One year after crashing and burning on the final turn and finishing third, it was Adam Persson鈥檚 time to shine.
The Sweden native edged out five-time champion Kevin Reimer to win the 2014 Britannia Classic longboarding race on Sunday (May 25) and he said it was an honour to unseat the champ.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been in a lot of finals together and race lots 鈥� he鈥檚 one of the best skateboarders in the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always a great feeling to be able to beat Kevin.鈥�
The field of 64 competitors in the open category was whittled down to Persson, Reimer, Mike Fitter and Patrick Switzer. Persson said it was a close race but he took advantage of some good lines to pull ahead of the pack.
鈥淚t was super tight racing out there and the last couple of corners we were in a very tight pack,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hrough one of the right turns I had a really good line and then through one of the lefts I had a super good line and after that I was just thinking don鈥檛 f**k up the right. I made it through and it was such a good feeling.鈥�
Persson said he was motivated to return to the event after coming up short last year.
鈥淚鈥檝e been wanting to win this race for the last year,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing course and is super challenging. You have to go fast into the corners and it can be hard to make it through. It鈥檚 a very techy and challenging course.鈥�
He said he鈥檚 going to return home to Stockholm for a race in his home country next week and has races in Norway in June. He said the longboard scene is growing in Sweden, especially amongst young competitors.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really growing,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of cruising and not much downhill in Sweden but the grom [youth] scene is huge. Although it鈥檚 nothing compared to North America.鈥�
Persson said he鈥檇 like to return in 2015 to defend his title but noted that he鈥檚 always looking for new hills, new races and new challenges.
Persson won $1,500 for the victory with Reimer placing second, Fitter in third, Switzer in fourth and Dillon Stephens finishing fifth.
On the women鈥檚 side it was Calgary鈥檚 Elena Corrigal repeating as champion. She overcame a disastrous start to defend her crown.
鈥淥n the start line my foot slipped and I face planted,鈥� she said, laughing. 鈥淪o the girls were gone and I was fourth off the line. On the first corner I was able to make up some ground and eventually caught up to them.鈥�
Corrigal said the wet conditions made for a more difficult course but she still enjoyed the event.
鈥淲hen it鈥檚 dry it鈥檚 so fun and so much faster but we had some amazing heats in the wet,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou have to be on the ball so much more and you need to make sure you鈥檙e doing your drifts in the right spot so that you can hook up after because it鈥檚 so much harder to do that in the rain.鈥�
The rest of the summer will see Corrigal travel to Vernon, Whistler and potentially races in the USA and Europe. Alberta鈥檚 Victoria Waddington came in second for the women and South Africa鈥檚 Gabi Murray-Roberts placed third.
The U17 division saw Pender Harbour鈥檚 Curt Watts take first place, with Will Smallwood finishing second and Sam Neville placing third. The U13 competition saw Charlie Macmillan take top prize and Kyle Peterson finish second, while Vancouver鈥檚 Lee Cation won the Masters division.
For more information on the event, visit www.britanniaclassic.com
