The IGSA North American Championships will be held November 18-19, 2006 at Frank G. Bonelli Park in San Dimas, California.Come to the Los Angeles foothills to race and spectate with competitors from across the globe, each out to grab some glory under what we hope will be sunny Southern California skies.Downhill skateboard racers from Europe and Canada are registered to race against along present and past IGSA World Cup and World Champions, nearly guaranteeing a field of well over the 30+ skaters that competed in the races at Bonelli on November 4th.Seismic Skate Systems just stepped up to sponsor the DH Skateboarding class, to the tune of $500 and packs of their new 85mm SpeedVent wheels for the podium! That's not all: Garland Restoration will sponsor the Gravity Bike class with a $500 purse! Expect to see the luge and inline skate fields expand, too!
After a six-month break for summer, the European Circuit and the Demons of Downhill in Ohio, the IGSA returned on November 4th to Bonelli Regional Park in the San Dimas foothills, outside of Los Angeles, California for the fifth round of the IGSA California Downhill Series. Under clear, blue skies and warm, November weather, a huge turnout of racers hit the hill, both to resume battles postponed by the break and to prepare for the State Championships, coming two weeks hence. With 31 skaters in standup DH, 17 streetlugers, a competitive inline class and the gravity bikes in attendance, it was all the organizers could do to get practice, heats, semis and finals done before dark.
The racing was on the “standard” Via Verde course, and the racers’ speeds were enhanced by an absence of the traditional headwinds on the hill. The standup DH skateboarders regularly passed the Silverfish Longboarding radar trap at over 40mph, with a few coming past at 44mph. Many inliners, streetluges and gravity bikes recorded speeds over 50mph in the mid-hill trap, and Fermin Rodriguez rode up to finish a semi-heat with 53mph at the line! With higher speeds, some new equipment and new skaters on the hill, close racing and beautiful weather also hosted more wrecks than we’d seen so far all season on Via Verde.
On October 20-21 the IGSA World Cup Series made its annual trip to Bainbridge, Ohio for the Demons of Downhill. Competitors came from throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland to challenge the 1.3 mile race course that winds its way down "Jester Hill". The Downhill Skateboarding class was dominated by a contingent of three Swedish riders who were routinely recording speeds of 67.7mph (109kph) down a narrow course that featured a series of sweeping turns, blind corners and rollercoaster type up and down sections. In Street Luge and Classic Luge, it was a group of veteran American racers who controlled the event.
Friday was practice day at the Demons of Downhill. The course was still wet from a storm that hit the area on Thursday but, by noon, the track was mostly dry. All of the competitors were instructed to take it easy on the first practice run but, right from the beginning, it was apparent that the Swedish downhill skateboard team of Fredrik Lindstrom, Olle Van Keppel and Mathias Goransson meant business. While the other riders were all foot-braking through the chicane section these three riders were only air-braking! By the end of the day, they were taking the section full speed and never breaking their tuck. It was amazing watching 16 year old Van Keppel in particular, as he balanced on his front foot and steered his board with only the big toe of his back foot in excess of 65mph!
In both Street Luge and Classic Luge, it was the veterans John Fryer, Dave Auld, David Dean, and defending champion Mike McIntyre who seemed to be laying down the fast times. In Downhill Inline, defending IGSA World Cup Champion Scott Peer and veteran Warren Focke had some new competition with a group of three Canadian racers from Montreal having made the trip to Ohio. McIntyre also took some blistering runs on his gravity bike. Fortunately, the rain stayed away the entire afternoon and every rider was able to take a lot of practice runs.
Excellent course au col d’Hautacam les 16 et 17 septembre 2006 pour la finale du championnat de France. Hautacam est situé près de Lourdes, dans les Pyrénées.
L’événement était organisé par le Bordeaux Longkate Club (BLC), qui organisait un freeride sur ce spot depuis deux ans. Pour cette première en compétition, le temps n’a pas aidé l’organisation puisque tout s’est fait en une journée !
We're stoked to bring you a race report from the IGSA Hautacam Pass race that took place in September . We've also got the article in the author's native tongue,here.
Great race at the Hautacam pass on 16/17 september 2006 for the final of the French Championship. Hautacam is located near Lourdes, in the Pyrénées.
The event was organized by the Bordeaux Longskate Club (BLC), and was the first competition for the club after two years of "freeriding" the location. And the weather wasn’t really accommodating with the organization because all the race needed to be set up in one day ! We had rain and fog all day on Saturday. Fortunately, at 1500m of altitude there was a bar : "le Tramassel". Consequently all the day we kept our spirits up with French wine...
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