Freeride Mekka Saalbach Hinterglemm rocks
(sgh) ? For nearly one week the small town of Saalbach Hinterglemm turned into
a Freeride Mekka ? the second edition of the adidas Slopestyle Contest pulled
the fourty best freeriders in the world to Austria as well as 100 journalists
and photographers and the Who?s Who of the international freeride community.
After two impressive qualifier runs on Friday, the TOP 15 riders performed a
rock show in the finals today, flying over the massive obstacle course designed
by the Canadian adidas Rotwild rider Gareth Dyer.
Due to bad weather conditions the organisers had postponed the finals which
were originally scheduled for Saturday to Sunday and that decision paid off.
Sunny blue skies and warm temperatures made up the perfect setting for a
spectacular show. Cheering spectators lined the adidas Slopestyle course from
top to bottom and created the right atmosphere for a big show.
After the first final run it was clear that today?s Slopestyle battle would
most likely be decided between Darren Berrecloth (CAN), Aaron Chase (USA), and
Timo Pritzel (GER) who all had a score of more than 37 points. The second final
run saw the combat ?360? versus ?backflip?. When Aaron Chase pulled off four
huge backflips in a row, it was quite evident that he would regain the hot seat
he got knocked of by Darren Berrecloth in the first round. Down in the finish
ball he doddered since the four rotations had made him dizzy. ?I am completely
stoked about this event?, Chase raved who for the first time rode a full
suspension bike in a comp. ?Gareth Dyer created an awesome course that contains
every element one can ask for ? the
perfect combination of big mountain drops, street style elements like the truck
or the curved and slanted wallrides and dirt jumps at the end. I personally
love the Slanted Wallride, that is so much fun.? When Aaron Chase conquered
the hot seat with his four backflips, he kicked off Mr. Backflip himself, Timo
Pritzel, who had just ?ascended to the throne? after a flawless second run for
which he was awarded with the high score of 10 points by the fluidity judge and
great style scores. Aaron Chase, however who also got the perfect ten for
fluidity scored even higher on tricks, obstacles, and style. Now two more world
class riders were waiting at the start with the ambitions to beat him: Cameron
Zink and Darren Berrecloth. Cameron was the first to chase Chase with the
highest obstacle score of the day and a series of four stylish 360s, two of
which were 360 X-ups. But he failed to take the hot seat by a hair?s breadth -
only 0,004 points were missing to the first place.
?I cannot allow these kids to beat me?, Bearclaw said to himself before he went
off for his final run and pulled everything out of the hat he could: Table Top
off the Step up Step down Drop, 1 Footer, 360 off the Box, Table Top off the
Gondola, 360 out of the Slanted Wallride, No Foot Can Can at the Spine, 360
X-up on the first dirt jump followed by a Superman Seat Grab and a super
stylish 360. The crowds went mad.
The high level of the riders? performance put a lot of pressure on the seven
judges Hans Rey (Head), Tarek Rasouli (Style), Derek Westerlund (Style), Tibor
Simai (Fluidity), Ben Gordon (Obstacle) and Vince Vegas/ Mario Preining
(Trick). They carefully watched the slow motions on the giant screen and
analysed every single move before making their final decision. ?The top riders
were so close and we didn?t want to make a mistake which asked for 100 percent
concentration for nearly three hours?, Hans Rey said after the comp. ?Now we
are really exhausted.? As the minutes passed by the tension increased. All eyes
focused on the giant screen, waiting for the results for Darren. Finally the
screen split and a green box appeared ? first place for Bearclaw. With a
perfect 10 in fluidity, the highest trick score of the day and two straight 9s
in Style, the Canadian won the adidas Slopestyle 2005 with an advantage of
almost 2 points to Aaron Chase. ?I am really stoked?, Darren said. ?To win this
prime contest with such a top-class field means a lot. You have to show more
than just hitting a big drop. What counts are tricks and style. I don?t think
it has ever been so close. Thanks to everyone who made this event possible. It
was awesome!? For his victory Darren Berrecloth was awarded with a check of
4000 Euros, almost one third total prize purse of 12 500 Euros issued among the
TOP 10 riders.
For being the only competitor who hit the 10 metre drop, the American Carlin
Dunne was awarded with a special prize ? the ?Big Balls Award?. All riders were
full of praise for the event and Saalbach Hinterglemm. ?Everyone was stoked and
said they had the most fun ever at an event? said adidas Slopestyle course
designer Gareth Dyer, who didn?t make it into the finals. ?I am so relieved
that weather finally changed. This week I went from very worried and frustrated
to very happy and satisfied.?
Final Ranking adidas Slopestyle
Saalbach Hinterglemm June 19th, 2005
Rank NameTotal Points
1 9 - Darren Berrecloth (CAN)42,173
2 25 - Aaron Chase (USA)40,221
3 41 - Cameron Zink (USA)40,218
4 2 - Timo Pritzel (GER)38,638
5 5 - Cameron Mc Caul (USA)37,809
6 37 - Thomas Vanderham (CAN)36,261
7 20 - Trond Hansen (NOR)35,174
8 15 - Carlo Dieckmann (GER)34,516
9 26 - Geoff Gulevich (CAN)33,919
10 44 - Kamil Tatarkovic (CZE)32,758
11 27 - Carlin Dunne (USA)32,007
12 3 - Michal Marosi (CZE)31,739
13 13 - John Cowan (USA)31,111
14 1 - Cedric Gracia (FRA)28,637
15 38 - Kirt Voreis (USA)26,584
Cameron Mc Caul is new Goa
Date:
20/06/2005