Dit weekend wordt in Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia de “Bike Magazine Monster Park Slopestyle Invitational” gehouden. Een hele lange naam voor een evenement wat alweer voor het derde jaar wordt gehouden. De afgelopen twee jaar won Darren Berrecloth. Kan hij dat dit jaar weer herhalen? Zaterdag zijn de qualificaties en zondag worden de finales verreden.

Can Berrecloth 3-Peat at Snowshoe?

DANA POINT, Calif.—(August 14, 2006) Those rumblings in the woods are the sounds of the monsters of slopestyle descending on Snowshoe Mountain Resort in West Virginia for the third-annual Bike Magazine Monster Park Slopestyle Invitational. The event, which kicks off August 18, promises to be the biggest slopestyle contest in the United States with 25 of the world’s top competitors ready to roar.

The world-class field of riders includes two-time champion Darren Berrecloth, Paul Basagoitia, teenage ripper Ryder Kasprick as well as Jamie Goldman, European phenom Carlo Dieckmann and Cam McCaul who is fresh off a victory at the Red Bull District Ride in Germany and a second place finish at Crankworx.

To challenge the riders, course designer Ted Tempany has spent more than 45 days with the skilled crew at the Snowshoe Mountain Bike Park to construct one of the most progressive courses to date. From drops to gaps to satellites to wall rides and a four-pack of dirt jumps, the course has it all.

The action starts Friday, August 18, with a practice day for the riders. On Saturday, a qualifying event will narrow the field from 25 to the final 12. Later that night is the Nike 6.0 Jump Jam, followed by a rider autograph session. Finals begin Sunday at noon, where riders will send it large, chasing a $10,000 prize purse.

Slopestyle contests are springing up across the globe, but Monster Park is the only rider-judged event, meaning the very same competitors who will test their skills on the course will judge their fellow riders. In the past, this peer-judged format has led to dramatic and progressive riding that thrills the thousands of fans lining the course. For huge 360s, to 20-foot drops, to backflips, to flipwhips, to huge 50-foot airs, Monster Park has become the venue for the sport’s best riding.

Check out the Bike Magazine Monster Park site for rider profiles, 2005 video highlights, 2006 course construction updates, and everything you need.

Special thanks to Monster Park’s sponsors: Red Bull, Amp’d Mobile, Nike 6.0, Fox Racing Shox, Kona, Lizard Skins, Viosport, Maxxis Tires, and Lyte ‘N Go.