Slopestyle - Gravity Fest Wrap
Cam McRae

The Slopestyle was the event many folks had been waiting for all week. Paddy Kaye worked feverishly with his Bobcat to get all the lines dialled for the hottest crop of riders ever seen in Whistler. One of the great things about this competition was the opportunity to get a first look at riders many of us had heard about but never seen. Aaron Chase was one of those riders. I have seen him in several different films and his bag of tricks has always impressed me. In his final run Aaron pulled a 360 off the starting gate log drop - one of the coolest moves of the competition. He then pulled a 180 onto the green box but couldn't hold it together. Even with a miscue his run was impressive enough to snag him 6th place.


Shall I spin off this? Aaron Chase. Photo - Rich Vigurs

Each rider was given two runs through the course in an effort to qualify. It became pretty clear early on who was boosting with the best and who was going to be spectating. It was cool to see UFC finalist, Cameron McCaul, ripping in person. His backflips were amazingly smooth and he seems like a humble and genuine lad as well. Thomas Vanderham has been charging at Gravity fest. He had a solid showing in the JoyRide Bikercross and then he stunned many world-class pro racers by posting a 4th place in the Air DH - riding his Rocky Switch with semi-slicks. At the Canadian National downhill championships he snapped off a brake lever high on the course but still snagged 9th place with only one brake. He was stomping it in the Slopestyle as well, going bigger than everyone on the wall ride and then pulling a huge nothing off the massive transfer line. Thomas placed 5th in the final.

Nobody had a better week than Thomas Vanderham. Photo Danny Brody

All the riding John Cowan has been doing with Timo Pritzel has paid off and he too has mastered the back flip. John did his best to go upside down on the last two dirt jumps on the course but couldn't stick both landings. The crowd loved his efforts - he tried three times to nail the landings perfectly. In the end John placed 10th in the finals. Timo was conspicuously absent from qualifying. During training his Scott USA hardtail folded like a tourist map, sending him into the ground hard. I don't believe he was seriously injured.


The always-entertaining John Cowan. Photo - Rich Vigurs

Wade Simmons, J.S. and Gareth Dyer. Photo - Rich Vigurs
Wade Simmons is clearly returning to form. After qualifying easily, Wade pulled a line nobody else attempted. There was a new ramp built for a drop behind the wall ride and Wade used it to transfer over to the wall. It was done in classic Simmons style and the fans ate it up. Richie Schley seems to rise to the occasion during contests and he has been working hard at some new tricks. His clean runs and his nothing off the final transfer (who knew?) helped him grab third place.

As usual Gareth Dyer was boosting - pulling release moves off everything and making it look easy. Little did we know he had something up his sleeve. There was a hip after the wall ride and one way to take it was to transfer to a massive landing. Quite a few riders were pulling it but it was a long way to go. On his run in the finals Gareth attempted the transfer with a back flip. He just about managed to stick it but ended up plowing hard on his side. The word is that Gareth broke his femur and dislocated his shoulder.

Gareth was riding his hardtail because his Bullit was stolen. It should be easy to spot because it has a 2004 Marzocchi Z 150 on it. Cody Swansborough's brodie Demon with Hope brakes was jacked as well as two of Darren Berrecloth's bikes. If you see these bikes do what needs to be done or email me.


Gareth Dyer - one footed table off the Wall. Photo - Danny Brody
Dave Watson made a cameo appearance at the slopestyle after returning from France. You may have heard the rumours about what went down but here are the real goods. Four km from the summit of the Col De Galibier, the penultimate climb of the Alpe D'Huez stage of the Tour de France, Dave Watson launched his Kona over a group of perhaps 15 riders. Dave was careful to ensure the riders wouldn't see him ahead of them so his timing had to be bang on. There were helicopters and police everywhere and the tension of the scene lead Dave to hesitate slightly and then decide to give 'er all the same. His hesitation caused him to come up a little short and he was bucked. Dave landed hard and left the scene in an ambulance but his injuries were not serious - he even considered competing in the slopestyle. There were stories of jail time and immigration problems but Dave said the cops were pretty cool once they found out what was going on - who is crazier than the French after all? If you are wondering what the whole thing looked like you'll have to wait for Derek Westerlund's follow up to NWD 3 - they have the footage.

Dave Watson speaking to Brad Ewen. Photo - Rich Vigurs

The lead stomper in qualifying and in the finals was Darren Berrecloth. For his final run he spun a 360 off the green box, sailed off the drop behind the wall ride and then pitched a massive superman seat-grab indian air off the final transfer line. You wouldn't really call Darren's riding smooth or efffortless - rather than making it look easy he makes it look burly. Darren walked away with a cheque for $2000 for first place. Unfortunately my camera died moments before the start of the competition so I have no shots of his blazing final run.


rare shot of Darren Berrecloth on the ground. Photo - Cam McRae
All in all I would say that Whistler Gravity Fest was the coolest mtb event ever seen in B.C. Much of the credit goes to Paddy Kaye and Chris Winter- they had a vision for a Freeride event a few years back but it had to be cancelled at the last minute. Without their commitment there is no way the Gravity Fest would have gotten to this point. Richard Juryn, one of the lead organizers of the entire event really helped it go big time - securing big name sponsors and getting the big rigs from companies like Shmano, SRAM/Rock Shox and Trek (to name just a few) here as well. If you missed the action this year be sure to save a vacation week for next summer. Not only will you be able to ride the best mountain bike park in the world - you'll be able to catch the best riders in the world do their thing and check out what folks like Rocky Mountain and Shimano have up their sleeves as well.
Placing Rider Qual. score Final score
1 Darren Berrecloth - CAN 8.25 9.375
2 Eric Porter -USA 7.375 8.25
3 Richie Schley - CAN 7.25 8.025
4 Cameron McCaul - USA 7.125 7.875
5 Thomas Vanderham - CAN 7.125 7.875
6 Aaron Chase - USA 7.75 6.75
7 Matt Brooks - CAN 7.625 6.75
8 Wade Simmons - CAN 6.5 6.75
9 Matt Hunter - CAN 6.25 5.88
10 John Cowan - CAN 7.5 5.875
11 Gareth Dyer - CAN 6 5.25
12 Kyle Ritchie - CAN 7 4.5
Congrats to nsmb-sponsored rider Michelle Dumaresq for winning the women's National DH title - great work Michelle. For complete Nationals results click here. For more results from the Air DH, JoyRide or the Slopestyle check out Worldfreeride.com

Cam McRae