After all these years, one might wonder why we would still be talking about an event that has been talked about enough already.

However, the answer is obvious, since this competition is so much a part of the history of the sport and continues to unleash passions. Welcome to the most extraordinary European snowboarding event around.

To go back in history to 1993, when a gang of Austrian buddies decided to organise the first competition, the goal was simply to have a good time with friends. It was the dawn of mass snowboarding and Andrew Hourmont (the organiser) and his friends never imagined how big the event would become in just a few years. The first Air & Style event was organised in Innsbruck. At the time, snowboarding competitions were inevitably held at ski resorts. So, by organising it in Bergisel at the former Olympic ski jumping site, the event immediately attracted curiosity. It was one of the first city competitions in Europe, maybe even in the world. Right from its first year it attracted the snowboarding stars of the day, such as Bryan Iguchi, Shaun Palmer or Reto Lamm and, consequently, great media interest. And a legend was born.

Started in Innsbruck, in 2000 the competition moved to the small Tyrolean resort of Seefeld, then to Munich in 2005, as the Bavarian capital seemed to be more appropriate in terms of the infrastructure required to host the hundreds of media and thousands of fans who make the trip each year. The event settled in the Olympia Stadion in the heart of the city. Gigantic scaffolding more than 40 metres high was erected to support the jump and the enormous kicker.

In itself, the mere act of being invited to Air & Style is major recognition. Travis Rice, David Benedek, Risto Mattila, Heikki Sorsa, Nicolas Müller, Kevin Pearce, Eero Ettala, Mathieu Crépel, Christophe Schmidt, Andy Finch, Mikkel Bang, Torsteim Horgmo, Andreas Wiig the biggest names of the day. The competition operates under the KO system. Riders face off in groups of two, somewhat like football pools. After three runs each, the rider with the best score defeats the other rider and moves on to the semi-finals. There was a time when people thought that the general level of the sport would end up stagnating. That evening was flagrant evidence to the contrary. Now, riders have perfect control of wide spins and no one has a hope of qualifying without being able to complete a perfect 900o switch.

In addition to the level of the riders, the most explosive element of Air & Style is the public. The fever of German and Austrian fans is unparalleled in France. In Munich, people go to Air & Style like others go to see a first division football match in France. Snowboarding is firmly rooted in the local culture, and each year thousands, even tens of thousands of fans cheer for their heroes, especially if one of the participants is a local. In front of us, a group of kids and young girls becomes hysterical as David Benedek comes up to the starting gate. The 10,000 or 20,000 people in attendance in the stadium chant the name of their hero like they would for a Zidane or a Ronaldhino. Another rider who registered significantly on the applaud-o-metre was Travis Rice, last year's winner. Due to one or two hesitant landings, Rice did not qualify for the semi-finals, but he was the most impressive rider of the evening with his 1080° double backside rodeos. Sick.

You might remember the perfect 720° backside switch of Nicolas Müller, the one-foot 360 frontside of Heikki Sorsa, the 1080° switch-backs of our own Mathieu Crépel, the double frontside rodeos of David Benedek Four riders made it to the super finals: David Benedek, Torsteim Horgmo, Mikkel Bang and Kevin Pearce. To the great disappointment of the German public, Benedek was not able to pull off his double frontside rodeo again and ended up 4th. Torsteim Horgmo, the current leader on the TTR, was impressive with his 720° frontside shifty. He did not pull off the biggest spins, but the trick is innovative and so perfect. He came in 3rd. The battle for top spot was between Mikkel Bang, a gifted 16-year old and winner of the rookie competition last year, and the American Kevin Pearce. Mikkel Bang had perfect landings on 99% of his jumps all night long, and his most basic figure was a 900° backside. Little brat. Kevin Pearce, also a newcomer and the recent winner of the latest Artic Challenge, had a comparable performance. He connected a 900° and 1080°. His last run was a 1260° cab that he landed perfectly. It was the biggest spin of the finals, and Pearce just barely edged out Mikkel Bang. He went home with the big cheque and added his name to the Air & Style legend. Although relatively unknown Saturday morning, and not originally one of the favourites, no doubt his international rating skyrocketed last night.

Eurosport