One week of 100% Aesthetiker! That’s what you’ll soon get in Mayrhofen, deep in the Zillertal valley. A Snowboard event, a skate contest, an art exhibition, concerts and parties will make the valley go crazy. The Aestheikers are already working hard in the Vans-Penken-Park to finalise the set up of the obstacles for the Aesthetiker Jam – Waengl Taengl. For the freestyle snowboarders it is all about winning the US$ 50.000 prize money. A tough challenge in such a demanding snowpark at the end of the contest season!
The philosophy of the Aesthetiker comes from the roots of the sport - surfing and skating. That’s where they get their inspiration to build such unique snowparks and obstacles. At the Aesthetiker Jam – Waengl Taengl it is about defining the most creative and versatile boardrider. The format of the contest demands decisiveness and creativity – not the deliverance of a rehearsed run of tricks. The judges want riders to use every obstacle and two entirely different runs have to be performed.
With a park setup consisting of unique obstacles such as the Red Bull Endsection which features the ‘Cradle’ (an open bowl to ride through) and the ‘Taco’ (a curved wallride), the Waengl Taengl is the ultimate ‘rider’ event, giving the pros a unique environment to show their skills and creativity as riders. US$50.000,- prize money are up for grabs for the finalists including a brand new Suzuki RM-Z-250 motocross bike for the winner!
The Aesthetiker Jam – Waengl Taengl is the last 5(five) star event on the Swatch-TTR world tour. So along with prize money of US$ 50.000, this is also one of the last chances to gather valuable TTR world ranking points and a share of the US$ 250.000,- prize purse on the final TTR world ranking list.
The riders list is close to completion with riders from 20 nations confirmed: veterans such as Martin Cernik, Peter Stroem, Wolle Nyvelt, Tonton Holland and Stefan Gimpl will have a hard session. The ‘spinning squad’ of young Scandinavians Jaakko Ruha, Wille Uotila and Kalle Ohlsen can’t wait to unwrap their bag of tricks. The French crew led by Jean-Jacques Roux and Arthur Longo are coming to show what’s going down in the French territory. Alongside invited riders, more rippers will get a starting spot with wildcards earned at other events, like the 17 years old Thomas Klocker who recently gathered one at the Groms Open.
Youri Podladtchikov wants to take part and even Ingemar Backman has announced his attendance at the Ästhetiker Jam, even though he did not ride a contest for the past three years. It will be an honour for all shredders to ride against such a legend. All riders are highly motivated as they get a chance to apply their skills in the world’s best snowpark providing an unforgettable spectacle for spectators. Friday 7th of March is qualification day followed by the finals on Saturday 8th of March.
