2008 U.S. Open - Vernon, NJ
Event Coverage:
2008 U.S. Open Event Review
Mens Podium
Steve Smith came away with a win this past weekend at the U.S. Open and walked away with $5000.00. Fionn Griffiths also walked away with $5,000.00 on the women's side. All of the fields this year were significantly harder as many more riders came selling out each class. For a full post-race report check inside.
Check the full report for a lot more info on the event and how it all went to down
Mens Finals - May 25, 2008
Steve Smith Wins the Pro Men's Class
Top 20 Pro Men and Women results (unofficial) and pictures here.
Slalom Finals
Cody Warren
Pro Men
- Jared Rando
- J.D. Swanguen
- Kyle Strait
- Bryn Atkinson
Pro Women
- Fionn Griffiths
- Kathy Pruitt
Day 2 Update - May 24, 2008
Sam Hill
Qualifications:
The qualifying results are in. (unofficial qualifying results). Sam Hill took the qualifying win and along with it a $1,000 bonus from Bravo for qualifying first. The course dried out significantly and rocks became more and more exposed.
Pro Men
- Sam Hill 2:39.996
- Andrew Neethling 2:42.243
- Steve Smith 2:42.86
- Bryn Atkinson 2:42.927
- Filip Polc 2:45.225
Day One Update - May 23, 2008
Brendan Fairclough
Conditions:
The weather started out chilly, windy, and cloudy but cleared up towards late morning. The course was a little greasy from rain during the week but mostly dried up as the day went on. The course has multiple ruts forming in a couple of areas. Most riders were not doing the Red Bull jump near the finish line due to the high winds and soft take off area.
Course Modifications:
There were several modifications made to the course since last year. Near the bottom once riders come out of the serpentine berm area next to the half pipe they have added a "road gap" but none were hitting it as it is essentially 2 soft dirt rollers right now.
The entry to the double step down has also changed by having riders ride a bit further down the straightaway before turning right. Riders take a smoother path to the first step down without any uphill or rocks to slow entry speeds.
Another notable change is near the top where the old rock wall ride was before the long off camber rock section. Here they have cut in a totally new rock section that is much faster than year's past which allows for a much better corner leading into the long off camber rock section. Another slight modification has been added near the big sweeping right hander before the S berms. They added a small jump to allow riders to transition to the downslope before the sweeping right.