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SAAS-FEE RIDE 05 in association with GIZMONDO - Event Results + Summary
The second event in the 2005 Ride series took place Saturday 23rd July in the glacial resort of Saas-Fee (www.saas-fee.ch), Switzerland. The European Summer Freeskiing championships, the Saas-Fee Ride 05 (www.saasfeeride.com) in association with Gizmondo (www.gizmondo.com), offered spectators the chance to see some of Europe's finest Half Pipe, Big Air and Rail action in one full day of events.
Conditions were excellent for this freeskiing event, especially considering it was mid summer in Europe! The Saas-Fee glacier was the perfect location for two main reasons: the glacier is north facing and the park was designed and shaped by Reto Sporrer. Add the support of the Saas-Fee Bergbahnan team and the site was set. |
HALFPIPE
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The first discipline of the day was Half Pipe. The pipe, 120 metres in length and 5.2 metres in height, was in great shape and smooth in the transition. JL Ratchel from France, winner of the Verbier Ride 05 slope style, put together a smooth run to earn a 3rd place podium finish. His run showed consistency and fluidity with tricks consisting of massive styled out grabs, and a big flat spin five at the bottom of the pipe.
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Swiss rider Nicolas Vuignier from Crans Montana claimed 2nd place showing huge amplitude and definition on grabs.
Winner of the competition was World Cup Half Pipe athlete Andy Bennett. Andy from Sheffield, England showed huge air, fluidity and some more technical tricks than the other riders such as 540's, flairs and alley oops with style that many top athletes would have been happy to claim!
Andy described in victory after the event:
"I really didn't think I managed to pull off my best skiing. I had a crash just before the comp and was holding back a little. I just tried to keep the run consistent and fluid not taking too much risk and I think that's what the judges liked".
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In the woman's event Shelley Jones from England came 3rd with a solid and smooth descent of the pipe, with alley oops on both walls, and a variety of grabs. Swedish rider Sofie Windstedt, sister of the famous Henrik, finished 2nd showing a variety of different grabs and good height out of the pipe. Katrien Aerts from Belgium took the 1st place with a strong and powerful descent. Every wall was accelerated into and good height was achieved on all hits out of the pipe. There were several well defined grabs, an alley oop, a 360 and a switch landing for her last hit. Overall the run clearly stood out. It was actually on par with a few of the men's runs. |
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It was overall an event that saw many risks being taken to achieve amplitude. Because of this there were also several wipe outs and the consistency that the first three placed athletes showed truly earned them the prize money.
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BIG AIR
The design of the 'big air' kicker in the Saas-Fee snowpark was described as "Perfect" by several of the athletes. Reto Sporrer's shaping was said to have given the kicker a smooth and progressive launch and the essential steep landing after clearing the 22 metre deck. Riders sessioned the kicker for about 30 minutes before the competition started getting used to the speed needed on the in run to find the perfect landing area.
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During the competition many athletes were travelling around 30 metres in the air from take off to landing. A huge variety of jumps were being thrown down including Cork's, Misty's, Underflips, Switch 5's, 7's, and 9's. After two qualification jumps a super final was drawn down to 4 riders. Alex
Neurohr
of Switzerland, Paddy Graham of England, JL Ratchel of France and Andy Bennett of England.
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All 4 riders had two attempts at the kicker to impress the judges. Final the 3 top riders were decided. Paddy Graham took 3rd showing a super clean corked 7, tweaked out so much it's a wonder that he didn't pull his ski off his feet. Andy Bennett was second with a switch 7 mute grab, that he almost forgot to let go of and JL Ratchel took first place with a huge and perfectly executed switch cork 7 true tail, that had him landing right at the bottom of the run out.
In the girls comp 3rd place went to Sofie Windstedt with a 360. Could have placed higher but a butt check on the landing lost her valuable point on style marks. 2nd went to Katrien Aerts with a 360 mute. Audrey Faivre of France took 1st place with a super clean 360 with safety grab. The landing was stomped and it was enough to her to take the winners cheque. |
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RAILS
A cool end to the day was a Rail Jam session at the bottom of the snowpark. Several riders were hitting the rails, most notably Mike Wakefield, who, in spite of crashing in the pipe, and riding the kicker all day, still managed to find the energy to pull out switch 270's on with revert 270's out and blindside switch up's along the way. The pipe riding was not judged but level were exceptionally high and the vibe around the park ended on a happy note. |
Riders and organisers are super happy reflecting on this 3rd edition of the Saas-Fee Ride, which has this year gained amplitude, considering the level of the performances through all three freeskiing disciplines. Look forwards to seeing you all in October at the London Ride 05, 15th + 16th October, Grand Hall, Kensington Olympia, London. |
RESULTS:
Half Pipe
Women: 1. Katrien Aerts (BEL), 2. Sofie Windstedt (SWE), 3. Shelley Jones (GB)
Men : 1. Andy Bennett (GB), 2. Nicolas Vuignier (SUI), 3. JL Ratchel (FRA)
Big Air
Women: 1. Audrey Faivre (FRA), 2. Katrien Aerts (BEL), 3. Sofie Windstedt (SWE)
Men: 1. Jean Laurent Ratchel (FRA), 2. Andy Bennett (GB), 3. Paddy Graham (GB)
(To view full list of results, click here)
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For Video Clips from Saas-Fee Ride 2005, click here |
