11/22/2008

Buckle Up - The Adidas Slopestyle is back Photos ~ Harookz

The Adidas Slopestyle has become legendary in a short time - both for the riding and the partying. I'm not sure what it is about this tiny Austrian mountain village that makes riders, journalists and locals alike lose their minds.  Before midnight tonight we were accosted by a large man in lederhosen.  Luckily his rifle-toting freund has already passed out.  Cory Leclerc put him in his place though; never mess with a lad from Williams Lake.  As soon as we arrived we were regaled with non-stop tales of vomit, nudity, broken glass and two-day hangovers.  Too bad we missed it. 

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Goldman – unfortunately, this is the last we’ll see of him until he heals up. Photo ~ Harookz

Rumours swirl about the riding as well thankfully and whispers of impossible moves to be pulled off large, challenging structures and dirt piles are making the rounds.  Jamie Goldman knocked himself out of the competition during practive after breaking his hand and smacking his face hard.  Greg Watts was still riding a buzz after nailing a double backflip in the Leogang competition. 

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Cory LeClerc – Off-side more often than Ronaldinho.  Photo ~ Harookz

Other riders to watch include Cam Zink, Darren Berrecloth and Cam McCaul - each of whom is planning something revolutionary.  Thomas Vanderham, still recovering from a lower-leg fracture, will be watching from the judge's chair but the field is deep and talented.  Cedric is here along with Wade, Mike Kinrade, Richie Schley, Dave Watson, Kyle Strait, Jordie Lunn, Ryder Kasprick, Geoff Gulevich,  Steve Romaniuk and Paul Basagoitia.  It's one of the deepest fields ever seen in on place and it will get deeper tomorrow. 

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The course – this year the playing field should be evened up a bit so the big mountain rippers have a fighting chance. Without having seen it up close, we can say it looks very impressive.  Riley McIntosh, Dylan Tremblay and Jimmy Deas have been working hard for over 3 weeks to get the course set up. Photo ~ Harookz

A qualifying competition for lesser known riders this morning allowed five lesser known riders to join the big show.  Clear favourite Darren Pokoj from Australia took the win and he'll be joined by the Breitenstein brothers from Switzerland, Taulan Dernbach from Germany and Juha-Matti Pouta from Finland.  The final will go off Saturday and you can expect to see the riders send it like never before. There will be a two-run prelim round and then 15 will go to the really big show.  Once again two runs will decide the ultimate ranking.  Last year's course was on a nasty, steep slope but because of some construction it has moved to a location with a more moderate incline.  This should allow the riders to get more creative with their lines and pull some more ambitious moves.