09/06/2008

The Adidas Slopestyle 2006 Blood Guts and Glory

Dimitri Lehner of the German magazine Freeride likened riding Slopestyle to jumping off the five metre board at the swimming pool. Only the pool is empty.

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Coming soon to a DVD near you. Andreu Lacondeguy. Flip in, three out of the fruit bowl on 24" wheels. Sequence ~ Markus Greber

It's hard to imagine a sport where the risk to reward ratio is worse. Riders like Dave Watson, Richard Gasperotti, Steve Romaniuk, Paul Basagoitia, Trond Hansen and Matt Hunter will confirm the depth of the consequence - each one was injured to some degree. The casualty list stretches further and at the end of the day the top prize was 4000 Euro. It's a big payday compared to most other freeride comps but a pittance when you consider what's on the line. A blind back flip over a 30 foot gap or a tailwhip or 360 on a 25 foot stepdown; these are low percentage moves with very large consequences. If you go down you will be hurt. The only question is whether you'll be able to soldier on or whether you'll be leaving in a white taxi. Play it too safe in qualifying and you'll be spectating for the big show and the only way to hit the podium is to pull out all of your best tricks on the scariest features. Only 19 of a possible 30 final runs were completed and there were crashes in a few of those complete runs as well. A few times during the event there was an exodus of more sensitive spectators. It was just a little too intense, graphic and even a little bit terrifying for mamma and papa euro.

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I've never seen a mountain biker pull a flair in competition.   Lance McDermott gave the others riders a few pointers. Photo ~ Cam McRae

Before the main event the 'Ticket to Style' comp was held as an open audition for riders who felt they deserved a shot at the pros.  Five riders wowed the judges and then did their best to qualify for the pro final.  Two riders made it through for top 10 finishes and it looks like the current high ballers are going to have some competition in the near future. 

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Paul Basagoitia takes his turn off the Yeti. Photo ~ Markus Greber

Cam Zink had two broken Haros but he begged and scraped until he managed to borrow a Specialized hardtail frame from the Claw and paint it black.  He was riding the biggest lines on the course with no rear suspension.  It must be tough to back flip when you have cajones that size.  Cedric Gracia apparently had bike problems as well and despite the proximity of Commençal he didn't manage to get ready for the comp.

Ben Boyko hitting hard after an aborted three x-up off the largest feature on the course.  He nailed it in qualifying and was the only rider to do so. Photo ~ Cam McRae

Slopestyle is one of the most compelling spectacles I've witnessed live.  Pictures, video and text simply cannot do it justice.  Unfortunately this year's course wasn't ideally suited to a live audience.  There was a hump mid course that made it difficult to stand in one place and see everything that was going on.  The folks from Braun put up their jumbotron so those at the bottom of the course could watch the top on the screen and the bottom live but those of us jostling for a good photo had a hard time viewing all of every run.  This is nitpicking I suppose because the course was well received by riders and fans alike. 

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Only Cam Zink (pictured) and Paul Bas attempted a flip over the Gondola. Sequence ~ Yannick Carroux

Timo Pritzel wasn't competing after tearing some ligaments in late April at the 'Vienna Air King' comp Instead he'll make sure he's completely ready for the Red Bull District Ride in Sicily on the 14th of July.  Cam McCaul got some sort of flu and he was in no shape to ride.  Jamie Goldman failed to land a spin off the top of the gondola during training and on top of a broken hand he looked like he'd done 8 rounds with Tyson. Three riders who could have taken the victory removed from the comp presented an opportunity for some other riders to hit the podium.

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Jamie Goldman went down hard and was placed on injured reserve. Photo ~ Cam McRae

Judging
Only two judges were evaluating overall impression. The other four were judging based on either amplitude, tricks, fluidity or style.  Because of this what the crowd and we journalists feel after a run may not correspond to the final mark the judges come up with.  An example of this would be Lance McDermott's run.  The crowd reacted after Lance's run when he wasn't boosted into the hot seat in place of Carlo Dieckmann (There was an equal mix of  boos from anglos and whistles from Euros) because his run was truly ground breaking.   He front flipped twice, back flipped, tail whipped and even landed a spotless flair off the quarter pipe.  Unfortunately he didn't ride the largest lines on the course and what he lost from the amplitude judge couldn't be made up.

The course.  Many options - all finely crafted by good Canadian boys ~ Markus Greber

Below is the list of judges and what they were responsible for

Tibor Simai (GER) – head judge leading the panel

Thomas Vanderham (CAN) – Amplitude (20 points)
Dylan Tremblay (CAN) – Tricks (20 points)
Joscha Forstreuter (GER) – Fluidity (20 points)
Vincent Saccomani (FRA) – Style (20 points)
Claire Buchar (CAN) – Overall (10 points)
Leander Angerer (GER) – Overall (10 points)

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Lance McDermott won't be sent down to the minors again. "Mr. Front Flip"spiking the Fruit Bowl. Photo ~ Pete Roggeman

Clouds overhead on the morning of the final had everyone remembering last year when the main event had to be postponed for a day.  It began to pour and everyone went to eat lunch and hope for the best.  Saalbach is in a box canyon and when the weather rolls in it can stay for weeks.  After about 90 minutes the rain stopped and things began to dry out.  Call it a weather miracle because eventually the sun began to peek through.   Those of us without bikes thought everything was perfect but enough rain fell to soften the ground and make landings from 20 feet even sketchier.  More than one rider touched down looking good and began scoping the next feature only to find themselves slammed dirt side.

Ryder Kasprick played hard like a BC boy should.  Here he kicks it off the Yeti. Photo ~ Markus Greber

There were four dnfs and a few other crashes after the first round of the finals and Paul Basagoitia was sitting pretty.  His run was close to perfect but he almost missed his three off the Yeti (the final wood feature on the course) and couldn't get it together to hit the last dirt jump.  Carlo Dieckmann's run was clean and he rode all the big lines but it seemed to lack something - as though he played it a little safe.  Lance McDermott was a revelation with front and back flips and über dialled landings.  Ben Boyko who looked unbeatable in qualifying hit the dirt hard spinning off the largest wood feature and was done for the day.  Romaniuk dead-sailored off the same drop breaking his helmet and he too was sent to the showers.  The younger riders were ruling after round one by playing it smart and not taking any chances - Ryder Kasprick, Mischa Breitstein, Darren Pokoj, Geoff Gulevich and Lance McDermott all rode clean.   The top riders - Berrecloth, Kyle Strait, Cam Zink and Paul Basagoitia were playing to win so they either had an incredible run or a burly fall with little in between. 

Darren Berrecloth spins his way to victory off the Yeti - sticking the landing like a Russian gymnast. Infrared Sequence ~ Markus Greber

Going into the second round of the finals Paul B. was in control.  The start order was re-sorted so the highest scoring rider from round one - Paul B. - would go last and the lowest scoring riders would go first.  This left Berrecloth leading off and he shredded the course with a super-seater Indian air over the Gondola, a flattie off the big drop and to ice the cake he performed his revolutionary stepdown 360 followed by another no foot can on the last booter.  The Claw owned the hotseat and the Adidas models right up until Paul B  - the final rider - stepped up.  It was shaping up as a carbon copy of last year's Crankworx Slopestyle where Bas won on his last run.  Only 7 of 15 second round runs were completed and while riders like Kasprick and Pokoj upped their scores with solid performances nobody was challenging the Claw.  Paul pedalled hard into the blind booter over the Gondi and it was pretty obvious right away that he was more likely to enter orbit than hit tranny.  He landed pretty much to flat and went down hard.  He was all smiles as he walked to the bottom and Berrecloth was champion for the second year running. 

Final Results after 2 Runs

Darren having a hard time getting comfortable in the hot seat with the Adidas models. Photo ~ Markus Greber