Sweden’s Jesper Tjäder impressed the judges with his sensational tricks to secure his second star on the Red Bull PlayStreets Wall of Fame with victory in the 2023 edition of he urban slopestyle contest in Bad Gastein, Austria, on Friday night. Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli and Kim Gubser took second and third places respectively. Here is all you need to know:
– 10,000 enthusiastic spectators lined the Red Bull PlayStreets 2023 course that weaved its way through the centre of Bad Gastein in SalzburgerLand and featured a quarter-pipe, massive wallride, kickers, road gap, trampoline and challenging rails. With 21 athletes in top form and ready to push their boundaries, for the ninth time the legendary in-city slopestyle contest thrilled.
– Slopestyle contenders from 12 nations tackled the most unique course in the sport, including reigning champion Nick Goepper (USA), 2017 edition winner Jesper Tjäder (SWE), Andri Ragettli (SUI), Max Moffatt (CAN), Chris McCormick (GBR), Finn Bilous (NZL), Kim Gubser (SUI), Thibault Magnin (ESP), Ryan Stevenson (USA), Ralph Welponer (ITA), Leo Landroe (NOR), Elias Syrja (FIN), Hunter Henderson (USA), Simo Peltola (FIN), Štěpán Hudeček (CZE), Joona Kangas (FIN), Mikkel Brusletto Kaupang (NOR) and local Austrians Matej Svancer, Lukas Müllauer and Daniel Bacher.
– After the qualification in the afternoon, the 16 best riders competed in head-to-head duels in the finals. The high level of the demanding course challenged the athletes, but in the final rounds they doubled down to deliver even bigger tricks than they already had shown up to that point.
– Jesper Tjäder and Andri Ragettli battled for victory in the grand final, just as they had done back in 2017. Judged by a jury of three, Tjäder finally took the victory, his second Red Bull PlayStreets crown.
– In the clash between the pair, both were able to score big points with their respective creative strengths. Tjäder started right away with an impressive Switch Flair on the KIA Quarterpipe, a trick that nobody else had performed to this point, followed by a Misty 720 with a Reverse Mute Grab on the Big Air. He mastered the nine-metre-high Oakley Wallride with a Cork 540 up and a 180 down, continued with a Flat Spin over the Völkl Hip and rode switch into the new trampoline flipping out to the next obstacle. He also mastered the rail section with nerves of steel and closed the Last Dance with a 450 to Switch.
– The 28-year-old Swede commented: “It’s just great to win here. It’s a really difficult course that can’t be compared to any other contest. The atmosphere pushes you so hard and makes Red Bull PlayStreets unique. I’m so stoked I won my second star.”
– Tjäder can now look forward to his second star on the Red Bull PlayStreets Wall of Fame, where the winners of the previous nine contests are already immortalised.
– Switzerland’s Kim Gubser narrowly beat Austria’s Matej Svancer in the small final to finish third. 18-year-old Svancer, who lives in Zell am See not far from Bad Gastein, was happy about his excellent result in front of his home crowd however: “I’m really satisfied. Red Bull PlayStreets is just really cool. The semi-final against Jesper was a blast. Jesper does the sickest stunts, especially at Red Bull PlayStreets.”
– A totally redesigned course was unveiled for Red Bull Playstreets 2023. Constructed from 10,000m3 of snow and 150m3 of wood, it gave the athletes a 400-metre-long stage on which they could show off their tricks.
– Among the enthusiastic spectators were top athletes such as Anna Gasser, Clemens Millauer, Nadine Wallner, Senad Grosic, Michael Dorfmeister and Stefan Dollinger.
– Double Olympic champion snowboarder Gasser was deeply impressed by the tricks of the riders: “It’s great, it’s the first time I’ve watched Red Bull PlayStreets live on-site and it’s really something special that has been built here. It’s unique, I’ve never seen anything like it and that’s what makes it so special – and so impressive. It’s all very narrow and everything has to work perfectly to get through the course. That’s why the performance from the guys is so insane.”
Red Bull PlayStreets 2023 result
- Jesper Tjäder (SWE) 285 points
- Andri Ragettli (SUI) 282
- Kim Gubser (SUI) 261
- Matej Svancer (AUT) 259
COMMENTS