Scoot beats Mischo to the line for the win!

Race Report: The Graveyard Call Day 3
Written by Marcus Rietema
Sunday, 26 July 2009

Scoot Smith reaches across the line to beat Mischo Erban in the final. Photo Bob Ozman

Argonay, France- Scoot Smith (CAN) nearly crashed out in the final about 25 meters (75') from the finish line but was able to gather it back together to win The Graveyard Call World Cup. He had to win it the hard way racing head to head and beating Adam Yates (AUS), Yvon Labarthe (SUI), James Kelly (USA), Patrick Switzer (CAN) and finally Mischo Erban in seperate two-man heat races. It was the first win for the reigning IGSA World Champion of the 2009 season.

Scoot leads Kelly off the line as they head into the forest. Photo Marcus Rietema

Erban had to overcome adversity to even make it into the race when he crashed during the warm up session and severely bent one of the hangers on his prototype trucks. With no spares available and only minutes to spare before the start of the race, Mischo had no choice other than to crudely bend the axle back and hope it was reasonably straight. After the race he revealed that his board was pulling to the right throughout the entire race and he felt very fortunate to finish second.

Jackson Shapiera rounds the final corner toward the finish. Photo Marcus Rietema

Number one qualifier Louis Pilloni suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of newcomer Nicholas Robert (SUI) in the Quarter Finals. Pilloni wound up finishing sixth. Robert qualified in the number eight position and beat Yohann Nortier (FRA), Stefan Ruefli (SUI), and Pilloni before losing to Erban in the Semi-Finals. He then moved into the Consolation Final where he beat Patrick Switzer to earn third place.

The epic final showdown between Mischo and Scoot begins. Photo Marcus Rietema

The race was halted for nearly on hour when Nathan Aveyard (AUS) crashed on the top section of the course in his first round heat and suffered a severly broken collerbone. Aveyard actually got up after his crash and completed the run before receiving medical attention. He was undergoing surgery at the hospital in Annecy on Sunday night.

Nathan Aveyard (AUS) suffered a severely broken collerbone in the first round. Photo Bob Ozman

It had been years since an IGSA World Cup race was run using the 2-man format. The event is racing in its' purist form and created an epic batte among many of the world's best downhill skateboarders on the narrow Argonay race course. The organizers are already making plans for a bigger and better World Cup event in 2010. It promises to be one of the can't miss events of the season.

Downhill Skateboarding Top 8

1. Scott "Scoot" Smith, Canada
2. Mischo Erban, Canada
3. Nicolas Robert, Switzerland
4. Patrick Switzer, Canada
5. James Kelly, United States
6. Louis Pilloni, United States
7. Christoph Batt, Switzerland
8. Boris Schinke, Germany

Australians
17 Leeso
19 Jacko
26 Yatesy
28 Ash

NZL
46 Eddie

Graveyard Call Final Results