Szymon Godziek rules victorious at the 9th edition of White Style. Swiftly followed by two Brits, Matt Jones in second and Daryl Brown in third. Next to the massive slopestyle course built from snow, spectators let it rip on the ski slope during The Big (Shr)ED – Fat Bike Battle. An amazing firework show rounded off the winter's evening in Leogang with a bang!
Still in his prime, the Polish athlete Szymon Godziek takes the first podium of the 2015 season in Leogang. His winning run was full of variety, technical tricks and big bangers. Highlights included a smooth tailwhip, backflip barspin, frontflip, a sweet truckdriver off the boner log and big backflip tailwhip to finish. "I am so happy! I have been skiing so much recently I haven't had the time to practice a lot but the course was great and I felt good. This is the best start to 2015 FMB season for me." Always on the run – Szymon is now quickly heading back to Poland to celebrate his win (and valentines day) with his fiancé.
Right on Szymon's heals was freshly anointed Red Bull athlete, Matt Jones from Great Britain. Matt dominated training and qualified first before the finals but just couldn't quite bring it home in the finals. His run featured a slick 360 and technical 360 tailwhip, backflip tailwhip, truckdriver off the boner log and a huge backflip superman. If White Style is a sign of what's to come – then Matt Jones should have an exciting season ahead of him. Staying positive, Matt is happy with his second place result: "I am smelling of champagne, so life is not bad!"
Finishing his last season with a win at FISE China, Daryl Brown starts his 2015 season with a third place at White Style. Maybe this is the start of something prosperous for the British rider. Sadly, he did not show off his signature one-hand superman seatgrab, but he did give the crowd an opposite truckdriver and huge backflip tuck no-hand to cheer for.
Here is the top ten ranking of White Style 2015:
1. Godziek, Szymon
2. Jones, Matt
3. Brown, Daryl
4. Knopf, Lukas
5. Scholze, Nico
6. Vencl, Jakub
7. Testa, Torquato
8. Gani, Mehdi
9. Walenta, Eric
10. Tell, Adrian
Between the White Style qualifying and finals, spectators could take part in a fun fat bike dual slalom race. The Big (Shr)ED – Fat Bike Battle was a huge success and really engaged with the fans – keeping them warm and energized while the athletes prepared for the big finale just next door. One White Style rider in particular may not have been on the podium but certainly has a reason to celebrate. French rider Mehdi Gani celebrated his 26th birthday today in Leogang. After qualifying, everyone gathered to wish him a happy birthday and a great 2015 season.
Perfect! That's how event host Kornel Grundner from Bikepark Leogang summed up this year's White Style. "Two thousand people came out to brave the winter and watch 20 riders from 11 nations perform spectacular tricks in Leogang. Perfect tricks, perfect course, great fans and spectacular riding made for an electric atmosphere and the perfect event. White Style was simply perfect!"
Further information can be found here: bike.saalfelden-leogang.com/en
All the White Style 2015 news can be found on the official Facebook fanpage: www.facebook.com/White.Style.Leogang