Goat Style Bike Festival is in the books!

Source: Reece Wallace

After an amazing weekend in beautiful Creston British Columbia, it has become clear who are the up and coming slope style athletes in the sport!

Goat Style was a three day event in which many shredders came from all over the world to compete, all the riders brought their ‘A game’ hoping to win the $3000 dollar cash purse and the wild card entry into Whistler’s Kokanee Crankworx.
I rolled up to Goat Style in my tightly packed Corolla after an 11 hour drive from Whistler with three bikes taken apart in my trunk with my bumper nearly scraping the ground. Alan Hepburn (Banshee Bikes), Lauckie Roycroft (first place in intermediate) and myself (Reece Wallace – Pinkbike.com) were extremely anxious to see the course – and we were not disappointed! The course consisted of three sections: the top which featured three line choices consisting of ladder bridge scoops and drops leading into hips, berms and a quarter pipe, the middle which had three different drops to match every riders abilities and desires, and the bottom of the course which consisted of two large dirt jumps separated by a long and low jump for speed.



After the first evening of practice it was apparent that the contest was going to be won or lost on the dirt jump section of the course, riders were throwing down numerous 360 variations, flip combos, and technical tricks. Later on that evening a huge party was thrown down by Lavan in the Goat Pen which ended up getting a little bit too rowdy and the entire party was shut down. However, everyone was still feeling a great vibe decided to bring the party outside where more mayhem occurred including some people streaking and a couple brawls. Needless to say it was an awesome night and I cannot wait for next year!


On Friday night at ten, Friday night lights began with the Goat Style Crew setting up giant flood lights and a crane for photographers. Hundreds of spectators arrived with high expectations and energy levels for the event. I was lucky enough to be invited to the night lights contest where cash was being thrown out for bangers. I was really stoked on everyone’s progression and their ability to perform on the spot; I know I was really happy with my line and photos which included a 360 on the drop into a truck driver on the last jump. So many crazy and innovative tricks happened that night including many front flips and front flip attempts. Mitch Chubey split his nose open on his stem trying a front flip and still managed to compete after coming back from the hospital. Casey Groves managed to stomp many flip whips and 360 tail whips which the crowd really liked. I had a blast and was really hyped on the vibe the whole night.

The judges were looking for style, trick difficulty, line choice, creativity and execution. The top three riders definitely demonstrated all of these in their runs. Taking first place was Eric Lawrenuk (Cove Bikes and Sombrio Clothing). This was a well earned solid run for Eric. He started off his run by taking the line less traveled by a 360 off a drop into a berm, then a downside tail whip on the wooden ladder bridge hip and then throwing down a huge unexpected 360 off the large drop. With consistency and style in the top section of the course it was even better to watch when he threw down a dialed 360 tire grab into a banger decade on the last jump! Eric was really stoked to walk away with $3000 dollars cash, the wild card entry into Crankworx, and bragging rights that he slayed the course. In second place was Sam Dueck (Pinkbike.com and Transition Bikes). Sam managed to throw together two dialed runs including a many flips, spins, tail whips, and a superman. He was really happy with his performance, regardless of a folded wheel. In third place was Kurt Sorge (Giant Bikes). Kurt managed to tackle the middle line worth the most points in the judge’s eyes and throwing down a huge back flip. Kurt continued his run by throwing down a few more solid flips and spins followed by a sick tail whip and even a double tail whip attempt in his second run.


All in all it was a wicked weekend and I would like to give a huge shout out to Casey Groves, Dustin Greenall, Gord and Wes, and everyone who helped make the weekend a great success. I would also like to thank the sponsors who made the event possible such as Creston Valley Development Authority, Wynndel Box and Lumber, The town of Creston, Kootenay Rockies Tourism, Overwaitea, Central Kootenay Regional District, Creston’s Credit Union, Dairy Queen, Favorit Cycles, Spy Optics, Sombrio, Red Bull, Pinkbike, Ride Guide, Kokanee, Decline Magazine, Bike Magazine, Dakine, Deity, Transition, Rocky Mountain Bikes, Interior Sign Design, Lavan, and many more. Also, a big shout out to Jason Headley for the photos for this article.


Check out more contest photos from tobe25.pinkbike.com and dishboy14.pinkbike.com.

Creston is an awesome community for letting us put on the annual Goat Style Bike Festival and I cannot wait for next year!

-Reece

Posted In:
Stories Reader Stories