NEWS BY EURO NEWSROOM

Pushing the Limits – Red Bull Gap Session 08.03.2008

Saturday evening’s Red Bull Gap Session saw 18 of the world’s best snowboarders take to the air in the Olympic Ski Arena in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (GER). A crowd of 7000 watched the snowboard matadors hit the 12 metre high kicker, landing a good 35 metres further down the jump on the 20 metre high downslope. Despite the riders pushing themselves to the absolute limit, the quest for a new airtime world record proved unsuccessful.

The three weeks leading up to the Gap Session had seen 350 lorry loads of snow delivered to shape the largest kicker in the history of snowboarding. Finally, after meticulous preparation work, Saturday night saw the riders finally get the chance to show their skills: reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h, the pros from 11 countries competing in the main event of the Red Bull Gap Session hit the massive kicker with a 40º take-off aiming to set a new airtime world record, pull the best trick, or even ride off with the prestigious title of best overall performance.

Swedish rider Chris Sörman was the stand-out of the evening. The 21-year-old grabbed the longest airtime crown with a 2.81 second flight and, as if that wasn’t enough, took the title for best overall performance as well. The German David Benedek secured the best trick award. “When I saw the kicker for the first time I had respect, now everyone respects me” commented overall winner Chris Sörman after taming the 20 metre high, 50 metre wide and 70 metre long landing in the final.

Cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd, experimentation and innovation were the order of the day in the historic Olympic Ski Arena in Garmisch. Despite pushing the limits, Christophe Schmidt’s world airtime record of 3.1 seconds set in 2006 remains unbeaten – at least until the next Red Bull Gap Session. “You simply can’t imagine how long 3.1 seconds in the air must feel. The kicker tonight has set new standards; it is just a shame that we couldn’t use it to set a new airtime world record - this time” commented Sörman. Airtime fans, watch this space...

Red Bull Gap Session 2008, Winner Longest Airtime: Chris Sörman (SWE/2.81 seconds); Best Trick: David Benedek (GER); Best Overall Performance: Chris Sörman (SWE)