RED BULL JOYRIDE FREERIDE MOUNTAIN BIKE COMPETITION RETURNS TO WHISTLER
- Red Bull Joyride will anchor the final weekend of the Crankworx Whistler, delivering a slopestyle event designed for the athletes, by the athletes -
WHISTLER, BC – July 23rd, 2013 – In a little over one week from now, Red Bull Joyride will once again descend the mountain in Whistler, BC on Saturday, August 17th as part of the weeklong Crankworx festival. Fusing elements of slopestyle, dirt jump, and North Shore mountain biking, Red Bull Joyride will culminate into one gravity-fed, season-defining freeride mountain bike competition. Eighteen of the world’s best riders have been officially invited to battle it out for a chunk of the $50,000 in prize money and historical bragging rights.
"Joyride is the biggest slope-style course of the year, which means it needs the best preparation. Any good course has rider input and Red Bull Joyride is honestly a rider inspired course," said Brandon Semenuk.
The Course - POV Video & Map
All of the course features have been re-imagined for 2013 with a design that is less about speed and more about flow. The overall line of the course has been changed to move riders more directly across the hill, rather than straight down. It has been a work in progress over the past two months as athletes and builders work together to make refinements, but last week Darren Berrecloth was able to give the course his final stamp of approval after test riding the course for the first time. With a GoPro camera strapped on tight, Darren Berrecloth was able to give the world its first live action glimpse of the course in action. Hang on tight and ride along with Darren here (www.redbull.com/bike) For additional photos from the day, check out the gallery at www.redbullcontentpool.com and simply search 'Darren Berrercloth'.
“Designed by the leading masterminds in the sport, this will be the course to watch. This year has seen the best synergy between the course builders and athletes, allowing the builders to complete a course that has everything a slopestyle athlete would ever want in a world-class slopestyle event. The course is so smooth this year and the features connect really well which will gives us (the riders) more time to set up for jumps” said Darren Berrecloth.
Legendary course builder Paddy Kaye, who’s input and expertise have been instrumental in the design of the Red Bull Joyride course was also thrilled with the outcome. “Thanks to the input from athletes like Darren (Berrecloth), we’ve been able to design and build a slopestyle track that flows, allowing the competitors the chance to land their best tricks during the contest, and have the opportunity to showcase the progression of the sport” said Kaye.
The athlete input this year has been nothing but positive. Riders agree that the new design is safer, allowing them to check their speed in a number of sections, which means more runs completed and less crashing. The radius of all the ramps will be longer, and the course will have more sections where the riders can regroup and focus on laying down big, clean tricks. And tricks are exactly what the judges are looking for. With 12 different point-scoring features in total, the 2013 Red Bull Joyride course will be the longest slope-style course in the history of Crankworx.
With construction now complete, an official course map has now been release providing an illustrated bird’s eye view of the new course.
The Chosen Few - 2013 Official Athlete Roster
Red Bull Joyride features the crème de la crème of professional slopestyle mountain biking. Based on results from the years Gold/Diamond FMBA events, previous Joyride events and wildcard selections, an invitation to Red Bull Joyride does not come easily. Here is a look at the top 18 slopestyle riders competing at this years event:
1. Thomas Genon – Winner Red Bull Joyride 2012
2. Martin Soderstrom - 2nd Place Red Bull Joyride 2012
3. Cam McCaul – 3rd Place Red Bull Joyride 2012
4. Kurt Sorge – Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
5. Sam Pilgrim - Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
6. Anthony Messere - Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
7. Tyler McCaul - Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
8. Darren Berrecloth - Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
9. Antoine Bizet - Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
10. Cam Zink - Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
11. Yannick Granieri - Top 12 FMBA 52 week seeing list
12. Brandon Semenuk – Winner Crankworx Les 2 Alpes 2012
13. Mike Montgomery – Top 3 Finalist Crankworx Whistler 2010
14. Kelly McGarry – Top 8 Finalist Crankworx Whistler 2012
15. Andreu Lacondeguy – Highest placed finalist at X-Games Munich 2012
16. Anton Thelander – Highest placed finalist at Crankworx Les 2 Alpes 2013
17. Szymon Godziek – Alternate top 12 FMBA 52 week seeding list
18. Greg Watts – Wildcard Winner Crankworx Whistler 2009
MEDIA EVENT SCHEDULE
The main event kicks of on August 17th at 5:00pm sharp. All media should be sure to check in prior to event time at the media check-in centre, located at the Aava Hotel, to pick up registred accreditation (media@crankworx.com). Below is a brief schedule of th event day:
August 16th, 2013
9am – 5pm – Media Check-In open (Aava Hotel)
August 17th, 2013
10am – 5pm – Media Check-In open (Aava Hotel)
2:30pm – 4:30pm – Joyride Training (closed course)
5pm – 7pm – Red Bull Joyride (Live Webcast)
7pm – 7:30pm – Awards
7:30 – 8pm – Press Conference (Media Center, Westin Hotel and Spa)
Watch on NBC
Red Bull Joyride is part of the “Red Bull Signature Series” on NBC, which features the most progressive and innovative snowboarding, mountain biking, freestyle motocross, ice cross downhill, skiing, and BMX events. The Red Bull Joyride event will air on NBC on November 9, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. ET. For more information, visit www.redbullsignatureseries.com.
About Crankworx Whistler
August 9-18, 2013, the world's best downhill, slopestyle and enduro riders migrate to the Whistler Mountain Bike Park for the 10th annual Crankworx. Crankworx Les 2 Alpes will take place July 6-14, 2013 and is the only Crankworx event to take place outside of North America. High-summer's convergence of all things freeride, Crankworx is a 10 day festival of epic endurance, supreme flow, monster air and vertical-dropping riding. A time-tested stage for gravity-fed mountain biking, Crankworx has forged the future of freeride, launched careers and raised up a spectacle out of dirt, sweat and cheers. Feel the impact. Embrace the amplitude. Experience the awe that is Crankworx Whistler 2013.
Red Bull Content: Free for Editorial Use
Through the Red Bull network, hi-res video and still images are captured and made immediately available for editorial use for all media channels including television, film, print, mobile, and digital. The content is centrally located in the Red Bull Content Pool for media partners at www.redbullcontentpool.com. Search: Red Bull Joyride 2013
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For more information, please contact:
Geoff Padmore
Red Bull Communications
416-902-1531
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