The CUT Slopestyle, Round #2 Ilmenau Germany!
22 May 2006 | By billy1979
The rain came down, but it certainly didn't dampen the spirits of all those attending Round #2 of the CUT Slopestyle! Ilmenau Germany played host to this weekend's Cut Pro/Am slopestyle series and what a slopestyle it was.
For all 50 pre-registered riders, the course on Sunday was "extremely technical and steep with big drops, which seemed to favor the riders on big mountain freeride bikes and with DH racing skills." explained CUT pro rider George Ryan.
Cut rider and German local Carlo Dieckmann came into the evernt looking to repeat his victory he had last week in Winterberg but in practice he took a hard fall and chose to sit out the competition. Fellow CUT rider, George Ryan, who qualified a strong fourth place, crashed hard in the finals, but that did not stop Ryan from pulling impressive back flips and stylie 360's on the biggest jumps in the course.
The Pro competition was strong with Amir Kabbani from Boppard, Germany taking top honors on his Prophet MX. "Amir has been getting hooked up this season by Cannondale with a grassroots deal. It is nice to see a kid like him step it up and take out all the big names at the event," said CUT manager Don Hampton.
Not far behind Kabbani was Jan Stoetzer taking 2nd place and CUT pro rider Christopher Hatton placing 3rd. With his 2nd place finish at Winterberg and his 3rd place finish this weekend, Hatton earned a spot into the coveted Red Bull District Ride in Catania, Italy. "Winning the invite to the Red Bull District Ride was my goal coming into the CUt series, I am super stoked." explained Hatton. So are we Chris!
In the amateur class it was 21-year-old Florain Witter of Schleusingen, Germany in top spot, taking home a brand new Chase single-speed. "The course was perfect for my style, I race downhill and prefer big mountain freeride lines" said Witter. "I am excited to win the Chase bike because I always wanted to get a hard tail for dirt jumping and street riding." One more for the quiver! Congratulations Florain. We know you'll enjoy it.
The next stop for the CUT will be The UCI World Cup at Fort William for DH ripper Mick Hannah and The US Open of Mountain Biking at Diablo Freeride Park for George Ryan and homeboy Aaron Chase. Again, we wish injured CUT rider Chris Van Dine a speedy recovery and look forward to the come-back later this season.
Stay tuned for the announcement of the slopestyle finals date to be held in the States this fall! Will YOU be the next owner of a sweet new Chase bike? Maybe!
