Sebastian Hertler (Germany) showed the world he means business by taking top spot in the final run of qualifying at Tarma in the Open Skateboard in a time of 3:04.152 to scrape past Kevin Reimer (Canada) 3:04.387 while Malaysian Abdil Mahdzan set the overall track record in a time of 2:59.723 in the Street Luge over David Dean (USA) 3:01.547.
The Copa Valle del Downhill IDF World Cup at Tarmatambo, Peru started with a traditional Inca ceremonial welcome with the Mayor of Tarma and the national TV media. The first two days were attended by a big local crowd hungry for the international sport that is the IDF World Cup Series; riders were mobbed by locals, signing autographs and having their pictures taken with the local kids who have been waiting an entire year for the world's top riders to descend on Tarma for a weekend of racing. Bricin "Striker" Lyons kept the crowd entertained with his new found Spanish abilities giving the crowd a taste of the gringo Loco and loving every minute of it.
The qualifying day got off the an electric start with Kevin Reimer (Canada) throwing down a time of 3:04.387 in his first run to break the Skateboard track record at Tarma by 2 seconds only to find defending champion Kyle Wester (USA) hot on his tail at 3:04.71 with former champ Dillon Stephens (Canada) coming in at 3:04.85. As the wind dropped later in the day the track quickened and the German Sebastian Hertler tucked corners he was drifting earlier and nailed the final right hander to become the top seed (3:04.152) for the championship event tomorrow.
The Women's was a familiar story with in-form Marie Bouguord (France) taking top spot at 3:14.78 from Melissa Brogni Da Luz (Brazil) 3:21.13 with fellow Brazilian and Morro Solar winner Georgia Bontorin at 3:22.14. Peruvian Rodrigo Zuzunaga continued his hot streak to roll in as top seed in the Juniors at 3:09.10 from countryman Wilder Mendoza 3:15.18 who edged out Raphael Harada 3:15.91.
Tomorrow is promising to be a major tussle between the world's best riders and multiple former Tarma champions with both Kevin Reimer and Sebastian Hertler looking for their first win in Tarma. The crowd will be 10 deep on the final corner as Bricin Lyons works them into a downhill frenzy to find out who will be crowned champion of the Central Andes and the winner of the 2014 Tarma IDF World Cup.
Open Top 20
- Sebastian Hertler - 3:04.15
- Kevin Reimer - 3:04.39
- Kyle Wester - 3:04.71
- Dillon Stephens - 3:04.85
- James Kelly - 3:04.98
- Diego Alemparte - 3:05.68
- Alex Tongue - 3:05.76
- Matias Eduardo - 3:05.86
- Santiago Gonzalez Salaberry - 3:06.18
- Robert Mcwhinnie - 3:06.39
- Gustavo Paredes Mena - 3:06.71
- Luca Dragone - 3:06.84
- Cristian Bovetti - 3:06.95
- Byron Essert - 3:06.95
- Yan Bertinati - 3:08.21
- Pedro Frangulis - 3:08.46
- Tyler Howell - 3:08.46
- Brian Sandoval - 3:08.57
- Marco Arroyo Torres - 3:08.96
- Rodrigo Zuzunaga - 3:09.10
Women Top 10
- Marie Bougourd - 3:14.78
- Melissa Brogni Da Luz - 3:21.13
- Georgia Bontorin - 3:22.14
- Marcela Giraldo Vanegas - 3:22.72
- Jenny Salazar - 3:25.13
- Magaly Mcwhinnie - 3:25.69
- Giorginna Ivanov - 3:27.86
- Valeria Sedano - 3:28.73
- Magdalena Blanc - 3:29.32
- Fiorella Conroy - 4:03.18
Juniors Top 10
- Rodrigo Zuzunaga - 3:09.10
- Wilder Mendoza - 3:15.47
- Raphael Harada - 3:15.91
- Luis Rabanal - 3:16.24
- Cesar Morales - 3:16.40
- Roy Balvin Sierra - 3:17.42
- Christian Garcia - 3:18.06
- Ignacio Medina v3:18.32
- Renzo Ruidias - 3:18.43
- Walter Gutierrez - 3:20.93
Street luge Top 3
- Abdil Mahdzan - 2:59.72
- David Dean - 3:01.55
- Javier Trujillo - 3:13.38
Classic luge
Luis Mogrovejo - 3:15.13
