T Rice Wins US Open

All photos courtesy of Hamilton/Transworld Snowboarding. 

For a photo gallery of the event, click here.

For video, click here.

Newest member of the Quiksilver Snowboard team Travis Rice won the Slopestyle division of the US Open on March 16, 2007.  Here's the story:

Amid heavy snows and un-contest like conditions, Travis Rice showed just how diverse his talents are by winning the slopestyle event at the US Open of snowboarding.  Rice made the best of it, winning his first US Open slopestyle competition with a frontside boardslide on the first rail to a backside 720 Japan air, frontside 720 melon grab, backside rodeo 720 nosegrab, switch backside 180 and a front boardslide to 270 off on the final rail. Travis’ backside rodeo 720 on the third jump also earned him the Snickers Best Trick award and an extra $5,000.  The combination proved too much for the competition who failed to match Rice’s impressive score.  The win also moved Travis into the 4th spot in the TTR World Tour Ranking.
 
"I’ve been competing at the US Open since 1998," said Travis Rice. "My mom brought me when I was 15, and it was the first time I saw the pros compete in person. So I’m stoked to win my first US Open slopestyle title. It was definitely tough conditions out there for us gladiators, so I’m glad we made it through it."
 
Travis would like to thank all his sponsors: Quiksilver, Lib Tech Snowboards, DC Shoes, Amp'd Mobile, Bluebird Wax, Red Bull Energy Drink, Grenade Gloves and Nixon Watches.