Tourstop Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach: Recap

With the second Zillertal Välley Rälley hosted by Ride Snowboards tourstop, the snowpark season at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach started on January 03rd and 04th 2015. After the second tourstop of the popular snowboard tour had to be postponed from December 2014 to January 2015, Mother Hulda meant it really well with the riders.

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Under bluebird and with a sensational vibe, almost sixty competitors of all age groups and riding levels showed up on Saturday for the open freestyle contest at the Betterpark Hochzillertal. Even on Sunday the motivated up-and-coming shredders did not splash out due to heavy snowfalls and limited visibility. Under the guidance of Ästhetiker pros Friedl Kolar, Klaus Hofmeister, Chris Kroell and Steve Gruber, the kids were not only shredding the park but the entire resort of Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach to find and jib all possible obstacles. Despite difficult conditions, the fun factor stayed on highest level!

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At the Betterpark Hochzillertal the snowpark season startet on January 3rd and 4th with the second Zillertal Välley Rälley tourstop hosted by Ride Snowboards. About sixty riders had signed up for the open snowboard slopestyle contest on Saturday to grab for prize money and numerous mad-prizes from the sponsors Ride Snowboards, Vans, Red Bull, Gopro and SP Gadgets. Furthermore, everyone was trying to collect more valuable points on their individual Zillertal Välley Rälley overall tour ranking account.

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Max Gruenwald and Annika Morgan from Germany took the top spots on the groms podium, while Czech ripper Jan Rovensky won the gold medal in the rookies category. His compatriot Kateřina Vojáčková took victory in the women´s category while Englishman and previous year´s winner Simon Cudlip managed to defend his top position against Ride Snowboards Teamrider Maximilian Preissinger who landed in second place. „The dates had to be changed due to lack of snow and bad weather. Regardless off the bad luck the organisers stuck it out and ran a great contest. It is run by supportive and all round positive snowboard enthusiasts which really shows in the contest. It always has a great vibe and brings everyone together,” the happy winner explained, “I was very happy to win for the second year and was grateful for all the support from everyone. Now I really look forward to the next stop.”

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Local Zillertal Shredder Patrick Fankhauser did not only become third on the men´s podium. With a stylish switch backside 540 he also won the Vans Best Trick Award and a proper streetwear kit from Vans. Young shredhead Fabian Finley Nehring got finally rewarded „most impressive little shreadhead“ of the day.

Martha Schultz from the Schultz Group and Marketing Director of Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach is delighted about the sucessfull outcome of the event: „Big Thanks to the Ästhetiker team, they are professionals at work! We are delighted that all the participants showed up loyally for the event, even if the date and days had to be swapped! The atmosphere was already magnificent at the registration in the morning! We are proud of our employee Carina Pfister from the Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach team for becoming a medalist at the event! Austria needs more events of this style!“

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The Betterpark Hochzillertal will be open and maintained daily from now on until late April.Popular for it´s own park lift and perfectly shaped obstacles, the park at Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach offers a great freestyle playground with seven jumps from beginner to pro range and a great variety of jib obstacles for all riding levels. All info and updates can be found on www.betterparks.at and www.hochzillertal.com.

Partners of the 2nd Tourstop: Zillertal.at, Ride Snowboards, Vans, Red Bull, GoPro, SP Gadgets, Hochzillertal-Kaltenbach, Erste Ferienregion im Zillertal Fügen – Kaltenbach, N.ASA, Kristallhuette

Special thanks goes out to the team of the Kristallhuette Zillertal for supporting the event with a room for the prize giving, all transports and a P.A. system. Kristallhuette just rocks!

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Two more Zillertal Välley Rälley hosted by Ride Snowboards tourstops are on the timetable at the Zillertal Arena and in Mayrhofen. At the forth and final event, the overall winners will be crowned prince, princess, duke, king and queen of the välley. The next tourstop is on schedule for January 17th and 18th at the Actionpark Zillertal Arena. All info and registration is now available at www.valleyralley.at.

All remaining 2014/2015 dates at a glance:

17.-18.01.2015 Action-Park Zillertal Arena, Zillertal Arena
21.-22.02.2015 Vans Penken Park, Mayrhofner Bergbahnen

All those who could not join the second stage or who want to look back at a great weekend at the Betterpark Hochzillertal, should watch the video edit by Andreas Monsberger: https://vimeo.com/115973984

Results, photos and new rankings are online at www.valleyralley.at

Author: Elisa