Words & Photos by Ed

The men’s halfpipe competition went OFF tonight. A perfect, fast pipe, the world’s best riders and 20,000 screaming spectators. In a word, it was mental.

A full report with plenty of shots will follow tomorrow, but in the meantime let it be known that the Russian-cum-Swiss rider Iouri ‘iPod’ Podladtchikov threw down an absolute corker of a second run which included the hallowed double McTwist (Shaun White’s secret weapon at the Olympics) to claim 98 points and the victory.

“That was f*cking unbelieveable,” he told roving reporter Jon Weaver right afterwards, as the adrenaline was still flowing. “It was my best run yet. The double McTwist is so gnarly but it feels sooo good. It’s undescribable.”

Last year iPod bought a sweet Porsche convertible with some of his season’s winnings. With another phat cheque in the bank, could a new model be on the cards? How about a nice Aston?

Results – Men’s Halfpipe

1. Iouri Podladtchikov SUI 98.00
2. Mathieu Crepel FRA 95.00
3. Louie Vito USA 92.33
4. Markus Malin FIN 90.33
5. Aluan Ricciardi FRA 86.66
6. Christian Haller SUI 85.00
7. Luke Mitrani USA 82.33
8. JJ Thomas USA 79.66