Argonay, France- Scoot Smith (CAN) nearly crashed out in the final about 25 meters (75') from the finish line but was able to gather it back together to win The Graveyard Call World Cup.  He had to win it the hard way racing head to head and beating Adam Yates (AUS), Yvon Labarthe (SUI), James Kelly (USA), Patrick Switzer (CAN) and finally Mischo Erban in seperate two-man heat races.  It was the first win for the reigning IGSA World Champion of the 2009 season.

Erban had to overcome adversity to even make it into the race when he crashed during the warm up session and severely bent one of the hangers on his prototype trucks.  With no spares available and only minutes to spare before the start of the race, Mischo had no choice other than to crudely bend the axle back and hope it was reasonably straight.  After the race he revealed that his board was pulling to the right throughout the entire race and he felt very fortunate to finish second.
 

Nicolas Robert (SUI) surprised many with his outstanding run to third place.  Photo Bob Ozman

Number one qualifier Louis Pilloni suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of newcomer Nicolas Robert (SUI) in the Quarter Finals.  Pilloni wound up finishing sixth.  Robert qualified in the number eight position and beat Yohann Nortier (FRA), Stefan Ruefli (SUI), and Pilloni before losing to Erban in the Semi-Finals.  He then moved into the Consolation Final where he beat Patrick Switzer to earn third place.
 

It had been years since an IGSA World Cup race was run using the 2-man format.  The event is racing in its' purest form and created an epic batte among many of the world's best downhill skateboarders on the highly technical and narrow Argonay race course.  The organizers are already making plans for a bigger and better World Cup event in 2010.  It promises to be one of the can't miss races of the season.