Rogatkin finds redemption Cairns Slopestyle
Three Canadians in top-10 in Crankworx first Australian event
Photo by:
Clint Trahan / Crankworx
After four long years, Nicholai Rogatkin is back on top. The first-ever winner of Crankworx Triple Crown of Slopestyle has endured a long drought, with his last win coming back in 2018. at Crankworx first stop in Cairns, Australia, the U.S. slopestyle was on form and back on top of the podium.
It was a big day for Canadian fans, too, with three riders finishing in the top 10 in Cairns led by Ben Thompson.
Ben Thompson. Photo: Clint Trahan
Griffin Paulson. Photo: Clint Trahan
Max Langille. Photo: Clint Trahan
Canadians in Cairns
Three Canadians were on the start list for the Cairns slopestyle. Ben Thompson led the effort with a big fifth place finish by scoring 75.5 points. Griffin Paulson followed in seventh with 70 points. Max Langille in eighth rounded out the Canuck results, scoring 65. It is exciting to see three Canadians on a Crankworx slopestyle resutls sheet after a few years without many home-team riders on the Crankworx circuit.
Rogatkin’s redemption
Slopestyle can be a sport of highs and lows. After hitting the highest of highs, winning the Crankworx Triple Crown of Slopestyle, Nicholai Rogatkin’s been missing from the top podium step for a full four years. The dominance of Emil Johansson has pushed the U.S. rider to second at best. That ended in Cairns on Saturday.
But the road to the top wasn’t easy. After the first run, it was German Erik Fedko leading the field.
“Landing that first run felt amazing,” said Fedko opening run. “I ended up first after the first runs, so I was hyped.”
But Rogatkin has something special in store. A series of crashes in the opening run, including one that took Emil Johansson out of competition, left the American a little unnerved and just off of the win. The veteran slopstyle rider regrouped and went back for more. Feeding off the huge Australian crowd, Rogatkin stomped a near-perfect run to take the lead.
“Me and Australia have just been a match made in heaven. I live off the crowd so much,” said 26-year-old U.S. rider. “Up there, quiet, in the zone, but I’m like ‘I gotta get down there, I gotta experience that hype, I gotta give those fans what they want to see.’ That’s why I was kind of bummed after the first run. I got a little tripped out by seeing a bunch of the guys mess up their runs. So I kept it really safe. But in the second runs I was like ‘I’ve got nothing to lose, if I want to win this event, I’ve got to get this done.’ So, I’m so stoked that the run worked out. It’s insane to be back on top, and in Australia. I couldn’t ask for a better day.”
The run kicked off with a massive cashroll, gapping completely over an on-off feature instead of touching down.
“I had a pretty heavy start to the run,” Rogatkin said, describing the opening move to his second run. “It’s one of those features that you can jump the whole thing. Jumping the whole thing wasn’t enough, ‘cause there was a bunch of us doing it, so I had to really step it up. Cashroll over the first feature. Probably the scariest move of my whole run, so starting it out with a bang. It’s good because as soon as I land that, I’m like, ‘I’m on.’
Fedko had a chance to take the lead back with the day’s final run. But, with the pressure on, the German blew up his back wheel.
“I was pushing,” Fedko said last run. “I saw Nicholi, and he was dialled. I knew he was going to land the run. I knew because he looked really good in practice. So I was like ‘Ok, let’s get ready. Let’s get ready.’ I never push in second runs. I always have my first run dialled and then I’m stoked for the podium, but this time I was hungry, and I went for it.”
Crankworx wraps up its first visit to Cairns on Sunday with the dual slalom event. You can watch live from Canada (on Saturday night) on Red Bull TV.
