Champs Open in Crans-Montana Report

After a difficult week of strong winds, the Crans-Montana Champs Open presented by Rip Curl finally saw some beautiful blue bird days for the semi-finals and finals. A cheerful crowd of spectators on the Cry d?Er watched six women and twelve men going huge in the finals, proving their skills on a course that truly represents the Swatch TTR principle: only a snowboarder who can master a great variety of features, from kickers, to rails, to transitions, can claim the title.

Jaakko Ruha from Finland, who fought his way up from open qualifications, stomped the best tricks in the Slopestyle section alongside a solid performance in the Halfpipe, finishing in 1st at the Champs Open. Ruha was followed by two invited Swiss riders who proved their home turf advantage, with Gian Simmen finishing 2nd and Stefan Maurer in 3rd. Ursina Haller, also from Switzerland, won the Champs Title in the women?s competition throwing down the best runs in the halfpipe and an equally impressive slopestyle performance. Julia Baumgartner (AUT) took the 2nd place spot and Margot Rozies (FRA) finished 3rd.?

The best run from the winner Jaakko Ruha boasted a sick BS 1080 Tailgrab over the first kicker followed by a BS Rodeo 540 Melon over the Spine and a Tailpress revert on the Rail. In the pipe he stomped some solid 720s and Backside, as well as Frontside Airs. Stefan Maurer blew the crowd away with a massive Backflip straight over the long spine.? The women also threw down, with some nice 360s over the smaller kicker. Ursina Haller secured her win with a smooth FS 720 and FS 540 in the halfpipe while Julia Baumgartner impressed the crowd with a huge Nosegrab on the spine.

Both winners are taking home a piece of the