SOL | Official Coverage of the 1998 ESPN/Airwalk Freeride Tour From Aspen, CO.


NEWS:

Freeride, Take It Easy
by Lee Crane

Breckenridge local Chad Otterstrom and So. Cal's Jonnel Janewicz wrapped up the Aspen stop of the ESPN/Airwalk Freeride Tour with wins in the Freeride Slopestyle competition.

The course for this year's Freeride event was a combination of the weekend's event terrain. It began in the Boarder X course, flowed through the halfpipe, and finished up on the Triple Big Air. Riders were give two hours to ride the course in any way they saw fit. Judges were positioned at several locations along the course and they judged the competitors on each run. The riders highest scores were use to decided the winner.

Chad Otterstrom charged all morning. "I rode everything," he said. " I just did my run. My friend Kendall and I were doing backside rodeo's off the final jump and I think that kind of helped out."

Using the shotgun approach, Janewicz tried everything on everything. "Every run I did something different and hoped it would work out," she said. "If you messed up you could get back on the chair and do it all over again."

Those who competed in the Freeride event said it was their favorite event of he weekend because the two-hour jam format allowed them to relax and just do what they do best. "Definitely, this is the best contest there is," Otterstrom said.

Not everyone used the entire two hour session. Some took a couple runs and called it a day. "I took three runs," said Aurelie Sayers, defending the comment that she hadn't even done the contest. Those runs were enough to put her in fifth place for the women.

One competitor placed well without even riding. When the results were announced the rider was extremely surprised to hear their name called as the recipient of a sizable check. Not bad for hanging out in the lodge.

OTHER NEWS
The Triple Big Error at Ajax Sat. (Dec. 06 @ 9:22:PM est)

Aspen Boarder Ecstacy Sat. (Dec. 06 @ 4:00:PM est)

Richards and Taggart Dominate Aspen Halfpipe Fri. (Dec. 05 @ 4:49:PM est)

Welcome to Aspen, Colorado Thu. (Dec. 04 @ 3:49:PM est)

FREERIDE COVERAGE:
Aspen | Killington | Sierra-at-Tahoe

SOL NAVIGATION:
SOL | Scoop | Hardware | Industry | Circleplus | Push | Travel | Interact | School | Weather | Terrain | Compete | Mediator

SPONSORED BY:
1-800 Collect | ESPN | Airwalk | USASA

© 1997, InterZine Productions. All rights reserved.