The 6Star Burton European Open bring the Circus to the Swatch TTR Tour

Laax, Switzerland – January 10th, 2010: The Burton European Open kicked off with junior competitions this past weekend in Laax, Switzerland and will run through till Saturday, January 16th. The legendary European event is a major milestone on the Swatch TTR World Tour with two 6Star results available for both the men and the women. With two valuable results on the line, the European Open will prove to be a pivotal point on tour where riders can solidify a shot to go for the 2010 Swatch TTR Snowboard World Champion title. With Olympic qualifications still rolling along for American athletes, some familiar faces are absent from the rider list, but there are plenty of heavy hitters who will mix things up in the TTR World Rankings.

Piiroinen Will Hold On To Swatch TTR Tour Lead
Finnish shred machine, Peetu Piiroinen, has had a consistent season so far at 5Star and 6Star events, which puts him in an excellent position heading into the 2010 European Open. Piiroinen had a good showing at the O’Neill Evolution event last week where he placed third in both the 6Star halfpipe and the 5Star slopestyle formats allowing him to take the tour lead from Marko Grilc (SLO). Piiroinen has only five major results under his belt and with one more at Laax, his lead will be untouchable at the European Open. Grilc, current Swatch TTR World No. 2, will also make his appearance at the European Open and will be looking to defend his current rank from World No. 3 Stale Sandbech (NOR), and German hopeful Elias Elhardt, who is currently sitting in World No. 6. All these riders will need to keep an eye out for the likes of Chas Guldemond (USA), Charles Reid (CAN) and Risto Mattila (FIN) who are sitting just outside of the Top 10 on the ranking list but with a couple of good results in Laax could bump up into the head of the class.

BEO Brings Interesting Developments to the Women’s TTR Rankings
The women have had a crazy busy month with a triple stack of 6Star events in January. Czech destroyer, Sarka Pancochova, has been able to hold on to the Swatch TTR Tour lead over the past couple of weeks despite the heavy competition. She will need to keep an eye on TTR veteran and current World No.2 Cheryl Maas (NED). Maas is known for her determination and big style, and she has a good chance to move ahead of Pancochova after the halfpipe finals on Saturday. Two other talented competitors that have a shot at shaking up the women’s Top 5 are current World No. 3 Sina Candrian (SUI), and World No.5 Lisa Wiik (NOR).

One More 5Star Then A Short Olympic Break
The Swatch TTR World Tour has one more major event scheduled, the 5Star Burton Canadian Open, before the professional level events take a break for the 2010 Olympic Games. Following the Olympics, the men will have only a few more events before heading towards the last 6Star event, the Burton US Open, where the 2010 Swatch TTR Snowboard World Champion will be crowned on Saturday, March 20, 2010 The women will have two 6Star events, the Burton US Open and the Roxy Chicken Jam US.

Burton European Open Live Webcast on GO211.COM
The Burton European Open will be webcast live on Go211.com and www.ttrworldtour.com starting on Wednesday, January 13, 2010. Check out all the action from the halfpipe and slopestyle course live with live chat, live scoring and more. Live scoring is also available on your iPhone application “eFan” or go to http://live.eim-solutions.com

Video Event Highlights From the O’Neill Evolution and Roxy Chicken Jam Online
Head to www.ttrworldtour.com for all the latest video highlights from the O’Neill Evolution and Roxy Chicken Jam events. Also, take a minute to view the fresh TTR Rider Check Out videos to get an inside glimpse into the minds of riders on tour.

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Swatch TTR World Ranking List as of 09.01.2010
MEN

Rank	Name	Nation	Results	Points
1	Piiroinen, Peetu	FIN	5	704.47
2	Grilc, Marko	SLO	6	660.42
3	Sandbech, Stale	NOR	6	552.47
4	Willett, Eric	USA	6	544.56
5	Smits, Seppe	BEL	6	522.19
6	Elhardt, Elias	GER	5	484.41
7	Toutant, Sebastien	CAN	5	451.69
8	Horgmo, Torstein	NOR	4	431.1
9	Haller, Christian	SUI	4	428.78
10	Kleivdal, Roger	NOR	6	405.36

WOMEN

Rank	Name	Nation	Results	Points
1	Pancochova, Sarka	CZE	6	682.74
2	Maas, Cheryl	NED	6	678.94
3	Candrian, Sina	SUI	5	569.79
4	Sadar, Cilka	SLO	6	562.37
5	Wiik, Lisa	NOR	4	483.05
6	Sladics, Chanelle	USA	4	467.3
7	Anderson, Jamie	USA	4	455.72
8	Buaas, Kjersti Ostgaard	NOR	3	426.44
9	Gotlieb, Shelly	NZL	4	377.28
10	Davis-Meehan, Michaela	AUS	6	337.01