The water hit the Whistler mountains like a tsunami as the IDF World Cup roadshow rolled into town. Rain wheels were the order of the day as qualification began in almost perfect BC conditions as local competitor Charlie "The Big Lean" Darragh overcame a tough field of elite riders to claim the number 1 spot in tomorrows final of the Landyachtz Whistler World Cup with a qualification time of 1:58.527. He overcame tough competition in brutal conditions from Landyachtz rider Dillon Stephens (1:58.984) who battled all day with Darragh for top spot.
As the track got wetter the competition heated up with Danny Carlson (1:59.621) shooting up the leaderboard late in the day with Riley Harris (1:59.781) hot on his tail. Former Junior WLF Champion and local Flatlander Alex Hannigan showed why he moved off the ranch and headed to the west coast by rounding out the top 5 in a time of 2:00.435.
Emily Pross from the United States continues to dominate the Womens division showing real class in the wet in a time of 2:05.749 to take top spot in tomorrows finals. Canadian Victoria Waddington (2:12.002) took second from last weeks Pikes Peak winner Rachel Bruskoff with fellow American rider Caitlin Yong (2:21.023) and Amie Sheppard in 2:28.793 completing the top 5
Carrying his form through from last weeks Pikes Peak event Vancouver local Alex Charleson took top spot in the Juniors with a time of 2:01.391 from American rivals Ed Kiefer (2:02.269) and Michal Cihlar who posted a time of 2:02.345 to move up into 3rd late in the Day. Tyron Knight of Australia took 4th in 2:02.875 before Leo Sartor (2:03.019) made a late charge to take 5th.
Photo Matt McDonald
In the Street Luge Frank Williams (2:07.733) won the early battle with Chris McBride (2:13.211) to take the top qualifying spot with Jan Moisanen (2:21.531) completing the top 3. In the Classic Luge Frank Williams (2:08:635) was edged out of the double by New Zealander Api Ihaia (2:04.057) which should create a tough battle in tomorrows final. Jan Moisanen again took 3rd in 2:22.885 from American Chris Mcbride in 4th with 2:22.906 to make for an interesting battle for the classic luge crown.
Tomorrows final is again shaping up to be a wet one but with a massive 13 qualifying runs completed today most riders have come to terms with the conditions at the Whistler Sliding Center and should see some classic battles and unorthodox tactics decide who will become the Landyachtz Longboards Whistler World Cup winner.
A big shout out to Matt McDonald from DB Longboards for providing the images for this story.
