Peyragudes, France- It was a beautiful, crisp morning in the Pyrenees Mountains of Southern France. Friday’s rain and heavy fog gave way to sunny skies and a temperature of 15C. Everyone was stoked for a beautiful day of racing.
First up in the morning was the Inline Board (Dirtsurfer) Race. Their race was comprised of three heat races. In the end Nihat Uysal (TUR) was the winner with Andreas Pfister (GER) finishing second. Sebastian Bassler (GER) finished third.
Luginbuhl is victorious in the Women's Downhill
Dasha Kornienko crosses the finish line ahead of Luginbuhl to win the second heat. Photo Marcus Rietema
In the second heat it was Kornienko taking the win with Luginbuhl finishing second, Gemperle third and Verena Volkl (GER) in fourth. Kristina Engstrand did not finish the run when she crashed because her wheel fell off in the second hairpin! She was credited with fifth place points for the heat.
This set up a big third and final heat to determine the winner. Bettina the two-time World Champion and Dasha were tied for first with one win each. Rebekka and Kristina were also tied for third with one win each. It was a tough race with Bettina managing to pull out a slight lead by the finish to earn the win with Dasha a close second. Rebekka and Kristina had an equally tough battle that saw Rebekka finish third in the heat and third place overall.
Street Luge was up next. In the first two rounds, number one qualifier Mikel Echegaray Diez (ESP) won his heats easily. The other top qualifiers including Yvon Labarthe (SUI), Peter Eliot (GBR), Olivier Wagner (SUI), Clement Peyrusaubes (FRA), and Miquel Jan Tarradas (ESP) all advanced through the first and second rounds to earn a spot in the Semi-Finals. The only upset in the first two rounds occurred when number seven qualifier Nicolas Filiatre had an incident and finished fourth in his first round heat.
This set up the two semi final heats. In the first it was Diez, Tarradas, Wagner and Peyrusaubes. Number one qualifier Diez continued to ride perfectly to earn a place in the final along with 2002 World Champion Olivier Wagner. Peyrusaubes and Tarradas finished in third and fourth respectively dropping them into the Consolation Final.
In the Second Semi-Final it was Eliot, Robert, Labarthe and the number 15 qualifier Craig Deltour (FRA). Eliot won the heat with Labarthe finishing second enabling both riders to advance to the finals. Robert finished third and Deltour fourth moving them into the Consi.
The Consolation final to determine fifth through eighth place was comprised of Peyrusaubes, Tarradas, Robert and Deltour. Peyrusaubes, earned the win and fifth place. Robert finished in second, Tarradas in third and Deltour fourth.
The Final was comprised of Diez, Labarthe, Eliot and Wagner, the number one, two, three and four qualifiers respectively. Labarthe used his extensive experience to earn the win. Although he tried valiantly, the less experienced Diez was no match and he had to settle for second. Pete Eliot finished in third to grab the final podium spot.
The morning of racing was exciting and everyone was looking forward to the Lemans style start of the Classic Luge race and of course the Downhill Skateboarding final after lunch.