It all came down to the final turn for Adam Perrson.
The Sweden native was the leader of the pack during the open final at the Britannia Classic longboarding race on Sunday (May 26) but on the final turn he crashed and burned, opening up the chance for Vancouver's Kevin Reimer to once again win the event.
Pearsson ended up placing third, with Ontario's Andrew Chapman finishing in second.
It was a very tight race, he said of the final.
Reimer, who won his second straight open title and fifth in the six year history of the race, said the final turn was intense.
We came in really fast and I needed to separate from Adam otherwise we would have went into the hay, he said. I gave him a little push.
Perrson declined to elaborate on what went down in that final turn but did say he had a great first visit to the Sea to Sky Corridor.
It was an amazing event, he said. It's so beautiful out here and it's such good pavement on this course there's nothing as fast as this course back home.
He said he plans to return to Sweden in the next few days but hopes to return to Britannia and other B.C. races for next year.
Reimer echoed Persson's thoughts on the event.
It was very well organized and super clean out there for us, he said. This is the most technical course and you really need to be aggressive and in control to win.
The open division featured 16 races with four different racers battling it out to advance to the next round. The top two finishers in each heat moved on until only the final four riders remain. Reimer took home a cool $1,500 for the first place finish.
The women's division was won by Calgary's Elena Corrigal with Katie Neilson placing second. Coming in third was another Calgary native, Anna O'Neill.
The day went really well for me, she said. All of the girls racing today are so incredible and so talented.
O'Neill also made an impact in the open division. Competing against men, she survived the first round and made it to the round of 32.
I really wanted it, she said. I'm really proud I did so well against the boys, it feels good.
It was her first time competing in Britannia and she said she hopes to return.
I love it out here, she said. The course is so much fun and it's super technical.
Other winners included: Nicolas Desmarais (Master's), Chance Gaul (Junior) and Quinn Dubois (Super Grom).
Event organizer Lee Cation said it was another successful year for his group in Britannia and thanked the volunteers, sponsors and the town of Britannia Beach for their support.
Stay tuned to The Chief for a photo gallery and video footage from this event.
