Pushing the boundaries of slopestyle mountain biking once again, Red Bull Joyride descended the Whistler Mountain Bike Park today as the exhilarating, gravity-defying anchor event of the Crankworx Whistler Festival. Big tricks and plenty of clean runs blew the judges away, but it was 22 year-old Brandon Semenuk of Whistler, BC who reclaimed the podium''s top step after his first win in 2011 with the highest score ever recorded at this event and a cool $25,000. Martin Söderström of Sweden took second place, followed in third by Sam Pilgrim of the UK.

"After the fall on my first run, it was a bit of a flashback to 2011 and 2010 having bailed on the same trick.  I was able to regroup and shake the nerves going into my second run and that really paid off.  Being back in my hometown in front of my friends and family, I wanted to put together the best run I could possibly think off and get the win at home." - Brandon Semenuk

This year''s brand new course design fused together elements of dirt jumping, slopestyle and classic North Shore mountain biking.  Eighteen of the world''s best athletes held nothing back in front of a high energy crowd of more than 25,000 spectators, one of the largest turnouts for a single event in Whistler''s history. As the sun broke through the clouds, it was a rider''s slopestyle paradise as competitors threw down massive tricks and some unique lines on one of the longest slopestyle courses ever built, with twelve trickable features.  "This year was definitely the best Joyride course yet, flowing really well and was lots of fun to ride" said Semenuk.  "The features were a good size but not so big that you couldn''t do your biggest tricks". The course catered more to technical riders than speed demons, allowing more time to set up for tricks and complete plenty of runs from top to bottom.

THE EVOLUTION OF SLOPESTYLE

Each year at Red Bull Joyride, the level of talent continues to grow as slopestyle mountain biking evolves into one of the fastest growing mountain bike disciplines in the world.  Brandon Semenuk''s second run set the bar for the day''s event as the cleanest and most technical, earning him the highest score in Red Bull Joyride history.  Martin Söderström threw down a clean triple tailwhip in the middle of his second run, the only rider to attempt it on the course.  Brandon Semenuk and Sam Pilgrim both backflipped off the Red Bull Joyride cabin, a significant trick that very few riders are able to do.  Thousands of spectators couldn''t shake the nerves of even the youngest competitors, including 19 year old Anton Thelander of Sweden who walked away with the events Breakout Award.   "The feeling of being selected for the Breakout Award is really insane... I didn''t expect to be in that position" said Thelander.

RED BULL JOYRIDE RESULTS

First Place: Brandon Semenuk, Canada

Second Place: Martin Söderström, Sweden

Third Place: Sam Pilgrim, United Kingdom

Breakout Award: Anton Thelander, Sweden