ANTI Days of Thunder

Hafjell, Norway, July 9th, 2009 – The second edition of the unconventional, fun orientated mountain  freeride competition – ANTI Days of Thunder – created amazing photo and video coverage. Watch all the highlights on antidaysofthunder.com to get a taste of the laidback yet action-packed comp enjoyed by an international field of pros in Norway’s Hafjell bike park.

 Timo Pritzel Photo ~ Joakim Andreassen

The riders teamed up to compete at each event (Hafjell downhill race relay, BAB dirt jump session and Urge Intense slopestyle):  Team North America (featuring also New Zealand):
Eric Porter (US), Thomas Vanderham (CAN), Jordie Lunn(CAN) and Kelly McGarry (NZ).

Team Norway:
Niels Windfeldt, Trond Hansen, Kristoffer Haugland and Mads Andre Haugen

Team Sweden:
Linus Sjøhølm, Martin Søderstrøm, Jon Sederlid and Nisse Ørnjeger

Southern Europe:
Yannick Granieri (?), Lluis Lacondeguy (ESP), Pierre Edouard Ferry (FRA) and Zakkarias Blom Johansen (?)

 Yannick Grannieri (left) and Lluis Lacondeguy enjoying the Norwegian sun.  Photo ~ Espen Rudi

Central Europe:
Grant „Chopper“ Fielder (UK), Timo Pritzel (DE), Sam Reynolds (UK) and Benny Korthaus (DE)

All riders had six days with lots of bike riding, chill time and more fun than at any other comp. The first day was pretty easy – all the riders arrived and got a feeling for the Hafjell bike park ( take a look on videoblog-day1/ for the day one video). Every second day, they had to show their skills in one of the  team competitions.

  Benny Korthaus – tabled flip.  Photo ~ Matthias Fredricksson

Team North America won the Hafjell downhill race relay with a 5 second margin over team Norway. It just looked like pure racing fun, each of the riders taking one section of the trail (video-blog-day-2-hafjell-race-relay/).

 Did you know Jordie Lunn used to race DH?  He was top Canadian at the Grouse Mtn. World Cup here on the Shore back in 2001. Photo ~ Joakim Andreassen

Team Sweden won the epic BAB dirt jump comp, which some of the riders called the best session of their life. The tricks thrown were at the highest dirt jump level ever: Benny Korthaus landing a clean 360 double tailwhip, Sam Reynolds sticking backflip no foot cans and frontflips,as did Trond Hansen did, too. Yannick Granieri made 360 tailwhips, as well as Sam, Benny, Trond and Niels Windfeld showed just perfect 360 tabletops. But it was the young gun Martin Søderstrøm who brought team Sweden the win of the dirt jump session, pulling nice stuff like 720s, double tailwhips and 360 tuck no handers (video-blog-day4/)!

 Trond Hansen – X-up three.  Photo ~ Espen Rudi

So, after two of three comps, there was a tie between the team North America and team Sweden. It would have taken the Urge Intense Slopestyle to secure the win, but unfortunately the slopestyle had to be canceled, because of wind. Instead riders launched some small tricks on and off the tables of the super-sized jumps.

Watch /video-blog-day3/ to get a clue what the big hitters looked like when they were sessioned earlier in the comp.

 Niels Windfelt – dumped 360.  Photo ~ Joakim Andreassen

The last competition had to be mastered to decide the overall winner of the ANTI Days of Thunder: The Beer Pong Challenge. All of the teams had such a good time at this party, that it was decided, that the winners of the beer pong will win also the overall ANTI Days of Thunder. It was Team Central Europe who earned the ANTI Days of Thunder title that night. The Germans Timo and Benny, as well as the Brits Chopper and Sam, gave their best and took home the win. Specialized team rider Benny Korthaus was surprised by his success: “I played beer pong twice before, didn’t really remember the rules in the first minutes, and I wasn’t the only one doing so. But anyways, the beer pong comp as well as all the days before and the whole concept of the ANTI Days of Thunder are just great. We all had so much fun, because the whole event was only about riding together and having a good time. Thanks To Trond, Niels, Joakim and Andreas for this great experience here in Norway!”

 Pierre Edoard Ferry going huge.  Photo ~ Matthias Fredricksson

Others echoed his sentiments. Lluis Lacondeguy declared ANTI Days of Thunder “the best comp ever”, and ANTI marketing manager Andreas Braaten explained: “We had just a super sick week with many good sessions!!“

 More size from Trond Hansen.  Photo ~ Espen Rudi

Joakim Andreassen, one of the photographers points out the essence of ANTI Days of Thunder for him: “The ANTI Days Of Thunder as a concept, gives the photographers a unique chance of getting prime shots in a way that is not common when shooting a contest. The more relaxed feeling with sessions and just riding takes away the pressure and the need for getting the money shot during one of a few runs. The ANTI Days Of Thunder are probably the most chilled way for a photographer to work regarding contests in general. Good times, sick riding, relaxed riders, and epic light are keywords that describe the event in Hafjell pretty well.“

 Sam Reynolds tabling a three.  Photo ~ Joakim Andreassen

All photos and videos can be seen on: www.antidaysofthunder.com.
So go for it!