NZsnowboard.com

1st February 2008

By: TTR Press Office

Jackson Hole, USA: The Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour requires riders to be good at everything: Rails, Kickers, Halfpipes and Quarterpipes. Look at any snowboard magazine or video however, and you?ll no doubt see that this is not the only side to snowboarding. For the first time ever, Travis Rice (USA) and Quiksilver have come together, combining freestyle competitive action on fresh, natural terrain for the Inaugural Quiksilver Natural Selection Invitational held at Jackson Hole Wyoming from January 30th to February 5th, 2008. As a FOUR(4)STAR event on the Tour, the Natural Selection offers the winner 700 TTR Ranking points on top of a piece of the $75 000 USD prize payout.

?As pros, we love going to TTR contests, but it?s only half the story,? says Travis. ?The other half takes place freeriding; riding powder, taking heli-trips, hiking and snowmobiling for access. It?s almost just as big, if not a bigger part of snowboarding [than contests]. Bringing an event to the TTR for the first time around, we?ve embodied that spirit, which is freestyle freeriding. It?s the quintessential joy of snowboarding. I?m trying to bring an event to the tour that reflects that aspect of snowboarding. For TTR to put this experimental event on the tour, it?s a testament to where TTR is going.?

Special preparations have gone into the organization of the event, beginning with a seven-day holding period of the specified terrain to ensure fresh snow for the riders. The competition is broken down into two formats, the first being an all-natural slopestyle event held in a gully about 2000 ft long. The second event is located on Casper Bowl featuring boulders, cliffs and all sorts of varied terrain. A best run from each rider on both venues will be combined in hopes to earn the FOUR(4)STAR Quiksilver Natural Selection Title.

Travis has handpicked 17 of the best natural freestyle riders in the business to test their skill in an all-natural mountain setting. Nicolas Mueller (SUI), considered one of the best natural terrain riders in the world, currently sits at Swatch TTR World No 21. Winning the Natural Selection Title could move Mueller into the TTR Top 15. Travis Rice who won the SIX(6)STAR Nissan X-Trail Jam Overall Title back in December 07 currently sits at 55 in the rankings and could move into the Top 40 following the Jackson Hole session. German rider David Benedek could also move up from his 59th position into the Top 40 with Danny Kass (USA) and Gigi Ruff (AUT) potentially making the Swatch TTR Top 50.

Stay tuned to www.ttrworldtour.com for up to date coverage from Jackson Hole as well as the TTR video player for footage of the freshest freestyle action on the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour. For more information on the event check out the event bio page and www.quiksilver.com

The 17 Invited Riders for the Quiksilver Natural Selection:

Travis Rice          USA
Danny Kass         USA
John Jackson         USA
Nicolas Mueller     SUI
Mark Landvik         USA
Andreas Wiig         NOR
David Benedek     GER
Sammy Lubke     USA
Roman De Marchi      SUI
DCP             CAN
Gigi Ruef           AUT
Bjorn Leines         USA
Bryan Iguchi         USA
Devun Walsh         CAN
Hampus Mosesson     SWE
Mark Carter         USA
Kyle Clancy         USA