The Suzuki Nine Knights freeride event took place last week in Livigno, Italy. While any rider who can complete the Nine Knights course is impressive, there were those that did it with more flare than others. Here’s my pick of the stand out riders from the 2015 Suzuki Nine Knights.
Peter Henke (GER)
Peter Henke was the man to beat throughout the week. He walked away with the overall “Ruler of the Week” award and the top spot in the contest “Full Line” category. The two big titles of the event.
Most riders decided to go with their big bikes, Henke (and few others) stuck to his craft and road his Canyon Stitch 720 slopestyle bike. This worked well, allowing him to out perform the big bikes with more technical tricks in the contest run.
Not only did Henke perform well on the bike, he also lived up to his own #PartyHenke tagline, which is an impressive feat considering the selection of distinguished partiers on the Nine Knights roster.
Diego Caversaszi (ITA)
Italian rider Diego Caversaszi thrived on the bigger features of the Nine Knights course in front of his home crowd. To top the podium in the “Best Castle Section” category, Diego backflipped the top castle drop (a drop few riders even attempted) and then pulled off a jaw dropping backflip bar spin to tailwhip. Diego on the his winning run: “I was a little scared about the huge drop, but I just turned my brain off and dropped in. The rest was not a big deal!”
Nicholi Rogatkin (USA)
Nicholi charged hard on his downhill bike. The young American landed a cork 720 and a cashroll (apparently a first on a downhill bike). These tricks sealed the “Best Trick on Big Bike” award for him. Take a look at both tricks in the videos below:
Sam Reynolds (GB)
Sam Reynolds went big all week. Notably, there was perfect sunset breaking through the clouds during the evening session on day 2. Sam made the most of these conditions by going huge off the hip, and getting some of the best action shots of the week.
On contest day, he placed second to Peter Henke in the “Full Line” competition. Sam also got the nod from his peers and was voted to have executed the best tailwhip of the week.
Sam is also a regular visitor to our sunny shores, attending the previous two The Night Harvest events as well as filming Pure Darkness 2 near Knysna. There was some talk of a return trip which will easily eclipse the step up built earlier this year.
Blake Samson (ZIM)
Blake Samson was the only African competitor at the Suzuki Nine Knights. Blake currently lives on the Isle of Wight after his family were forced to leave Zimbabwe. The African crowd (Ryan from Monster and myself) could be found cheering “Boet” on from the sidelines. Yes, the Zimbo spoke better Afrikaans than the South African contingent. Blake didn’t just make my list for being born in a neighbouring country, he also rode pretty darn well. He simply oozed style with his huge airs. Blake ended up just off the podium with a fourth place on contest day.
Blake and Sam had themselves a little whip-off contest:
Sam Pilgrim (GB)
Sam Pilgrim had a decent contest season this year and carried this form to the Suzuki Nine Knights. He was one of the more versatile riders, pulling an endless supply of tricks from his bag on all parts of the course. He finished third in the “Full Line” contest with a backflip table top, backflip no-hander on the right kicker and table top on the berm.
Timo Pritzel (GER)
I couldn’t leave this legendary dirt and freerider out. At 38 years-old he did himself more than proud against the younger riders. He walked away with the “oldest dude on track still jumping high” award. Not only was Timo hitting the Suzuki Nine Knights course, but he also helped the Nine Knights crew limber up each morning with a yoga class at the hotel.
Super cool to Blake up there !!!!