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Events

Audi Nines 2019 Overview

Launch Pads and Darth Vaders - Audi Nines 2019 is ON

Close your eyes. Smell the sweet stench of fear. Hear the melodic buzzing of drones flying overhead. It’s not group picture day at Guantanamo Bay – it’s the Audi Nines. Whitelines is out here in Austria getting in the thick of all the action, throwing Haribo at people and generally getting into mischief.

The resorts are heaving with snowboard royalty and you can barely nip to the shops without bumping into an Olympian. The courses are absolutely insane, with the pièce de résistance being the ‘Launch Pad’ a 10m high ramp in Solden that flings the riders across a 32m gap. Looking down at it from the top of the course was so daunting that we wee’d a little bit, so actually dropping into it must have caused a few full blown pant soilings. Have a gander for yourself with this hectic GoPro course preview, it’s hard to fathom how big these features are without having a proper look.

The riders have been throwing it down over the week in preparation for the contest day on Saturday and it’s set to be an all time day. This weeks jam format has been getting everyone hyped up and the casual nature of the event has meant that the riders are progressing naturally and bouncing off each others good vibes. The weather has been on a mad one and the only thing moving faster than the temperature is Rene Rinnekangas on his run in. A couple of the planned shoots have been rescheduled due to high winds, and to be fair we don’t blame them, a gust of wind as you take off that launch pad and you’d probably land in London.

The space age event has had a surprise visitor this year – the Sith Lord himself, Darth Vader. Darth Shredder has been popping up around the course and it’s still unknown who’s inside the costume. Although Terje Haakonsen and his signature methods were suspiciously absent from the kickers yesterday…

Stoked on what will follow for the next two days, especially while Monster Energy are surely going to keep working their little green butts off keeping everyone highly salubrious and in good spirits. There will be a multitude of Jager flavoured hangovers throughout the week with their name written on them.

Terje Haakonsen launching into a Method. Photo: Klaus Polzer.
Yuri Okubo. Photo: D Malacrida.
Sebbe de Buck. Photo: Klaus Polzer.
Yuka Fujimori. Photo: D Malacrida.

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