Race Report: Winsport Canada Cup Street Luge & Classic Luge

Will Condon edges Kolby Parks by mere inches in the Winsport Canada Cup Finals.  Photo IGSA

Calgary, Canada - William Condon (CAN) won the Winsport Canada Cup Street Luge race over fellow Canadian Kolby Pakrs (CAN) in one of the closest finishes in IGSA history.  Top downhill skateboarding competitor Zak Maytum (USA) in his first ever street luge race finished an impressive third.  Dylan Wall (CAN) was fourth.

A small but talented field of eight street luger's was seeded based upon the single best qualifying run from Friday and Saturdays timed sessions. The first run started with number one qualifier Parks (CAN) behind the rookie Maytum with Frank Williams (USA) in third and Chris Mcbride (USA) in fourth.  Maytum and Parks lead from the start to the finish with Williams accidentally bumping Parks and giving a boost that let both Parks and Maytum advance by a large margin.

In the second semifinal Wall lead Condon, Nick Kamink (CAN) and Louis Roy (CAN) out of the gate. Wall and Condon battled closely throughout the course with Kamink and Roy close behind but they were not able to make a move before the finish while Condon was able to pass Wall and win the heat by a foot at the finish line.

In the consolation final Kamink and Williams pulled out a large lead over Roy and Mcbride. In Seismic Corner Williams tried a late pass on Kamink, but the two racers collided allowing Roy to win and McBride to finish second. The collision resulted in Williams getting disqualified in the the heat. After looking at pictures and video of the finish, it was determined that Condon crossed the line first by about one to two inches for his first IGSA World Cup victory.

Kolby Parks Wins In Classic Luge

Kolby Parks (CAN) was the winner of the Winsport Canada Cup Classic Luge race. Three heat races were run with all seven qualifiers racing at the same time. The race winner was determined by a cumulative total of the three runs.
 
The first run started with William Condon (CAN) leading, Parks in second and Frank Williams (USA) in third.  Nick Kamink (CAN) in fourth, Ross Baradoy (CAN) in fifth, Brandon Bean (CAN) in sixth and Chris McBride (USA) in seventh. In the third turn Condon ran over a large stone that threw off his balance and allowed Williams and Parks by. Parks moved by Williams in Seimic Crash Corner and looked like it would finish that way however Williams, who has been focusing on practicing Classic Luge, was able to get a run over the speed bump and win the heat by two feet. Bean crashed in Seismic Corner injuring his wrist.  He decided not to continue.

The Second heat started much like the first, Parks pulled into the lead at the first corner and held onto the lead to the finish. The battle of the heat was between Condon and Williams. Coming into Seismic Corner Williams used Condon to slow down and was able to pull past him coming to the finish.

The third heat would be the deciding race between Williams and Parks.  They both had a first and second place finish. Parks moved into the lead with Kounty Knights teammate Condon close behind.  Williams passed Condon in turn three and Parks in turn four. Parks got a run coming into Seismic Corner and made the pass gaining enough momentum to stay in the lead to the finish.