Event

Patrick L. Lombardi wins Red Bull No Paws Down 2018 at KnK Longboard Camp

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The KnK Longboard Camp 2018 presented by KebbeK Skateboards has always been a gathering place for freeriders, but an added element of racing was bound to make its mark at the event. The Red Bull No Paws Down challenge is a highlight at the end of week one where racers are competing to win 1000 Euros. The only catch is, they can’t touch the ground with their hand for the full 18 hairpin course.

After a week of practicing on the Bear’s Guts track riders were ready. Last years champion & ROCKET Longboards Dominic Schenk felt that he had already achieved his life goal in winning the Red Bull No Paws Down and was happy to MC the race from the corner 8 with Joey Bidner, Brand manager for KebbeK Skateboards. He was sure that the winner would either be Dave Süess or Patrick L Lombardi.

However, there were wild cards in the mix as well. Oscar Rodriguez from Spain was very nimble but always on the edge while Ian Freire, Alternative Longboards rider Jan Izquierdo and Brandon DesJarlais all had a shot at winning. With Ian Freire making an early exit in the quarters and Oscar Rodriguez losing out in the semi-finals we were down to only Dave Süess, Patrick Lombardi, Brandon Desjarlais and Jan Izquierdo.

Brandon Desjarlais takes us through the finals: I got off the line quickly and was around 20 metres ahead by the first corner. Patrick was reeling me in and passed me right before the second corner. Between corner 3 and 4 I really started to gain on Patrick, but I messed up in corner 4 and by this point knew Patrick would win, he kept a confident lead on me and had grippier wheels. Jan was always behind me pressuring me, I had to play defence to fight for second place. Dave tried to make a move on Jan in corner 5 but washed out and put his puck down. At the end of the day it’s whether you ride grippy wheels and risk losing control or freeride wheels and be consistent. I ended the final with Jan just a metre behind me and Patrick cleanly out front.

The party place at KnK Longboard Camp gradually ramps up throughout the week to an apex of the KebbeK  Wheel of Misfortune on Friday night. Joey Bidner and Maxwell Kaye were your terrible hosts, taping boards to riders and handing out beer bongs with exotic ingredients. A delighted crowd looked on as riders are rewarded for their valiant efforts. Brandon Fanthome ate a whole garlic covered in Tabasco sauce to win a board, describing it as one of the worst experiences of his life.

After such a hectic week of KnK Longboard Camp 2018  Week #1, the crew is taking a break before Week #2. Hay bales are being replaced and the bar is being re-stocked. Thank you to all the riders for joining us for KnK Longboard Camp Week #1 and if you are heading to Week #2 then get excited, it’s going to be awesome.

Photography: Duck Vader (Dasha)

KnK Longboard Camp 2018 is presented by KebbeK Skateboards and organised by Longboard Magazine with additional support from these fine companies:

Sickboardshop @ https://www.sickboards.nl
ROCKET Longboards @ https://rocketlongboards.ch
Bam Bam Skate @ https://www.bambamskate.com
Sk8bites @ https://www.sk8bites.it/en/
Fibretec Skateboards @ https://www.fibretec.ch
Original Skateboards @ https://originalskateboards.com
Alkemist Longboard @ https://alklongboard.com/en/
Remember Collective @ https://remembercollective.com
Alternative Longboards @ https://alternativelongboards.com
Olson&Hekmati @ https://olsonhekmati.de
Long Island @ https://longislandlongboards.com
Madrid Skateboards @ https://www.madridskateboards.com
Orangatang Wheels @ https://orangatangwheels.com
LUCA longboards @ https://www.lucalongboards.com

Cheese Valley Freeride

Cheese Valley Freeride is back!

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The two day Cheese Valley Freeride will take place from the 16th – 17th of September, 2017. It will be held in the same small village called Konolfingen, Switzerland, as in 2015.

Cheese Valley Freeride 2017

However, this year Roland Trachsel is not alone. With the help of his wife Anni Trachsel, Danilo Porto, Alex Weijnman, Christoph Batt, Philipp Amann, Marcel Isler, and Dominic Schenk, the event will bring back the same unique experience in the heart of the cheese country.

The track

Eighty riders will skate down a 2 km long track with a top speed of 80 km/h. It is appropriate for both beginners and advanced riders and meant for everyone who loves skateboarding. From the local community, to skaters passing by who want to join the freeride, everyone is welcome.

Here is what Roland had to say about the 2017 Cheese Valley Freeride:

It’s a cool road for beginners and advanced riders. The surrounding beautiful landscape and staying in the middle of a horse farm with tipi tents and a campfire is a great way to meet the local skate family. The longboard community is really important to us.

Although the track is not skateable throughout the year, because it is located between farm lands, the surrounding green pastures offer a pleasant environment during the freeride.

Accommodation

The campsite is located on the top of the track, close to the start, where skaters will be able to find a perfect spot to sleep in their own tent or in a tipi tent located right next to the party tent.

Moreover, the campsite also has horses, pony’s, goats and pigs, some of which you can also pet. This is also a great feature not just for adults, but also families with young children.

The campsite also has a restaurant, a place for camp fires as well as toilettes and showers. In addition, there is also enough room for parking your car or a camper.

The crew will take care of the evening entertainment with a DJ, photo projections and an auction where you can get new skate gear cheaper.

Registration info

The registration is set to start in the beginning of July, 2017 via the Cheese Valley Freeride website. Although, the website is currently offline, you can follow the event on their Facebook event page for all the latest information.

Furthermore, with a registration fee at around 140 Swiss Franks, you not only get a place to skate and relax, but also two meals per day for both days of the freeride.

Finally, check out the video the crew made to help prepare you for the event:

Transylvania Downhill by Devastation Longboard Crew

Transylvania Downhill 2017 by Devastation Longboard Crew

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The Devastation Longboard Crew published their 2017 event calendar. The organisers of the Transylvania Downhill event in Romania decided on the new dates for the upcoming year and two other events, Transylvania Freeride and Cinics Skate.

Kyle Wester’s downhill skateboarding speed record announced just a day before L’Ultime Decscent

Kyle Wester’s speed record of 143.89 kph announced just a day before L’Ultime Descente

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Just as the L’Ultime Descente race is about to happen tomorrow to set the new world record for various downhill disciplines, Santa Cruz Skateboards and Kyle Wester announced Kyle’s successful attempt to break the downhill skateboarding record by reaching the speed of 143.89 kph (89.41 mph).

I’m still trying to comprehend this because of the massive 13 kph difference from the previous record set by Erik Lundberg being 130.63 kph in Les Eboulements. I guess it’s hard to imagine matching that speed as the L’Ultime Descente track is only 1 km long and the top speed for downhill skateboarding stand-up is around 130 kph+.

The location of the road where Kyle did his run is unknown to the general public.

Check out the speed suit!

What is known and you can see in the video (or see the screenshots below) is that Kyle used some kind of a special speed suit he developed in order to be as aerodynamic as possible and to be able to achieve the maximum speed.

Previous speed records

Erik Lundberg set a world record (WGSA) in Les Eboulements (Canada), documented by Red Bull in May 2016. His descent was measured at 130.63 kph and with going faster by just 0.55 kph, he managed to beat Mischo Erban‘s record of 130.08 kph, witnessed back in 2010 on a road in Colorado, USA.

But Erik Lundberg’s speed record is not safe anymore, due to a new three-day event happening tomorrow, where 100 downhill skateboarders will try to beat it.

L’Ultime Descente, World Speed Record 2016

Until now setting new speed records was kind of a private endeavor with just the athlete and officials recording the stunts and preparing the documentation required to obtain the title.

L’Ultime Descente welcomes locals and visitors to Les Eboulements to witness top line downhill skateboarders, street luge skaters, in-line skaters, and soapbox 2.0 drivers, descending down this legendary road.

The event will take place this weekend, from September 9th till 11th. During the time of the event, the road will be closed for traffic every thirty minutes, where riders will be able to do their run from 8 am to 18 pm.  For more info follow their Facebook event page here.

L'Ultime Descente 2016

So far we haven’t noticed any public riders list, but we’ve done some research and Erik Lundberg is flying in to hold his record, as well as Max Ballesteros, Pete Connolly, Emily Pross, Adam Persson, and Mauritz Armfelt, just to name a few…

To give you a taste of the drop, here’s a photo showing the top speed section.

Route du Port in Les Éboulements. Photo by Norman Richard via Panoramio.
Route du Port in Les Éboulements. Photo by Norman Richard via Panoramio.

UPDATE: Pete Connolly in the Guinness World Records as the fastest downhill skateboarder

In 2018 Pete Connolly, the fastest downhill skateboarder in the ”stand-up skateboard” category at L’Ultime Descente, got his record confirmed by the Guinness World Records, making his mark in the history of downhill skateboarding.