Kevin Reimer on his way to winning the Graveyard Call. Photo Pierre GambyArgonay, France - Kevin Reimer continued his domination of the 2010 IGSA World Cup Series with a convincing win over Patrick Switzer in Saturday's Open Downhill Skateboarding Final. Reimer was unbeatable all day long in the head to head format on the most technically demanding course of the Series.
Louis Pilloni defeated his Sector 9 team mate Evren Ozan in the Consolation Final to secure third place. It was a day of upsets with many of the favorites going out in the early rounds.
The event had been hampered by rain on both Thursday and Friday. On Thursday only 88 of the 107 competitors entered in the class were able to make qualifying attempts before heavy rain came in and canceled the session. No Downhill Skateboard qualifying runs were made on Friday due to a series of rain showers that never let the track dry completely all day. Officials made the decision to finish the first qualifying run and then run a full second qualifying run on Saturday morning before the race.
With the first qualifying run finally complete it was Kevin Reimer on top with a 2:08.113. 2009 Junior World Champion Evren Ozan was second with a 2:08.672. Stefan Ruefli was third with a 2:09.484. Fourth was Christoph Batt with a 2:10.448. Chris Haller rounded out the top five with a 2:10.661. No one was able to beat Louis Pilloni's year old track record of 1:58.276.
The complete second qualifying run was held immediately after the first. Ozan came out on top and set a new track record in the process of 2:06.635. Reimer was second with a 2:06.955. Last years number one qualifier Louis Pilloni jumped up to third with a 2:07.369 after crashing on his first run. Patrick Switzer was fourth after his disqualfication on Thursday nearly left him a spectator for the weekend. Christoph Batt rounded out the top five with a 209.236.
Once qualifying was complete, the top 64 riders were placed into the head to head, dual bracket.
There were a number of early eliminations that suprised many. Among those were last years Graveyard Call winner Scoot Smith and runner up Mischo Erban in the first round. Jackson Shapiera who finished in second place at last weekends World Championships was also eliminated in the first round. Going out in the second round was Brazilian Douglas Silva and former Series Champion Erik Lundberg.
As the heats wore on it was very interesting to watch the world's best downhill skaters go up against each other in one on one duels. Finally the semi finals were reached and the number one, two three and four qualifiers were the last skaters left standing. In the first semi it was Reimer taking on Lundberg with Reimer coming out on top. The second was Ozan vs Switzer. Switzer kicked out in front as they left the line with Ozan hot on his tail. Ozan stalked him the entire way down but Switzer never made a mistake and went on to the Final.
In the Consolation Final it was a battle between the Sector Nime teammates. Lundberg won the battle to earn third place. The Final was epic with Reimer vs Switzer. Reimer kicked out first off the line with Switzer hot on his tail. As they negotiated the first hairpin Reimer and Switzer slid out. It was a mad push off the corner with Switzer coming out in front. Switzer led for a few more corners until he crashed off the road under the pressure of Reimer. At that point Reimer just cruised to the finish earning his second World Cup victory in a row and taking a commanding lead in the World Cup Series standings.
The World Cup Series will return next weekend to Teolo, Italy for the Padova Grand Prix. It's a really tight, technical course that will favor the skaters with slalom racing experience. We'll report all the action here beginning on Thursday evening.
The Graveyard Call
Final Results
1. Kevin Reimer, Canada
2. Patrick Switzer, Canada
3. Louis Pilloni, United States
4. Evren Ozan, United States
5. Stefan Rufli, Switzerland
6. James Kelly, United States
7. Ramon Konigshausen Ramon, Switzerland
8. Phillipe Dupuy France
9. Christoph Batt, Switzerland
10. Adam Persson, Sweden