Brandon Semenuk wins at RedBull Joyride at Kokanee Crankworx, Whistler
July 25th, 2011 by admin received Comments Off TweetPictures: (c) Ian Hylands, (c) David Lang/Red Bull Content Pool
Brandon Semenuk wins the inaugural Red Bull Joyride Freeride Mountainbike Competition. Over 25,000 wide-eyed spectators were on hand to witness history in the making as 20-year-old local boy Brandon Semenuk from Whistler, BC claimed the top step of the podium at the first ever Red Bull Joyride Freeride Mountain Bike competition, the first diamond event of the season of the FMB World Tour.
Sixteen of the best riders in the business duked it out for a chunk of the $45,000 in prize money and historical bragging rights. Each competitor had three runs to impress the judges and test their mettle on the brand new, custom-built course. Fifteen-year-old Anthony Messere from Surrey BC, who was merely an alternate for this event 2 days ago, rode well beyond his years and placed on the podium in 3rd while defending champion, American Cam Zink stepped into second place, but neither could stand up to Semenuk’s ultra smooth riding style and plethora of high difficulty tricks that catapulted him into top spot.
The level of difficulty of the Joyride course, which was designed by a number of the athletes themselves, and the high level of talent that competed earned the event a ‘Diamond’ rating, one of only two worldwide, on the FMB circuit. Diamond stops are the highest rating on the tour and garner the heaviest weighting of overall points. With this win, current FMB World Tour leader, Brandon Semenuk, extends his lead with only two events remaining in the season.
Semenuk described his emotions through his trade marked grin, “it was such a tight event, but what I love about mountain biking is there really aren’t any rivals, people try to make it seem like that but really we’re all up at the top talking about the course and pushing each other. We’re definitely competing but at the end we’re all going to give each other high fives and stay friends. It’s just so cool to be a part of this community and to come out on top today at such a great event is just amazing!” His win today secures him a guaranteed invite directly to the finals for the next three years at Kokanee Crankworx and earns him precious points on the Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour.
Meeting of the Minds. In early February 2011, a ‘Meeting of the Minds’ was organized to design the Red Bull Joyride course. The concept was simple, put together something to progress Freeride Mountain Biking while staying true to what the riders want and need in high-level competition. Red Bull and Kokanee Crankworx professional riders Darren Berrecloth, Brandon Semenuk, Mike Montgomery, Thomas Vanderham, and Cam Zink joined forces with world-class course builder Paddy Kaye of Joyride Bike Parks to create a series of features that would allow for maximum expression and flow from start to finish. As they brainstormed their dream course, artist Scott Dickson brought their ideas to life and drew the course as the riders provided key feedback and design ideas.
Red Bull Joyride 2011 Finals Results:
1 – Brandon Semenuk – CAN – Score 95.40
2 – Cam Zink – USA – Score 94.00
3 – Anthony Messere – CAN – Score 92.80
4 – Greg Watts – USA – Score 87.60
5 – Geoff Gulevich – CAN – Score 84.40
6 – Cam McCaul – USA – Score 84.00
7 – Tyler McCaul – USA – Score 78.60
8 – Kurt Sorge – CAN – Score 76.60
9 – Jamie Goldman – USA – Score 70.80
10 – Darren Berrecloth – CAN – Score 68.20
11 – Andreu Lacondeguy – ESP – Score 67.00
12 – Mike Montgomery – USA – Score 63.20
13 – Sam Dueck – CAN – Score 58.60
14 – Yannick Graneiri – FRA – Score 44.20
15 – Kelly McGarry – NZL – Score 26.00
16 – Sam Pilgrim – GBR – Score 10.60
Pictures: (c) Ian Hylands, (c) David Lang/Red Bull Content Pool
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