September 15, 2005 Valle Nevado, Chile- The FIS Snowboard World Cup opener kicked off the competition season this week in Valle Nevado, Chile where it was held from September 13th, to the 18th.

Athletes from 27 countries came together for the event, some in hopes of securing a ticket to the Olympic Games which will be held in Turin, Italy in February. Flow Team Rider Antti Autti, is not one of those hopeful few. His place on the Finnish Olympic Team is already set in stone, and his performance at this week’s World Cup, only further cemented his position.The first Halfpipe event in Valle Nevado was won by German rider, Xaver Hoffman, followed by longtime legend Daniel Franck of Norway, with Antti Autti taking third. Fueled by his third place finish, Antti stepped up to the second Halfpipe, beat out last year’s overall World Cup Halfpipe champion, Mathieu Crepel of France, and took the gold.With his gold and bronze finishes in both halfpipes, Antti is now the overall leader in FIS Halfpipe for the season. The second Halfpipe event included three other Flow Team riders, Miikka Hast (3rd), Risto Mattila (9th), and Havlor Lunn (11th). Antti’s other sponsors include Billabong, Von Zipper, DaKine, and Nokia.by www.flow.com