Kozakov 2015 qualifying day

Today was the first day of racing, timed racing that is. Riders were doing solo runs, to get a qualifying time, which determines their position in the final brackets. Due to the fact we have a total of 198 (!) riders in open, we will have 3 brackets, A, B and C. That means 14 riders didn't make the cut, which meant people actually had to ride hard to make it into a bracket.

The day started with a bit of clouds, but shortly after 9, we did the first run. As always the first one (often) takes the longest, so when we had the rhythm down, things went smoother and runs went faster.

The screen went up so riders could see their own quali times which made them only want to go faster. As the runs progressed, faster times were set. Everyone tried to shave of seconds to get a better time.

This track is without a doubt, the most gnarly (race) track of Europe, which often takes quite a few casualties. Luckily this year that was not the case and we only had one (serious) ambulance call which was for Nico Gallmann, who broke his leg. Let's hope he heals soon.

Top 10 open

1. Thiago Gomes Lessa - 2:19.833
2. Carlos Paixao - 2:20.721
3. Kevin Reimer - 2:20.988
4. Sebastian Hertler - 2:21.169
5. Max Ballesteros - 2:21.666
6. Jimmy Riha - 2:22.198
7. Tiago Mohr - 2:22.488
8. Quirin Ilmer - 2:22.574
9. Zak Maytum - 2:22.653
10. Adam Persson - 2:23.146

Top 5 women

1. Emily Pross - 2:26.608
2. Tamara Prader - 2:31.912
3. Marie Bougourd - 2:33.532
4. Cassandra Duchesne - 2:35.671
5. Rachel Bruskoff- 2:36.014

Top 5 juniors

1. Alex Charleson - 2:23.803
2. Pan Diemer - 2:25.441
3. Yanis Markarian - 2:26.047
4. Johannes Aalholm - 2:26.186
5. Jørund Bratset - 2:26.399

Top 5 street luge

1. Mikel Echegaray Diez - 2:15.927
2. Abdil Mahdzan - 2:17.038
3. George Cheeseman - 2:21.064
4. Olivier Gerling - 2:23.312
5. Kolby Parks - 2:23.504

Top 5 classic luge

1. Mikel Echegaray Diez - 2:19.571
2. Javier Serrano Molina - 2:24.249
3. Konstantin Weigl - 2:29.132
4. Davide Gabriele Longhin - 2:29.186
5. Olivier Gerling - 2:29.711

So tomorrow we begin with the C bracket. The top 4 riders of this bracket will make it into the B bracket, where the race will continue for them. The top 4 riders of the B bracket will make it into the final 64 on Saturday.

More updates about that tomorrow.

CORRECTION: Yanis is NOT a junior (anymore).