Two weeks after the Mallorca Slalom Grand Prix, we are still assimilating what we lived during the race (Main category). We had two days full of cones, fast races and very good vibes.
On Friday 17th, before the riders welcome, we had the pleasure of attending to the press conference in Son Moix. Tato, president of the AMSS, along with the Canadian Fullbag and Abec11 PRO RIDER, Louis Ricard, explained to the media what the competition was about. JA (Doc Caribbean) and Nacho_Caribbean also participated in the press conference helping to promote slalom skateboarding.
Press Conference in Son Moix.
The next destination was the Hard Rock Café in Palma de Mallorca where we could meet all the riders. Between talks, welcome packs delivering, some burgers and a couple of beers, the night flew by. We were all looking forward to run as the sun rose.
It seemed like the sun didn’t want to shine and the race had to be delayed due to wet conditions on Saturday 18th. It seemed the rain would spoil the party like in the first edition last year. Finally the sun shone and the wind just caused some problems. In the Hybrid Dual circuit, marked between the pros Louis Ricard, Michel Dupont and Mikael Hadestrand, was necessary to use double cones, one above the other, in order to prevent displacement because of the wind.
Dual Hybrid Circuit with doubled cones.
The headwind ended up being a real problem as some other pro said during the race, we could have thrown a coin to decide the winners. The wind kept blowing, rarely for, often against the riders direction. The wind finally despaired participants and the occasional lack of control and problems with timers and time-sheets made the day end with a somewhat bitter taste.
In the pro category we lived intense duels and the Hadestrand family, as usual, proved to be very fit.
Classification Pro Hybrid Slalom
| 1 | Viking Hadestrand, Sweden | |
| 2 | Mikael Hadestrand, Sweden | |
| 3 | Janis Kuzmins, Latvia | |
| 4 | Michel Dupont, France | |
| 5 | Robert Thiele, Germany | |
| 6 | Ferdinand Lindner, Germany | |
| 7 | Louis Ricard, Canada | |
| 8 | Christopher Dupont, France |
The amateurs, masters, women and juniors also fought hard against the wind and could see very rushed finishes.
Podium Amateur Hybrid Slalom
| 1 | Sebastian Vorholter, Germany | |
| 2 | Fabian Koula, Switzerland | |
| 3 | Daniel Navarro Fernandez, Spain |
1º Sebastian Vorholter, 2º Fabian Koula, 3º Daniel Navarro
Rushed finnish between Alfonso Pérez and Nacho_Caribbean
Podium Masters Hybrid Slalom
| 1 | Magnus Bobert, Sweden | |
| 2 | Pelle Gustafsson, Sweden | |
| 3 | Federico Malventi, Italy |
Classification Junior Hybrid Slalom
| 1 | David Pletanek, Germany | |
| 2 | Pau Merida, Spain | |
| 3 | Eduardo Casasnovas, Spain | |
| 4 | Leonardo Fernandez, Spain |
Classification Women Hybrid Slalom
| 1 | Agata Clemente, Spain | |
| 2 | Maria Pletanek, Germany |
Agata Clemente and Masters enjoy as children.
After this first race of Mallorca Slalom Grand Prix 2013, we met again at the Hard Rock Cafe in Palma where we handed out the prizes to the fastest riders in Dual Hybrid. Dinner, concert and bed time to rest and get ready for the Giant that awaited us the next day. The rest was more than necessary, the spot of Golf Son Muntaner required. What a slope!
Riders who already skated in 2012 saved it to their list of favorite spots for giants and those who had not yet skated were advised about the attributes. None was disappointed to see it for the first time and after skate it.
During training time we could begin to feel the exciting race we were going to live. We saw frightening couple and group runs and the fastest riders begun to stand out. 60 years old Doc Caribbean ascended the hill at a fast pace to squeeze his training runs, there was a photocall next to the starting ramp for riders to pose and get a good memory of this great party.
Amazing group runs!
Son Muntaner toughtest guys.
Some giant pictures by Marc Castejon.
Pros like Janis Kuzmins, Robert Thiele, Louis Ricard, Christopher Dupont and others exceeded 50km/h on the descent while cones were bypassed. The circuit demanded some pumping at the beginning and then some anticipation was needed to pass as close as possible to the cones. Who was faster at the beginning had every chance to clinch the victory.
Jordi Dodd anticipating cones.
It was a nice show to see all the downhill runs, regardless of if they were pros, amateurs, masters, women or juniors, we had to have “them” well placed to face the circuit. Terminal Velocity!
Podium Pro Giant Slalom
| 1 | Christopher Dupont, France | |
| 2 | Janis Kuzmins, Latvia | |
| 3 | Mikael Hadestrand, Sweden |
Podium Amateur Giant Slalom
| 1 | Viktor Hadestrand, Sweden | |
| 2 | Fabian Koula, Switzerland | |
| 3 | Petr Novotny, Czech Republic |
Podium Master Giant Slalom
| 1 | Magnus Bobert, Sweden | |
| 2 | Pelle Gustafsson, Sweden | |
| 3 | Peter Pletanek, Germany |
Podium Women Giant Slalom
| 1 | Agata Clemente, Spain | |
| 2 | Maria Pletanek, Germany |
Podium Juniors Giant Slalom
| 1 | Eduardo Casasnovas, Spain | |
| 2 | Pau Merida, Spain | |
| 3 | David Pletanek, Germany |
At the end of the Giant race, there was time to run a single SPECIAL TS race. The circuit was a real challenge for all riders. The cones were so close one to each other that in the final part of the circuit some riders struggled really hard in order not to eat the cones. The pro circuit was very demanding and Mika Hadestrand bit the ground while training session, and we do not know who suffered most, him (Mika) or the ground! In the end the organization decided to ease a bit the amateur circuit in order to avoid so many DQ. Many riders did not support this decision at first and gave theirs opinion. Finally all agreed and labeled the circuit “easy” to give options to all registered riders.
The differences in the timer were minimal and showed once again how important it is in the slalom to pass clean the circuits but, at some point, it is better to touch a cone and scratch a few hundredths even with the penalty that entails. We saw many set-up changes between rounds and certainly helped some riders to pass the circuit faster and better, such as Gonzalo Díez, thanks to a last-minute change in the configuration of his skateboard he did a better time achievement than in the first round. Janis Kuzimins, in pro category, was the fastest with a clean run. In amateur category, Hadestrand Viktor did the same, showing that he is in real shape like the pros in this type of circuit. Plast Pelle was the fastest of the masters. In Women and Junior categories we can highlight the outstanding runs rom Maria Pletanek, David Pletanek, Eduardo Fernandez and Leonardo Casanovas.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the Mallorca Slalom Grand Prix 2013, especially those coming from further away, thanks to all those who in one way or another have helped to make this event possible. and who knows, maybe with more effort and dedication it can become WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP in some future edition.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after the three races.
| 1 | Pros | Janis Kuzmins, Latvia | 540 |
| 2 | Pros | Viking Hadestrand, Sweden | 520 |
| 3 | Pros | Mikael Hadestrand, Sweden | 500 |
| 4 | Pros | Christopher Dupont, France | 477 |
| 5 | Pros | Robert Thiele, Germany | 435 |
| 6 | Pros | Louis Ricard, Canada | 422 |
| 7 | Pros | Ferdinand Lindner, Germany | 408 |
| 8 | Pros | Michel Dupont, France | 345 |
| 1 | Amateurs | Viktor Hadestrand, Sweden | 545 |
| 2 | Amateurs | Sebastian Vorholter, Germany | 530 |
| 3 | Amateurs | Fabian Koula, Switzerland | 520 |
| 4 | Amateurs | Daniel Navarro Fernandez, Spain | 445 |
| 5 | Amateurs | Petr Novotny, Czech Republic | 432 |
| 6 | Amateurs | Pierre Hazera, France | 429 |
| 7 | Amateurs | Nacho Munoz Cuellar, Spain | 396 |
| 8 | Amateurs | Alfonso Pérez Villalpando, Spain | 388 |
| 9 | Amateurs | Raul Llull, Spain | 382 |
| 10 | Amateurs | Jordi Dodd, Spain | 377 |
| 11 | Amateurs | Joaquin Roldan, Spain | 362 |
| 12 | Amateurs | Eneko Urtiaga, Spain | 354 |
| 13 | Amateurs | Juan Pedro Fullana, Spain | 351 |
| 14 | Amateurs | Peter Freme, Sweden | 342 |
| 15 | Amateurs | Jadranko Radovanovic, Switzerland | 335 |
| 16 | Amateurs | Juan Rubio, Spain | 296 |
| 17 | Amateurs | Markus Kaffke, Germany | 292 |
| 18 | Amateurs | Xisco Pons, Spain | 280 |
| 19 | Amateurs | Jaime Segura, Spain | 278 |
| 20 | Amateurs | Andres Ojeda, Spain | 271 |
| 21 | Amateurs | Iñigo Otalora, Spain | 213 |
| 22 | Amateurs | Antonio Gonzalez, Spain | 210 |
| 23 | Amateurs | Tomeu Pons, Spain | 150 |
| 24 | Amateurs | Adan Alarcon, Spain | 116 |
| 1 | Open women | Maria Pletanek, Germany | 560 |
| 2 | Open women | Agata Clemente, Spain | 450 |
| 3 | Open women | Alexandra Redman, Sweden | 150 |
| 1 | Masters (45-) | Magnus Bobert, Sweden | 580 |
| 2 | Masters (45-) | Pelle Gustafsson, Sweden | 560 |
| 3 | Masters (45-) | Federico Malventi, Italy | 470 |
| 4 | Masters (45-) | Peter Pletanek, Germany | 460 |
| 5 | Masters (45-) | Gonzalo Fernandez-díez Sr, Spain | 430 |
| 6 | Masters (45-) | Jose Muñoz Cuellar, Spain | 416 |
| 7 | Masters (45-) | Martin Hoppe, Germany | 245 |
| 8 | Masters (45-) | Eduardo De la Fuente, Spain | 186 |
| 9 | Masters (45-) | Kaj Gustavsson, Sweden | 50 |
| 1 | Juniors (-17) | David Pletanek, Germany | 560 |
| 2 | Juniors (-17) | Eduardo Casasnovas, Spain | 540 |
| 3 | Juniors (-17) | Leonardo Fernandez, Spain | 460 |
| 4 | Juniors (-17) | Pau Merida, Spain | 410 |
Fotos by Marc Castejon and video frames by Nacho_Caribbean.
SSSA Spanish Slalom Skateboard Association 