WHISTLER, BC - August 16th, 2008 –

Andreau pulls out all the stops for the big show.

The Monster Energy Slopestyle @ Kokanee Crankworx dominated the Boneyard Slopestyle course in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park today. Every year this event draws the biggest crowd of the festival, watching the best athletes in the world of mountain biking compete for $30,000 in prize money.

Race Face and KONA team rider Andreu Lacondeguy of Spain took top spot and $15,000 in the finals with a score of 94.3; second place and $8,000 went to Lance Mcdermott of the UK with a score of 91.5; third place went to Whistler's own Brandon Semenuk, walking away with $4,500 and a score of 89.8. All the riders in the top eight took home cash for their amazing efforts today.
Lacondeguy's winning run consisted of a long list of impressive tricks. He started out with a double back flip off the first table, followed by a foot plant off the Monster Snake, a back flip X-up, flat spin 360, topside nac-nac, can-can step-down, superman, and finished off with a back flip onto the final Kokanee feature and superman off into the village.
"I just kept trying the double back flip," says Lancondeguy. "It was that trick that did the job, it was gnarly you know."



"Slopestyle contests are about the all around impression, and all the guys in the finals had clean smooth runs," says Head Judge Colin Duncan. With tricks like the double back flip, back flip tail whip and the back flip up onto the Kokanee box and a front flip off, it was an incredibly tough contest to judge. In the end, Lacondeguy's stylish run, and the insane double back flip, just won out."
Another highlight was the Claw's first official competition backflip which he executed off the top hip in his early runs. The long awaited trick from the reknowned Race Face rider sent a buzz through the thousands in attendance.



This year's Slopestyle course was designed by John Cowan and as usual the course was nothing but perfect. With huge tables, dirt jumps, wooden spins, the Giro box and the always insane Kokanee drop as the last feature, the riders had their choice of line to impress the judges in the two-run format to advance to the eight man final.