Following the Slopestyle format on Thursday the 5Star Burn River Jump took on its second format, the Straight Jump, this evening in the centre of Livigno, Italy.

In front of a spectacular city backdrop and thousands of screaming spectators, the riders faced a nail-biting knock out final. Yale Cousino (USA) bagged his third consecutive title at this event, while Gjermund Braaten (NOR) who was closely in 2nd place made the most impressive move in the TTR World Rankings jumping into World No. 3, bumping Janne Korpi (FIN) into World No. 5. In third place today was Canada’s Mark McMorris and Eric Willett (USA) in fourth.

The New TTR Word World No.3

After the fireworks and prize giving the overjoyed Braaten enthuses “I feel so good and I am stoked that I even made it into finals. It’s been a surprisingly good day. Being in the TTR Top 5 is the dream of my life. Next I am going to the Arctic Challenge“, The young talent from Norway took the World Rookie Champion Title in 2007/2008 and 3rd place at the 6Star Burton European Open Slopestyle this January. Heading to the Oakley Arctic Challenge, which this year is a Slopestyle event, it is clear that Gjermund is a rider to watch out for.

Burn River Jump Proves Itself As A Top Level 5Star Event

This season the Burn River Jump was awarded one more TTR star, and with its perfect set ups, stoked top level riders and ecstatic fans the River Jump proved that it has earned the 5Star honor. “It was one of the best slopestyle courses that I have ever ridden!” Eric Willett said after the event, with the two new top results he moved into TTR World No.9. The Straight Jump setup consisted of a 19m flat kicker and a gap over the Spoel river, followed by a jib section. Yale’s winning run consisted of a huge backside 1260 on the straight jump, a cab 540 on the Spoel River gap and backside 270 onto the Burn can.

Two Formats, Two Sets Of TTR Ranking Points And New TTR Top 10 Riders

With the two formats each awarding up to 850 Swatch TTR World Ranking points, the Burn River Jump offered the opportunity for quite a few riders to move into the TTR Top 10. There were a few big leaps from Braaten, Korpi and Willet who made the Top 10 cut, while Roope Tonteri, Ville Uotila (FIN), Kevin Backström (SWE), Mark McMorris (CAN), Chris Sörman (SWE) and Jamie Nicholls (GBR) all improved on their previous positions and are now sitting in the TTR Top 20.

Keeping up with the TTR Tour

Next up on the Swatch TTR tour we have two very different events, both taking place on the 5th to the 7th March 2010. In Norway the riders take on a slopestyle course to determine who will win the 6Star title of the esteemed Oakley Arctic Challenge. In Switzerland the 4Star Nescafé Champs goes back to its roots with a superpipe format. If you missed the Burn River Jump finals you can soon watch the wrap up, photos and read blogs on www.ttrworldtour.com. Also check out Gjermund Braaten’s, Erik Willett’s and Roope Tonteri’s TTR profiles to learn about their ambitions. The best way to keep yourself up to date is to subscribe to the Swatch TTR Newsletter.

Photo Credit: Riverjump