7-3-07 // Online Exclusive: The Nissan Outdoor Game Report

2007 Outdoor Games

The third edition of the Nissan Outdoor Games concluded last weekend with over 120,000 spectators watching competitions in mountain bike dirt jumping, kayaking and rock climbing at the Interlaken, Switzerland venue. The games aimed to be “the leading event in the extreme sports arena,” according to event Co-Founder David Carlier.

After a spectacular qualifying jump jam on Saturday, the premier remaining European dirt jumpers threw down in the Best Trick Contest. Benny Korthaus and Andreu Lacondeguy were both at the top of their game and fought for the top prize. Andreu started with a clean backflip superman, which Benny countered with an extremely high 360- tailwhip on the first big gap, landing perfectly, during his second run. As the “Rock'n’roll Spaniard” likes to always have the last word, he pulled a backflip tailwhip over the second jump but, couldn’t outdo Benny's clean execution, extreme amplitude and control. As a result Benny walked away winner of the Best Trick Contest and the CHF 1,000 prize money.

Andreu is flying high in the Swiss Alps 2007 Outdoor Games

The finals on Sunday were no less exciting than Saturday’s program. In a great, sunny atmosphere, the finalists showed numerous 360 - and backflip combinations as well as barspin to X-up, no foot cans, supermans and much more. With a backflip nohander and a 360-tailwhip, Andreu Lacondeguy astonished not only the numerous spectators and fans but also the other riders. The difficulty, execution and the overall style of the tricks convinced the judges that Andreu had to be the 1st place rider. Benny Korthaus’ combination of backflip tabletop and 360-tailwhip landed him on the 2nd place while Darren Poko secured the 3rd place with a tire grab-to-suicide no-hander at the first jump and a superman Indian air at the second.

While the dirt jump competition was clearly a success, it was but a small part of “The reason we introduced the dirt jump this year was to keep up to speed with the evolution of these types of outdoor sports. In future, we are likely to introduce an acrobatic parapenting [aka paragliding] competition, as well as some new kayaking competitions’’ declared Nicolas Hale-Wood, co-founder of the Games.

The 4th edition of the Nissan Outdoor Games by Columbia will take place in Interlaken from the 3rd thru to the 6th of July 2008. More info and full results available on www.outdoorgames.ch

Andreu, Benny and Darren 2007 Outdoor Games