Andreas’s Takes Gold in Best Trick
Andreas Wiig won his second Gold Medal in as many days at Winter X 11, defeating Travis Rice in the final of the Snowboard Best Trick Showdown. Wiig brought his switch backside 1260 to bear in the fading light of Buttermilk Mountain’s Best Trick course, and despite Rice’s attempts to stick his amazing double cork 1080 to trump the Norwegian, he could not find the landing gear on either of his Finals attempts.
The competition utilized a head-to-head, multi-round format and welcomed only the top eight competitors from Saturday’s Slopestyle Final. Rice marched into the Final round with Wiig by defeating Chas Guldemond and Antti Autti, both of whom could not overcome Rice’s spot on execution in the first and second heats, respectively.
Wiig overtook Hampus Mosesson in his first heat before settling Danny Davis in the second. When asked about his chances of winning before heading into the final against Rice he said, “I didn’t feel like my chances were too high. He throws some great tricks…he had the highest score of the day and if he lands his tricks he’s probably going to win.” Whatever his reservations, it didn’t appear to show, as he confidently and cleanly set down his winning maneuver in his first run of the final to score a 90.00. After Rice fell on both of his finals attempts, Wiig took an easy second run with a stylie 7.
In the consolation round for Bronze, Danny Davis and Antti Autti opted to have some fun by simply trying to poke the best method. Autti ended up keeping it the smoothest, and the crowd seemed stoked that the competitors rode for the fun of it. Also excited was Autti, “Yeah, I’m stoked! It’s way better than placing fourth like I did in the Slopestyle yesterday.”
Rice had a few remarks about the competition as well. When asked if he was happy that X Games brought the return of Best Trick he commented, “Yeah, it was cool. I think the jump could be bit better, and it would be nice to have it occur earlier in the day so the light isn’t so flat (for the Final), but I had a good time, for sure. I also got a new sled!
