Nate Holland completes a four-peat at the 2009 Winter-X Games boarder cross competition.
ESPN announced Wednesday night that they were cutting boarder and skier cross from the 2013 Winter X-Games in Aspen. It will be the first year in the history of Winter-X without a boarder cross competition and skier cross has been part of every Winter-X excluding the inaugural event. The 2013 games will be the first ever without a cross course, which means of course that Mono Skier-X will also be cut from the bill, preventing popular sit-skiers like Josh Dueck (The Freedom Chair), who won gold in 2011 and bronze in 2012 and defending gold medalist Samson Danniels from competing.
Josh Dueck takes home Gold at the 2011 Winter-X Games
Samson Danniels wins at the 2012 Mono Skier X
Tim Reed, senior director of content strategy for ESPN X-Games: “There wasn’t one single factor that led to this decision. It just comes down to filling the schedule with how much we believe we need to make the event enjoyable to the fans and deliver on what we need from a product standpoint.”
Reed didn’t rule out that the events could make a comeback in later Winter X-games, but for now they’ll be no skier, boarder or mono-skier X in Aspen at Winter X.
With Skier and Boarder cross cut for the X-Games, it makes room for Snowmobile SnoCross and Speed and Style, cut from last years event, to return in 2013.
6 Time Snowboard X Gold Medalist Nate Holland is not pleased: “It’s a devastating blow to our sport and skiercross, too, because X Games has been our Super Bowl for years.”
The 2013 Winter X-Games at Buttermilk are set for January 24 – 27, 2013. Skier/Boarder Cross will still be an event at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
Snowboarder Cross Cut From 2013 Lineup, Transworld Snowboarding
X Games nixes Snowboard X, Skier X, ESPN
Thoughts?