Source: Red Bull Elevation/PINKBIKE
Ryan Nyquist crashes Canada Day Party in Whistler as winner of Red Bull Elevation.
32 of the world’s best BMX dirt-jumpers and indie-rock superstars Metric celebrate Canada’s birthday with 10,000 fans in Whistler
Red Bull Elevation dropped onto Whistler Mountain and wished Canada happy birthday with champion Ryan Nyquist and 31 of the world’s best riders delivering awe-inspiring tricks, including a double back flip and a triple tailwhip. Known as the most progressive contest in BMX dirt-jumping, Red Bull Elevation again pushed the sport to new levels providing a course for riders to showcase a barrage of best trick combinations. Once the dust settled on the competition, Metric took over and sealed a high energy Canada Day weekend with a killer set that kept fans partying well into the Whistler Village night.
Red Bull Elevation again lived up to the hype of being the best dirt competition in the world by building a course that featured more transfers, more berms and bigger sets. It took two full days of practice for the riders to get comfortable and pick their lines for the event finals on Sunday. It was certainly worth it as Nyquist and Corey Bohan went toe-to-toe all day with Nyquist edging out defending Elevation champion Bohan by one-tenth of a point to claim the title.
“Red Bull Elevation is the best contest of the year for dirt jumping and the course is always the best course of the year,†said California-native and 2005 winner Nyquist. “Everything is just perfect; this is one for the memory books – that’s for sure.â€
Despite an injured wrist and a borrowed bike from an earlier crash, Nyquist rode seamlessly in heats two through five, throwing down some of the best runs of the day including 720’s over the step up and flawless technical riding through the top section. With his win, Nyquist pocketed the grand prize of $10,000. Bohan, who also had a massive day on the course took home $7,000 for his second place finish and Brian Foster proved that age doesn’t matter in this contest, as the 35-year-old took home third place and a cool $5,000.
“Red Bull Elevation is the showcase of BMX dirt jump contests,†said Bohan. “Third one in a row out here in Whistler and this one was one to remember forever – they built the sickest course ever!â€
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Judges graded the riders on style, difficulty of their lines and how clean they landed their tricks. After the Elevation competition, all riders were invited to the Big Hit for a 20 minute best-trick session, where the $5,000 prize went to James Foster who nailed an unbelievable truck driver to 360 downside tailwhip.
“Words cannot describe what I’m feeling right now,†said a breathless Foster. “I’m banking this win money and enjoying it later, what a rush!â€
Red Bull Elevation blazed onto the BMX scene in 2005, taking the sport to new levels by bringing dirt-jumping back to the trails and became known world-wide as the must-attend contest for international top riders. For more information, photos and videos be sure to visit www.redbullelevation.com.
Mother Nature is a BMX fan! Despite weather forecasts predicting cold and rainy days for the weekend, a packed Whistler Village witnessed the skies clear and Red Bull Elevation go off to once again live up to the hype as the best event in BMX dirt jumping.
From the first run, the 32 invited riders were throwing it all on the line and in the qualifying rounds, it was Corey Bohan who led the pack dropping a double tailwhip, superman seat grab and backflip in his first drop-in!
From there it was a battle between Bohan and 2005 winner Ryan Nyquist as they dropped every killer combo on the course and inched point by point up the board to land first and second place settings leading into the finals.
Young James Foster who nailed the first ever triple tailwhip last year impressed the judges this year and secured him a third place qualifying score. But it was Brian Foster who had the crowds and judges picking up their jaws as the 35 year old showed what BMX riding is all about with his massive transfers and killer line choices down the course. It was definitely anyone’s win at the end of qualifiers Saturday afternoon.
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Sunday saw the top 12 riders from the previous day hit the course and it was an instant battle for first between Bohan and Nyquist as they pulled out every combo and trick possible run after run. Nyquist went into the finals with a broken bike, an injured wrist and after borrowing a bike for the day, Nyquist took the lead with an unbelievable one-tenth win over Bohan! Third place went to Brian Foster who continued to wow the judges and crowds below with his smooth style. James Foster not only settled for an admirable fourth place finish but went on the win the Big Hit contest after hitting another triple tailwhip and earning the win with a killer truck driver to 360 downside tailwhip and a cool $5,000. Nyquist went home with $10,000, Bohan $7,000 and Brian Foster $5,000.
Once the dust settled on the course, Canadian indie-rock darlings Metric hit the stage and kept the crowds pumped well into the night. Over the course of the weekend there were several parties to hit and local DJs took over the decks at various Whistler hotspots as well as the now infamous pool party at Elevation mansion. The Adara Hotel graciously hosted the riders and select media and allowed us to transform their stylish hotel into Elevation headquarters complete with bar, DJ booth, fridge and photos adorning the walls.
Red Bull Elevation saw an impressive number of international media make the trek to Whistler as crews from Australia, Colombia, Germany, England and the Czech Republic took over the Whistler walkways interviewing riders and capturing BMX mania in the village.
Special guests included several Red Bull athletes including: US skier Kristi Leskinen, German skier Sven Kuennle, US BMX legend Edwin de la Rosa, New England Patriots long-snapper Loni Paxton, and of course Canada’s own Mikey Rencz, Marie-France Roy, Sean Pettit, Shaums March and skateboarder Ryan Dasenzo all chilling out under the VIP tent from the top of the course.
In the words of this years winner, Ryan Nyquist, “this is one for the memory books!”
RED BULL ELEVATION FINALS RESULTS
1 Ryan Nyquist 92.1
2 Corey Bohan 92.0
3 Brian Foster 87.4
4 James Foster 87.2
5 Chris Doyle 86.9
6 TJ Ellis 86.6
7 Allan Cooke 86.0
8 Dane Searls 85.7
9 Gary Young 85.7
10 Dave Dillewaard 83.6
11 Mike “Hucker” Clark 83.1
12 Adam Baker 81.6
For more images please check out www.redbull-photofiles.com.
