- Double-Back Flip During Prestigious Event In Whistler Dazzles Crowd; Earns $15,000 Prize -

KONAWORLD (August 18, 2008) – Kona Clump Team rider Andreu Lacondeguy was on a mission to win – it’s that simple. Last Saturday, during the high-profile Monster Energy Slopestyle event at Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler, B.C., the fearless Spanish rider did something no other rider has ever done during Slopestyle competition: successfully landing a double-back flip.

In the days leading up to the Slopestyle event (which was witnessed by more than 20,000 spectators worldwide),  Lacondeguy spent hours practicing on the Boneyard Slopestyle course with friends and Kona teammates John Cowan (who designed the course), Grant “Chopper” Fielder and younger brother Lluis. With a long list of who’s who in the world of mountain biking competing in the event, Andreu knew he had to bring his A-game to take home the top spot. And he did.

With the top eight riders qualifying for the finals out of 34 participants, Andreu’s first run (in the two-run format) in the main event scored the lowest out of the finalists after failing to land a double-back flip. He registered a score of 30.8 points; while Brandon Semenuk of Whistler had the best first run score of 86.8.The course featured huge tables, dirt jumps, wooden spins, the Giro box and the always insane Kokanee drop as the final hit.

Since he produced the lowest score during the first run, Andreu was up first for the second and final runs. With nothing to hold back, Andreu’s historic first-place run of impressive tricks went something like this:

He started out with a double-back flip off the first table, followed by a foot plant off the Monster Snake, a back flip X-up, flat spin 360, topside nac-nac, can-can step-down, Superman, and finished off with a back flip onto the final Kokanee feature and Superman off into Whistler village.

 With the crowd growing louder and louder as he made his way down the course, Andreu’s epic second run and successful double-back flip scored 94.3 points and set the bar for the rest of the riders final runs.

Lance McDermott of Manchester, UK took second place with 91.5 points, while Semenuk took third with 89.8. In the qualifying rounds Kona riders Fielder and Lluis Lacondeguy missed the finals finishing 14th and 15th, respectively.    

“I just kept trying the double-back flip,” says Andreu of his feat during one the world’s biggest mountain bike competition. “It was that trick that did the job, it was gnarly you know.”

Andreu took home $15,000 for the win.

For more info about the event check www.crankworx.com.

 

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