The 4th annual Orage European Freeski Open by Swatch ended with a bang and as always we wrapped up the 4 day event, (or as the swiss say "eWent") with the superpipe finals under sunny blue bird skies.
Taylor SeatonWith pipe blasting homies and home-ettes throwing down all day long banana mania was in full swing with what has now become a fully functioning snow bar. Hosted at the bottom of the pipe by the one and only Sky (aka, Line's European team manager) and his business partner Sean the Human Banana, the Banana Bar has stepped up to a whole new level.
The Banana Bar is back for year 4
According to Sean, "now that the Banana Bar is supported by the E.F.O.'s official beer sponsor; Calanda, there are only two things missing... 1. A solid business plan to remedy the 364 day slow period that sets in once the event concludes and 2. more importantly, a guest appearance from Gwen Stefani on skis singing that silly ass BANANAS - EAT BANANAS - B-A-N-A-N-A-S song".
Roz GroenewoudBut with or without Ms. Stefani, the true stars of the day were the 16 women and 41 men who came to throw down in hopes of walking away with the $10,000 usd first place check. The contest kicked off at 10am and by 10:00:03 the first femme slayer was 10 feet out on her first hit looking to lay down the best run of the day. Coming in 3rd was Rossignol's Roz Groenewoud who made the most of her two runs in the finals boosting lofty airs, spinning 5's and 3's all the way down the pipe.
Womens Podium L to R: Em Lonsdale, Virginie Faivre, Roz GroenewoudAlso making it onto the podium, the new queen of England, aka Emma Lonsdale of Great Britain walked away with a solid second place finish. But the big story of the day, or should I say, the story of the entire event from years one through four is the continued domination from the E.F.O.'s most winning-est rider, the pipe dominator and home town hero, Virgine Faivre.
VirginieHaving now won 4 out of 4 superpipe events at the E.F.O., Virginie is unofficially the firs inductee to the E.F.O.'s hall of fame. Virginie boosted a first hit that would rival the men and followed that up with huge straights and alley oop airs, right and left 5's and a solid right 3 to take home the gold medal.
Tucker PerkinsOn the men's side it was a day that will not soon be forgotten. The finals were packed with X games and Dew Tour champions and some of the best up and coming pipe riders in the game. Tucker Perkins, Matt Margetts, Duncan Adams, Banks Gilberti, Peter Olenick and Jossi Wells put in solid runs but were not able to crack top three. Simon Dumont, although on site was a no show for the finals allowing a bit of breathing room for the rest of the field.
Banks GilbertiOrage National rider Taylor Seaton outdid all but two and found himself on the podium in the third position. After a minor crash in his first run Taylor stepped up at just the right time in his second run. With a switch drop in Taylor's first hit was a huge switch 7 followed by an enormous five into right and left nines with a funky alley oop five to finish it off.
Xavier BertoniTaking home the silver was X Games gold medalist Xavier Bertoni from France who threw two solid runs in the finals. A huge right five kicked off his run that lead into a left nine to right nine combo, with a huge lofty flat three and a switch 7 to run it out. But the man of the day was the dark horse, the man who says he's been in chill town training mode as of late, Matt Philippi. Matt came to town ready to throw down and didn't' disappoint. With a rock solid switch drop in matt proceeded to boost one of the biggest switch left 10's known to man. He took that straight into a right 9, left 10, switch 7 and laid out a huge left 9 to cap it off. If for any reason you need to ask, how did Matt P take home the gold... read the last sentence... nothing short of a 7... who's the man?
Mens Podium L to R: Xavier Bertoni, Matt Philippi, Taylor SeatonTo say the least the 4th annual Orage European Freeski Open by Swatch was a stellar four day fiesta of all things freeski. We partied hardy, the men and the women threw down like never before, mother-nature threw her best and worst at us and we once again came out victorious. We'd like to thank everyone involved, Orage, Swatch, Laax Resort, Giro, K2, Volkl, Smith and Salomon for making this another successful "eWent" and most of all a huge thanks to the athletes who not only traveled from far and wide to compete on Europe's biggest stage, but more so for pushing the limits of what can be done on a pair of wooden planks with two kicked up tips.
Champaigne, trophies, and double label Orage/Swatch watches accompany the giant cardboard checks for the winnersWe hope you enjoyed the show and we'll see you next year for the 5th annual Orage European Freeski Open by Swatch.
