It was Banked Slalom time again in LAAX! 300 riders of all ages gathered last weekend in LAAX for the 7th edition of the SuddenRush Banked Slalom. All of them, young and old, had to master the course with 23 banks as fast as possible. The action kicked off with the Master and Pro categories with a lot of well-known faces on the podium, among them Peter Bauer (GER), the Super Master, Josh Dirksen (USA), the Grand Master  and LAAX local Sina Candrian (SUI) as winners of the Pro category.

“It’s my first time at the Banked Slalom in LAAX. A smooth and well-built course. Fun but also intimidating. Awesome day and great organization!” 

- Josh Dirksen pointed out. On the second day it continued with the Open categories for men and women, traditionally the ones with the most participants, before the kids took over the course on Sunday.

On Saturday we saw the 2nd race day, the sun was shining, and the stoke-level was high. Over 100 women and men from the “Open” categories (aged 18-39) were dropping into the course with the goal to master it as best as possible. LAAX locals Tiziana Cassutt and Renato Nadig took the win. Right after that, the top riders of all categories were meeting once more for the “Fastest Race” to determine the fastest rider. Pro-snowboarders Chloe David (SUI) and Elias Elhardt (GER) – common with the LAAX Banked event and already winners in former editions – claimed the titles for them. Chloe described the course like this:

“For me the 2nd turn was the most difficult one to master to stay on course. The key part of the run was the middle section with the really fast little turns, you really needed to get your speed there.” Elias added: “The key section for me was the 3rd or 4th last bank, I had to take a little bit of speed out to make it through. The most fun part of the course were the narrow banks in the middle of the course, here you could really go full speed.”

The kids were in the spotlight on the third and final day. Around 70 boys and girls took in over the course in three divisions and truly impressed. The youngest rider dropping in was 4-years old Wincent Rembiewski, who got lots of applause for his courage. The enthusiasm and motivation of the little ones is indeed infectious!  The final highlight of this year’s edition was traditionally the Fakie Race, where riders enter the course switch. Sounds easy, but isn’t easy. Luca Kuppelwieser, Head of Snowparks LAAX, locked in the fastest time making fakie-riding look like the easiest thing in the world.
The event wrapped up with the last prize-giving of the weekend up on Crap Sogn Gion surrounded by a beautiful panorama. Happy kids, smiling parents and a stoked crowd of banked riders gathered to celebrate the end of a great weekend and to watch former pro riders Peter Bauer, Fabien Rohrer and Max Plötzeneder handing out the handmade trophies to the proud boys and girls. Fabien pointed out:

“My contest time is over since quite some years now, for my son Jeremy the Banked Slalom is his first-ever snowboard competition. For me this is the perfect event to give him an understanding of the true spirit of snowboarding.“

Thanks so much to the Laax resort to make this happen and let the spirit of snowboarding blossom.

Information & Results
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