August 7, 2005 – Backflips, tailwhips, and 360s were the order of the day at today’s Pro Invitational Slopestyle presented by Full Throttle. Paul Basagoitia of Nevada threw them all down to successfully defend his title.

“Paul’s run was both technical and big,” says Scott Hart, Crankworx judge and creative director for Decline Magazine. He did a 360 off the quarter-pipe and went with speed into two big backflips. After that, he sealed the deal with a tail whip off the Giro trailer.”

Basagoitia won his first professional title at last year’s Slopestyle event and tonight proved that win was no fluke. The 18-year old phenom is clearly leading the way with an arsenal of tricks that defeated a field of 24 pros including superstars such as John Cowan, Richie Schley, Cedric Gracia.

Crowd favourite and B.C. boy, Darren Berrecloth came in second with a run that ranked slightly less than Basagoitia’s . “In my opinion, his 360 off the road gap was the best trick of the night,” says Paul Rak, Head Judge. “It was unbelievable.”

“Once again, Crankworx has blown me away,” says Rak. “The features are even bigger and better this year.” This evening’s Slopestyle has been the best-attended event of the five-day freeride mountain biking festival so far and thousands of spectators witnessed unbelievable acts of athleticism and fearlessness.

“This year’s Slopestyle event has pushed the boundary of freeriding once again, with the rules being set by the athletes who are limited only by their imagination,” says Eric Fremont, Crankworx Event Manager. “This event has firmly rooted Crankworx in Whistler as the resort’s signature summer sports festival for years to come.”

Results:

1. 1 Paul Basagoitia USA 37.0
2. 8 Darren Berrecloth CAD 36.2
3. 19 Cameron Zink USA 34.5
4. 4 Cameron McCaul USA 34.4
5. 3 Kyle Strait USA 33.6