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IGSA Race Report: Houwteq XDH 2006 |
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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 |
Houwteq XDH was held on the 2nd and 3rd of December 2006. 22 stand-up skateboard riders from around the world made their way to the Houwteq complex just outside of Grabouw. The course, infamous for its strong tailwinds during summer, kept the speed on the Saturday in the 80km/h range for the first half of the day. The course is short and intense, starting on a flat straight which leads into a sweeping but tight righthander and back into a flat. This is where the tailwind kicks in and pushes you into the Houwteq drop. You fly down at intense speeds and prepare yourself for the bottom righthander. The bottom righthander is the best a real balls to the wall turn. With a bit of air braking you fly into the corner at 75-80km/h and hold on tight, then it finishes off with a flat straight.
The first half of Saturday we had a tailwind which made riding fast and fun but, after lunch, it changed to a light head wind for the time trail. During qualifiers, everyone kept their tucks as tight as possible to get max speed. Erik Lundsberg from Sweden came out on top finishing the coarse in 61.52 seconds followed by fellow Swede, Anders Osterlins in 62.50sec and then Cape Town local Mike Zietsman with 62.88sec. Saturday ended well with the weather been great, everyone getting in fast speed on the coarse and huge stoke.
Unfortunately, mother nature did not want to play the game nicely on Sunday and threw 50-60km/h gale force cross/head winds. The conditions were bad and with threatening rain in the distance SAGRA called for the racing to begin immediately with only one practise run. Racing was challenging and happened pretty quick. In the finals it was Erik Lundsberg, Luis Lins, Mike Zietsman and Richard Dweza. Erik led from start to finish with Luis in second. As the riders came into the last right-hander, Mike squeezed in between Erik and Luis to steal the No.2 spot with Luis coming in 3rd and Richard 4th.
The day was over before 2pm and prize giving was quick as well due to the threatening rain. Erik was super stoked with his win and went home smiling from ear to ear. The crowd dispersed and the day was over. Big thanks to SAGRA for pulling through and hosting an awesome event, next in line is Hot Heels Africa 8th, 9th and 10th of December. For more info go to www.sagra.co.za. Photos by Benjamin Malherbe.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 14 December 2006 )
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