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SAAS-FEE RIDE 06 presented by PEAK PERFORMANCE
The second event in the 2006 Ride series took place Saturday 22nd July in the glacial resort of Saas-Fee (www.saas-fee.ch), Switzerland . The European Summer Freeskiing championships, the Saas-Fee Ride 06 (www.saasfeeride.com) presented by Peak Performance (www.peakperformance.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 great for this freeskiing event, especially considering the high temperatures we have been getting this summer in Europe ! The Saas-Fee glacier was the perfect location and perhaps Europe 's only location with the north facing glacier and the new improved look of the Saas-Fee snowpark.
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HALFPIPE
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The first discipline of the day was Half Pipe. The pipe, 110 metres in length, 20 metres wide and 5 metres in height, was in great shape considering the heavy rain fall on Friday evening. Paddy Graham (Nike ACG, Line), one of Britain's finest freestyle athletes, put together a smooth run with a Corked 540 mute grab and Alley oop flat spin 720. This earned him a deserved 3 rd place podium finish. |
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Click to watch clip of Paddy Graham's (UK) 3rd place winning run in the halfpipe |
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Swedish rider Oscar Harlaut (Scott, Salomon) claimed
2nd place showing huge amplitude and definition on grabs. His best run consisted of a Corked 540 truck driver on first hit which really impressed the judges. Each hit down the pipe was huge and fluid throughout. |
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Click to watch clip of Oscar Harlaut's (Sweden) winning run in the halfpipe
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Winner of the mens competition was Loic Collomb-Patton (Dynastar, Sun Valley) of France . Loic who finished 4 th in winter X-Games Ten and 2 nd in the FIS World Cup Half Pipe Championships, took the Saas-Fee Ride 06 title with a run that thrilled the crowd in the snowpark and the judges as well. The winning run included an Alley oop Flat Spin 540 that took him 4 metres out and above the pipe and a huge inverted unnatural 720.
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Click to watch clip of Loic Collomb-Patton's (France) winning run in the halfpipe |
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Loic said after the event:
"It's not too bad at all in Saas-Fee for summer skiing. There were two big tables for the Big Air event. The pipe is good especially considering the heat of the summer, it's all cool here." |
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In the woman's event Beanie Milne Home (White Stuff, Dynastar) from Scotland came 3rd with alley oops on both walls and good height. Swedish rider Sofie Windstedt (Rossignol, Kaubi) finished 2 nd with the first part of her run consisting of high grabs and the second part showing good rotations. Marta Ahrenstedt (Peak Performance, Roxy Optics) from Sweden took the 1 st place with a strong and powerful descent showing clean grabs, back to back spins, switch riding and good high throughout.
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Click to watch clip of Marta Ahrenstedt's (Sweden) 1st place run in the halfpipe |
It was overall an event that survived the heat of the summer to bring the Saas-Fee crowd many of Europe's top athletes competing on Europe 's top summer Half Pipe.
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BIG AIR
The two big air kickers gave all the riders an equal opportunity to pull off their best and biggest tricks. The run in was excellent for the type of kickers, giving just the right speed and the landing area was made with the perfect gradient and length. Both kickers were relatively whippy but the majority of riders loved it, as it gave them more air time, therefore they had more opportunity to pull off some amazing tricks
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During the competition many athletes were travelling around 25 metres in the air from take off to landing. A huge variety of jumps were being thrown down including Cork's, Double Grabs, Underflips, Switch 5's, 7's, and 9's. All athletes were given two hits at the kickers and the best score out of the two jumps counted.
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Finally the 3 top male and female riders were decided by 1pm on the Saturday afternoon. Loic Collomb-Patton (Dynastar, Sun Valley ) took 3rd with a huge Switch corked 720 mute grab to reverse mute grab. Paddy Graham (Line, Nike ACG) of England was 2 nd with a Switch corked 720 reverse mute nose grab. Paddy went very big and showed a super smooth style. Henrik Harlaut (Scott, Salomon) of Sweden took 1 st place with a Switch corked 900 mute grab which was super tweaked out. Amplitude was massive as he stomped clean near the bottom of the landing. This scored him extra points and sealed Henrik's victory.
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Click to watch clip of Loic Collomb Patton's (France) 3rd place run in the Big Air |
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Click to watch clip of Paddy Graham's (UK) 2nd place run in the Big Air |
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Click to watch clip of Henrik Harlaut's (Sweden)1st place run in the Big Air |
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In the girls comp joint 3rd place went to Vanessa Colletia (Roxy, Pull In) of France and Sofie Windstedt (Rossignol, Kaubi) of Sweden. 2nd went to new comer Teri Spencer of England with a smooth and styled tail grab. Marta Ahrenstedt (Peak Performance, Roxy Optics) of Sweden took 1st place with a super clean 360 Truck Driver. The landing was stomped and she scored high on style taking the winners cheque |
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Click to watch clip of Marta Ahrenstedt's (Sweden) 1st place run in the Big Air |
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The Peak Performance rider made Saas Fee Ride event history by becoming the first ever double champion taking both Half Pipe and Big Air 1 st places. After the event Marta has this to say:
“I was so stoked to have won both events. I really had a good feeling being up here in the event having fun with good friends. It was so chilled it didn't feel like a competition really, everyone was in such a good mood and the atmosphere was sweet! It's such a cool vibe here in Saas-Fee in the summer and the event followed that vibe. I love the park this year and am stoked to have won in the resort that is supporting me for skiing. Super happy!” |
FINALLY
Riders and organisers both agreed that the 4th edition of the Saas-Fee Ride was the best yet, especially considering the high temperatures this summer. The event pulled through the odds with the help of a few important factors; Europe 's best summer skiing glacier, the new design of the Snowpark and the extra efforts of snowpark shaper Nicklas Hoglund. Other thanks go to Peak Performance for their investment in the development of freeskiing events, Saas-Fee Bergbahnan and Tourism for hosting and supporting the event and all the people from the British Freeski Camps for working on the set up and break down.
Look forwards to seeing you all in October at the London Ride 06, 20th + 21st October 2006, Grand Hall, Kensington Olympia, London (part of the Metro Ski and Snowboard Show).
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RESULTS:
Half Pipe
Men: 1st place - Loic Collomb Patton (France), 2nd Place - Oscar Harlaut (SWE),
3rd Place - Paddy Graham (UK)
Women: 1st Place - Marta Ahrenstedt (SWE), 2nd Place - Sofie Windstedt (SWE),
3rd Place - Beanie Milne Home (UK)
Big Air
Men: 1st Place - Henrik Harlaut (SWE), 2nd Place - Paddy Graham (UK), 3rd Place- Loic Collomb Patton (FRA)
Women: 1st Place - Marta Ahrenstedt (SWE), 2nd Place - Terri Spencer (UK),
3rd Place - (Joint) Vanessa Colletta (France) / Sofie Windstedt (SWE)
For Press release click the following - word / pdf
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For Video Clips from Saas-Fee Ride 2006, click here |
