Leogang World Cup
Noah Hofmann places 10th in the Junior Men's category.
Noah Hofmann styles out the candidly named, ‘Epic Gap Jump’.
LEOGANG GAVE IT ALL IT HAD
Leogang is a course that tests every aspect of racing. Add in buckets of rain over the weekend, and you have a recipe to make the outcome anyone’s game. Perfect form just isn’t enough to claim victory here. When a racer does come out on top, it leaves us all to wonder: Was it a stroke of genius, or a stroke of luck?
The course was broken up into three notable sections. The top was about balancing speed, composure, and the conservation of energy to prepare you for the next section. Once the racer enters the woods, it was all about one goal: Get through it without totally messing up. If they could make it through clean, they had a shot at the top. Once through, the racer is rewarded with a huge gap jump and a fast lower section to push through. Hold it together for just a little bit longer and they’ve survived.
The athlete experience
I broke my finger 6 days ago and I wasn’t sure if I could even do the race or how it would effect my riding. The doctors told me I should rest for the next 4 weeks, but I didn’t want to skip Leogang. I’m happy it worked out pretty well. I rode practice and qualifying with my cast on, but I didn’t really feel good and connected to the bike. I decided to take it off completely on Finals day and tape my fingers together. The pain increased, but I was able to ride better and managed to get a Top 10 in my first World Cup.
– Noah Hofmann, Kona Gravity Team Athlete
Noah Hofmann stayed focused all weekend to make it happen.
CONNOR FEARON CRASHES IN QUALIFYING
Connor has been racing World Cups for decade. When you think about how many races that is, his consistency is damn impressive. There is a common saying we’ve all heard around the pits: “That’s racing.” A simple sentence that excuses the cruel tendencies of misfortune that can appear out of virtually no where. After a promising start to the race weekend, Connor crashes in his qualifying race run causing him to slip to 61st place. Technically without protection, this makes him one spot and 0.162 seconds from qualifying for Finals. Connor takes the news with admirable grace and we couldn’t be more pleased to have such a humble and hardworking athlete on our team. We all look forward to seeing what he’s truly capable of at the next race, which is an EWS.
The athlete experience
if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from a decade of World Cup racing is there’s highs and lows and unfortunately today was a low point for me. I missed out on qualifying for the first time in my World Cup career by a mere single position. In conditions where I usually excel I just didn’t ride like I’m capable of and crashed near the bottom of my run. Not having a chance at redemption tomorrow is a bitter pill to swallow. The positives I can take out of this weekend is our team is back and working well together and I know the bike and myself are capable of much more. All I can do now is look forward at the next race which is a EWS and I’m really looking forward to riding the Process X between the tape.
– Connor Fearon, Kona Gravity Elite
MISSED THE ACTION?
Watch Redbull.TV ‘s replay, or view all race results below.
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Team sponsors
As always, thank you to our team sponsors for their support.
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