This past weekend the Bald E-Gal cup was held at Powder Ridge, MN. After an all night park build with the Powder Ridge Terrain Park Crew the stage was set, but was the weather? Last year Mother Nature gave us a blizzard. This year she was calling for -5 degree wind-chill. Wait wait wait, I thought this was a pre-season event? Luckily the weather seemed to hold up with sunny sky's and a gust of wind here and there. With the weather seeming to be on our side and a solid new set up the Cup was ready to go off.
This event is based on the idea of getting the season started with some new park features and to shake that off season rust away. As soon as the 14 and under age group dropped in you could see there was no rust in sight. It is amazing to see what talent is in this age group. Don't count these kids as the sleeper division. They are hungry and talented. With solid style and a bag full of tricks Drew Poganski locked up 1st, Luke Merton 2nd, and Tim Konz 3rd.
Rider: Shane Ruprecht: Tail Press
Photo: David Chabowski
Next, the ladies took to center stage. We have seen a solid group of girls that make the drive out to Ridge year after year to compete and have a good time. Its always fun as a judge and watch the gals division. Instead of angry remarks and disgust, we trade up for laughter and smiles on the competitor’s faces. A lighter hearted face does not mean lighter hearted competition. I saw girls throwing down fb/pretzel out, stepping up to the big down flat down, and getting steezy all over the place. At the end of the battle Kristi Morvek came in 1st, Celena Fehlan 2nd, and Sara Winger 3rd.
Rider: Scott Baker: Front Blunt
Photo: David Chabowski
The 15 and up riders couldn't wait to get their division underway. These kids would not take a break the entire day. Riding through was the norm, which had the judge’s heads spinning. There were definitely some heavy hitters in this age bracket. Some might say they need to step up to the open class the next go around.....myself included. These guys made the down flat down rail look like a peace of cake throwing down anything and everything, while going in for the kill on the latter sections of the course. When the dust settled and everything cleared Brent Mohs secured 1st, Mike Phillips 2nd, and Will Steichen 3rd.
Rider: Brandon Larson: Front Board down and through the kink
Photo: David Chabowski
Now it was time for the showcase showdown, we added the top 5+ riders in each age division to ride with the big dudes in the Open Class for a "finals" heat. This was their time to really shine and battle it out for the top spots. Logistically this was the easiest part of the contest to judge. With mad trickery going down on all obstacles it was a fun spectacle to take in. There must be no off-season for these guys. Tricks and style keep getting better regardless what part of the season. We saw fs 270 board 270 out on the big rail, hard way bs 360 to 50/50 on the down, and a hand full of stylee tricks on the pole jam to box obstacle. The age groups riding for the top spots broke down as above while the open class ended up with Brandon Larson in 1st, Randy Vannurden 2nd, and Shane Ruprecht rounding out the field in 3rd. It came down to small margins to pick the top spots which leaves us with a couple honorable mentions of Jordan Michilot, Mike Casanova, Burton's RP, and all the other guy's that killed it out there.
It was great to see everyone that came out to the event and rode hard the entire day. We defiantly saw some new faces stepping up their game. It wont be long before we see them fending for the top stops. Special thanks to Tanner, Jimmy, Reese from the Terrain Park Crew, Jerry, Lane, and Becky from PR staff, and Cory Schnieder, Mike Thienes, Mike Pettit, and Melissa Ruebl for helping out the YSS. Also special thanks to Bob @ Burton, Steve @ Forum, Nik @ Signal, and everyone else that kicked in extra loot for the kids!
-Brando
