os paso el mail resumen del festival que se ha celebrado hace unos dias en SAAS FEE con skicross, big air y demas. a ver si tomamos nota y montamos alguna cosilla al menos parecida. Esta en ingles.....
SAAS-FEE RIDE - Event Results + Summary
(A European 'Summer' Freeskiing Competition)
It Worked!
Skier Cross
Big Air
Popcorn Bar - After Party
A Great Success
Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners
Saas-Fee Ride 2004
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It Worked!
The first ever Saas-Fee Ride (www.verbierride.com/saas-fee-ride.html) took place on Saturday and went off as a great success! Considering that it was one of the hottest and driest June's in over 150 years the resorts incredible summer skiing glacier held up well and was in great condition. The summer freeski event was a competitive showcase for both professional riders and up and coming young rippers.
Skier Cross
The competition kicked off with Skier Cross, an adrenaline fuelled, full contact race where four skiers compete against each other in a specially designed course. The racecourse is packed with slalom turns, raised 1/4 pipe banked turns, rollers, moguls and tabletops. It is the ultimate head-to-head alpine competition. The early start seemed to bring the best out of the riders as they threw themselves into the battle to cross the finish line first at any cost.
After time trials and two tense semi finals the Mens Event was finally won by FIS Europa Cup champion Mathieu Feraud (Volkl, Scott) of France with Thomas Duerr of Liechtenstein in second place. A double fall on the first bend left third place up for grabs, Mark Meeson of England recovered the quickest to take the final place on the podium. The women’s race was won by Shula Wolfenden (UK) with Lorna Carmichael (UK) taking second - a fantastic result for them both especially considering it was their first ever skier cross!
The Skier Cross provided thrills and spills, skill and excitement from start to finish and showed just why this new evolution of skiing means business and is here to stay. The resort of Saas Fee must take much of the credit for the success of the Skier Cross, whilst other summer ski areas were struggling for snow and closing early after the hottest June on record Saas Fee were able to build and maintain an awesome course. Skier Cross winner Mathieu Feraud, who has competed on some of the best Skier Cross courses in the world in the FIS World Cup and Europa Cup events, could hardly believe the quality of the course. So impressed was Mathieu with the course that he is going to spend the summer in Saas Fee training for the coming winter when he will be competing at the top table of world Skier Cross.
Big Air
Off a big air specially built for the competition, the riders pushed each other hard to land the biggest and wildest jumps. Visually, this was an awe-inspiring event, showcasing the skill, courage and creativity of modern skiers. The crowd were treated to 900° twists, multiple back flips, front flips, off-axis rotations, spectacular somersaults and grabs, otherwise known to the core audience as Rodeos, Corks, Mistys, Lincolns and flat spins.
The standard was incredibly high with leading British and European riders taking part. Such was the quality of the riding first place was tied, Tom Last’s (Line Skis, Nike, Siver Cartel, Optic Nerve) Rodeo 720 Grab was matched all the way by Markus Kaiser and his Rodeo 540 Tail Grab. Verbier based Glen Parsons (K2, Siemens, Whitestuff, Smith, Level) took second place on the podium with two awesome corked jumps. Glen threw a Cork 720 Safety Grab for his first jump but up'd the stakes with his second as he stomped a Cork 900 with Safety Grab. Andy Bennett (Line Skis, The North Face, Siver Cartel) came in third with a super smooth 720 Safety Grab. The Girls showed they were not to be outdone by the boys as they took huge air off the kicker. The competition was won by up and coming Swiss Rider Virgine Faivre landing a near perfect Straight Air Safety. British rider Sarah Muson took second place.
Popcorn Bar - After Party
After a hard day’s riding with bodies being pushed to the limit everyone had the chance to kick back and relax at the after-event party in the Popcorn Bar, Saas Fee’s most kicking and lively venue. The action in the bar was almost as sick as the jibbing in the park earlier in the day. The party was also an opportunity for everyone to show their appreciation to the Hotel Dom (www.uniquedom.com) and the Popcorn Bar who were great sponsors and instrumental in the organisation of the event.
A Great Success
All in all, the Saas-Fee Ride 2003 was a great success. Freeskiers from around Europe gathered to showcase the sport and judging from the noise of the crowds, their efforts were much appreciated. With Warren Smith and Guido Perrini chronicling the event both for TV broadcast and their forthcoming movie, 'Snows in the House 2', there will be ample opportunity for people to catch up with any action they missed over the next few months.
Freeskiing may not be all about competition, but competition is an integral part of freeskiing. Such a progressive sport needs events, not only for the media coverage they generate, but also because the fusion of riding talents in the theatre of competition generates an intensity and inspiration capable of pushing the sport to the next level. Riders fed off the energy of this events for sure and hopefully took the vibe back to their home playgrounds.
Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners
The Saas-Fee Ride would like to show it’s appreciation of it’s supporters without whom it would not have been possible to run the event. The Saas-Fee Ride owes a big thank to Saas-Fee Tourism and the Saas-Fee Lift Company (www.saas-fee.ch), especially Damion, Adrian, Susanne and Chantel. A massive thank you goes to Hotel Dom and the Popcorn Bar (www.uniquedom.com) who acted as the base for the event and supplied great online facilities. Also Andrea Brunetti at Dainese (www.dainese.com) who was the title sponsor of the event and a generous donator of protective clothing for the riders. Also Iain at Natives.co.uk (www.natives.co.uk), Jonno at Fall Line Skiing Magazine (www.fall-line.co.uk), Fiona, Vanessa and Laura at the Ski Club (www.skiclub.co.uk). Big thanks to Guido, Melody and James for helping with the filming, also Melody Sky for editing. Thanks to Hamish Wolfenden for the Rider technical support in resort and on the mountain. Last but not least the Saas-Fee Ride Crew (Jon Lang, Joe & Nick Harkess, Dave Howard and Clare Ross and the whole of the British Freeskiing community) who made it happen!
Saas-Fee Ride 2004
Plans for next year’s Saas-Fee Ride are already underway and the Ride Events team will confirm it’s place as the premier summer freeskiing competition. More news and dates in September.
Many thanks for taking the time out to check the news and look forwards to being in touch soon.
All the best,
Warren Smith
Director, Ride Events
a Snowsport Synergy Ltd. company
Swiss Office +41 (0)79 359 6566
UK Office +44 (0)1525 37 47 57
Email
warrensmith@snowsportsynergy.com
Web www.soulsports.co.uk/warrensmith
Snowsport Synergy Ltd properties,
check em out:
www.verbierride.com
www.snowsinthehouse.com
www.snowodyssey.tv
www.warrensmith-skiacademy.com
Additional News:
Check out www.laslenasvacations.com/swany for the latest news on Dave Swanwick's South American Skiing Adventures - Las Leñas, Argentina - September 12 -20, 2003