THE SWATCH TTR TOUR TO ROCKET FROM LAAX TO ITALY: ROCK THE SPOT IS READY!

Bardonecchia, Italy: This weekend is going to be huge. Immediately following the action of the Burton European Open in Laax Switzerland, the Swatch TTR World Snowboard Tour moves to new and exciting FOUR(4)STAR Halfpipe competition “Rock The Spot” in Bardonecchia, Italy. On January 18th to 19th 2008, the legendary Olympic halfpipe will host some of the world’s top international snowboarders, including 05/06 Tour champion Mathieu Crepel (FRA), who will rock their best for 700 TTR ranking points and a chunk of the huge 60 000 Euro prize purse.

Friday allows the opportunity for twelve riders to qualify into Saturday’s finals and compete not only against the twelve athletes invited, but also twenty-two other top riders from the international scene. At 130m long, 17.5m wide and 5.7m high, Italy’s most impressive halfpipe has been carefully maintained to ensure the best freestyle results and possible upsets in the Swatch TTR rankings. Mathieu Crepel (FRA), Markku Koski, Janne Korpi, Iouri Podladtchikov and Italian rider Giacomo Kratter (ITA) all have chances to increase their momentum in chase of that heavily desired Word No. 1 spot.

Along with a line-up of incredible riders, another full line-up of talented music acts are ready to rock the stage as the riders throw down in the pipe, including the likes of Juliette & The Licks, Vanilla Sky, The New Story, Forty Winks and Dufresne.

Stay tuned to the rankings following the Burton European Open in preparation for what Italy has in store. Keep on to of the action with constant news updates and video footage on the TTR homepage and video player as the TTR crew delivers the latest tour happenings and suspense.

For more info on the event, check out www.fiatfreestyleteam.com/rockthespot or the TTR event profile.

Invited Riders for Rock The Spot:

Mathieu Crepel / FRA
Giamcomo Kratter / ITA
Mikka Hast / FIN
Markku Koski / FIN
Markus Keller / SUI
Gary Zebrovksy / FRA
Jane Korpi / FIN
Iouri Podladtchikov / SUI
Markus Malin / FIN
Tim Humpreys / USA
Peetu Piiroinen / FIN
Frederik Austbo / NOR