BY JEFFREY WEIDEL
Since he created this unique skiing and snowboarding event in Lake Tahoe, perhaps it was only fitting that Daron Rahlves once again captured the Super Finals to highlight the final day of the 2015 Rahlves’ Banzai Tour.
The Banzai Tour, which had previous stops at Alpine Meadows and Kirkwood ski resorts, had a spectacular finish March 15 at Sugar Bowl Resort in one of the most intense, aggressive, and action-packed races of the three-tour stop. Tight competition, a technical course, big airs, amazing crashes, and high-speed racing left the crowd roaring for more and an ecstatic podium of winners across all four race divisions.
An Olympic skier with a long resume of victories while on the World Cup tour for many years, Rahlves took the premiere race on the Banzai Tour, holding off runner-up Jesse Maddex, third-place Grant Ketels and Kyle Coxon in the Super Finals.
To see footage from the Super Finals, visit this link.
“I had my good buddy and World Cup motivator, Baby Huey, and my former World Cup Ski Tech, Willi Wiltz, at the start firing me up and boy I needed that,” said Rahlves, who didn’t accept the prize money. “I felt the pressure to step up in this face-off with Kyle Coxon, Jesse Maddex and Grant Ketels, battling it out for the $5,000 winner-take-all one run Super Final. I’m proud to say I held onto the Banzai Master title and kept the $5,000 in the Bank of the West.”
It was a challenging week heading into the finals at Sugar Bowl. The Tuesday before on a venue scout, Rahlves was concerned with the route due to tight gaps through the normal line down the historic Silver Belt Gully.
“With Race Dept director Nick Lewis, his assistant Marty and Sugar Bowl’s marketing assistant Peter Avedschmidt, we had a few moments of ‘what will we do here,’ but we came up with a fun looking line,” Rahlves said.
However, on Friday morning during the build out, RBT’s safety Technical Delegate Kurt Engel wanted to change the middle section due to a loss of snow over the previous three days, so a new route after Alaska Airlines Flight Deck through the trees towards Lincoln Express was agreed on.
“In the end it added time to the course, allowed for better spectating and helped open it up for more passing opportunities,” Rahlves said. “I thought the new ‘forced route’ made it a more complete course. It sure was fun to ski.”
To check out video of the final day of the Banzai Tour at Sugar Bowl, visit this link.
Johnny Kimball won the Alaska Airlines Flight Deck Award
2015 Rahlves’ Banzai Tour Overall Winners received a Round Trip ticket each from Alaska Airlines. Silver Belt Banzai winners from Sugar Bowl Resort also got an invite with a free Alaska Airlines flight to Anchorage for 30tth annual Arctic Man by founder and promoter, Howie Thies.
For point standings and purse winnings visit- http://www.rahlvesbanzai.com/results/
Super Finals
1. Daron Rahlves
2. Jesse Maddex
3. Grant Ketels
4. Kyle Coxon
Overall Banzai Tour winners
Men’s Ski: Kyle Coxon
Men’s Snowboard: Jayson Hale
Women’s Ski: Shelly Robertson
Women’s Snowboard: Audrey Hebert
Sugar Bowl Results
Men’s Ski
- Kyle Coxon
- Grant Ketels
- Jesse Maddex
- Shawn McGee
Men’s Snowboard
- Jayson Hale
- Sylvain Duclos
- Bobby Minghini.
- Dillon Candelaria
Women’s Ski
- Shannon Rahlves
Audrey Hebert took first in the Women’s Snowboard division at Sugar Bowl and Mariah Dugan placed second. - Shelly Robertson
- Alexis Machvsky
- Caitlin Robinson
Women’s Snowboard
- Audrey Hebert
- Mariah Dugan
- Emily Weer
- Aubriana Dunn
Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting his winter website at www.tahoeskiworld.com
