Red Bull Elevation recap + 3 movies!!!

Jul 16, 2007

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 22922 times

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.

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!"

Pics: Red Bull

Elevation 2007 finals movie: