Mount Washington, British Columbia (June 4, 2007)—More than 20 of the world’s best riders have signed on to compete in the second Bearclaw Invitational slopestyle contest. The event, organized by one of the discipline’s most dominant athletes, Darren Berrecloth, promises to be a wild ride, a competition that not only will impress the crowds, but help propel the sport forward.
“Our sport is one of the most dangerous and risky of the extreme sports genre and I feel that the riders deserve better courses and higher prize purses,” Berrecloth said. “That’s why I’m doing this.”
Claw is working on putting together a rich prize purse for the riders and making the event as rider friendly as possible. Instead of a full weekend for qualifying and the finals, the Bearclaw Invitational will stage all the action in one day. Competitors get two runs, and the best will count. “It’s good for the crowd and less stress on the riders that way,” Berrecloth said.
The event will be held at Mount Washington on Vancouver Island. Mount Washington is Berrecloth’s local resort and offers one of the best bike parks in British Columbia. Noted for its steep terrain and epic dirt, the resort was a perfect choice to host the contest. “This will be a rider-built course on one of the most perfect slopes with the best dirt I’ve ever seen on a mountain,” Berrecloth said.
This year, Berrecloth and Mount Washington partnered with Bike Magazine on the event, which has ran the successful Monster Park slopestyle contest. “It made perfect sense to partner with Darren,” said Lou Mazzante, Bike’s editor. “We have ton of respect for him and want to support his efforts to make a truly rider-friendly contest. That’s exactly the idea behind Monster Park, and it made sense to combine our events, rather than compete against one another.”
In addition to the main contest, there will be a step-up competition as well as music, food and a huge Kokanee beer garden set up next to the course. Practice begins on Thursday, August 2, with the finals set for Saturday, August 4.
To date, the list of invited riders includes: Jordie Lunn, Ryder Kasprick, Benny Korthaus, Jamie Goldman, Cam McCaul, Ben Boyko, Geoff Gulevich, Cam Zink, Kyle Strait, Paul Basagoitia, Trond Hansen, Andreu Lacondeguy, Lluis Lacondeguy, Lance McDermott, Grant Fielder, Eric Porter, Thomas Vanderham, Ross McMaster, Alex Pro, Brandon Semenuk, Ryan Berrecloth, Wayne Goss, Kurt Sorge
For updates and results, check out www.bikemag.com; for information on Mount Washington’s bike park, visit www.bike.mountwashington.ca
Contact:
Brent Curtain
PR and Promotions
Mount Washington Alpine Resort
250-334-5702
pr@mountwashington.com
-or-
Scott Kendall
Marketing Coordinator
Bike Magazine
949-661-5163
scott@bikemag.com
