 1000 Swatch TTR ranking points alongside a large portion of the $150,000 USD prize purse. There was not an empty seat in the house for both formats, each showcasing incredible talent from top international riders while Japanese riders spiced things up on their home turf.
Travis Rice (USA), Kevin Pearce (USA) and Andy Finch (USA) stood atop the podium after the quarterpipe throw down on Saturday. The playing field saw a big change for the big air as Risto Mattila (FIN) stomped his FS 1080 tail grab to beat out Rice who finished 2nd, and Mathieu Crepel (FRA) who placed 3rd. The combined results of both formats determined the Swatch TTR SIX(6)STAR Nissan X-Trail Jam Title winner, as Travis Rice took the top spot, followed by Risto Mattila in 2nd, and Mathieu Crepel taking 3rd.
The crowd favourite was without a doubt Travis Rice who landed three variations of a double cork during the night. "The atmosphere is so great here! Pat your neighbour on the back!" said Rice to an energetic stadium after the Big Air. "Man what a session, especially this kid Danny Davis on that last run." 06/07 World Nr. 5 Danny Davis (USA) also brought his own version of a double cork to the table, impressing fans and riders alike, placing 5th overall.
Big changes in the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour rankings resulted from the battle in Japan with Travis adding 1000 Ranking points to his current standing, pushing him up to World Nr. 21. Risto Mattila now sits at World Nr. 20 and Mathieu Crepel has moved to World Nr. 23 respectively.
Norwegian rookie Mikkel Bang, who dominated at last weeks Nokia Air & Style in Munich with a podium finish, felt it was worth it to skip school and fly to Japan. The 'Bangster' placed 9th overall and has moved up to World Nr. 6 as Andy Finch, despite his huge air and 3rd place Quarterpipe finish, sits two below as World Nr. 8.
The battle for Tour lead was close between Kevin Pearce and Torstein Horgmo (NOR). Pearce was favoured to do well as previous SIX(6) STAR Nokia Air & Style 07 and FIVE(5)STAR Oakley Arctic Challenge 07 Title winner, but a victory in Japan was not in the cards as his overall result was not enough to overtake Horgmo in the rankings. Pearce finished 4th overall with Horgmo taking 6th, but Horgmo maintains his hold as Swatch TTR World Nr. 1. Pearce currently sits at World Nr. 2 at just 30.9 points shy of Horgmo.
Not to be ignored, the Japanese riders were a force to be reckoned at this season's Nissan X-Trail Jam with local Daisuke Murakami laying down the biggest quarterpipe air, hitting the 6m mark. Takaharu Nakai was the best Japanese rider last year and this time around he continued to show his supremacy of the east, finishing fourth in the quarterpipe on Saturday and 7th overall in front of 3 international super stars including German rider David Benedek.
The second Swatch TTR SIX(6)STAR event of the 07/08 season proved just how unpredictable things can be on the tour. Make sure to check out all the latest coverage of the Nissan X-Trail Jam including a TTR news blog covering each format in detail along with special video content of the best runs and rider interviews, all on www.ttrworldtour.com.
The Men's tour takes a break as the women step up to compete in the all-female SIX(6) STAR Roxy Chicken Jam in Kaprun, Austria next weekend. The Men's Tour will be back in full-swing on Janurary 2nd with the SIX(6) STAR O'Neill Evolution in Davos, Switzerland.
Nissan X-Trail Jam 07 - Final Results (QP & BA combined)
1.Travis Rice (USA) QUIKSILVER, DC
2.Risto Mattila (FIN) FLOW, BILLABONG
3.Mathieu Crepel (FRA) QUIKSILVER, ROSSIGNOL
Nissan X-Trail Jam 07 - Quarterpipe (QP) Results
1.Travis Rice (USA) QUIKSILVER, DC
2.Kevin Pearce (USA) BURTON
3.Andy Finch (USA) PALMER, RIPCURL
Nissan X-Trail Jam 07 - Big Air (BA) Results
1.Risto Mattila (FIN) FLOW, BILLABONG
2.Travis Rice (USA) QUIKSILVER, DC
3.Mathieu Crepel (FRA) QUIKSILVER, ROSSIGNOL