Today was one of Kozakov's strangest qualifying days... there were no times taken; just pure racing in one of the largest games of Round-Robin. This type of qualifying required each participant to race in three heats of four racers. They receive points based on their finishing position, which are added up to calculate their qualifying position. Of the 165 Open Skateboard and 18 Luge racers, there were 29 racers who won all of their round-robin heats. Tiebreakers were decided by last year's overall rankings, giving top racers and world tour chasers top placement.
Emily Pross, US, earned MAD bragging rights today, as well as the top spot and pole position for the Open Skateboard and Women's bracket (call her Two Chains). The 4x Women's World Champion won every heat she raced! Among the 29 racers who won all of their heats, her 2018 5th-place overall ranking makes her the top qualifier at Kozkoav 2019!
Round-robin was chosen in response to a sad case of stolen luggage and timing equipment. We're not sure what the airline plans to do with 100 transponders, but we have high hopes for a solution before Vulcan World Cup.
You can view all the race-to-qualify brackets here.
Other racers who won all of their heats and will earn top placements for A bracket, Open Skateboard racing at Kozakov 2019 include:
Shannon Tully, AU, won three rounds of racing to qualify among the worlds best at his first Kozakov. Tristan Cardillo, CH, (the only rider in attendance from last years' finals) was looking incredibly fast and undefeated on track all day.
Lyde Begue, FR, and Lisa Peters, NL, are looking extremely clean on the track. Will either of these women run the Women's bracket, along with Emily?
Of the 18 Lugers in attendance, Abdil Mahdzan, MY, Martin Witzigmann, DE, and Mikel Echegaray-Diez, ES, won all three race-to-qualify heats. Abdil's overall ranking of 3rd in 2018 earned him this year's top qualifying spot and pole position at Kozakov 2019!
Young Gun Nick Broms has shown his face here at Kozakov where he won every heat he raced in BOTH Opens and Juniors skateboard categories, continuing to be a must-watch racer this season. Grégoire Shwab, CH, earned the 2nd position for the Junior category and has been looking impressive on track with fantastic, clean racing.
The top seven finishers from B Bracket will make their way into A Bracket on Saturday. Stay tuned into the Brackets, Instagram, and Facebook for up-to-date information in regards to daily activities.
