ASPEN — Travis Rice, a 25-year-old from Jackson, Wyo., toppled a trio of Norwegian snowboarders under the big air lights Thursday night.
Stomping four jumps with precision, Rice’s rotating double backflips off the 85-foot step-up gap pushed him past the Norwegian snowboarders, who stuck to the tried-and-true, spin-to-win formula by throwing the same impressive, but expected, 1260s that earned gold last year.
Rice, who stacked hard during Wednesday’s practice in a neck-whipping wreck he compared to “stepping out in front of a public bus,” said Thursday night’s win was especially sweet considering he finished behind Norway’s Torstein Horgmo in last year’s big air contest.
“Vindicated,” Rice said. “It was definitely good to go up against Torstein again. That guy is the future. All the guys threw down really hard.”
In its second year, big air champions are crowned by X Games viewers who text message their choice for gold. Rice, who took silver in the X Games’ Best Trick Showdown in 2007, won his first two-jump battle with 18-year-old Mikkel Bang, who offered two flawless backside 1260s to Rice’s inverted flips. Viewers obviously loved Rice’s creativity, awarding him 92 percent of the vote.
Last year’s gold medalist, Horgmo, 22, bested fellow countryman and two-time slopestyle gold medalist Andreas Wiig in their first-round contest with a switch backside 1080 and a switch backside 1260.
In the two-jump finals contest, Horgmo carried big speed into the step-down kicker, throwing his trusty backside 1260, double-dipping his shoulder in a near-inverted spin, but scrubbing the landing.
Rice answered with his trademark double backflip 1080, switching hands for two grabs during his lengthy flight.
Horgmo, in need of a miracle, tucked deep on his second and last approach to the kicker, winding up like a top into the switch backside 1260. Rice dragged his hand slightly while landing his second double backflip 1080. That didn’t matter. Text-happy Xers delivered him 78 percent of the vote and his first big air gold.
“Text-in voting, I’m pumped on it,” Rice said.
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374 or jblevins@denverpost.com
