South Aussie Slappage Slalom

Thanks to this little thing called Covid-19, we saw two shortened race seasons in 2020 and 2021. Some of our local youths were bored and had the itch to keep on racing; welcome to the Slappage Summer Series.

Foot out flat out was the theme of the day

Low but, not slow

The Slappage Crew had a tonne of pent-up energy after eating way too much sugar and needed a way to burn off any extra calories. With 2 days to spare, a bare hill, and a whole lot of motivation, the Slappage Dual Slalom event was born. 20 or so of the best racers were invited to race each other down the loose hill that was once the local garbage dump (who said you couldn't polish a turd).

Cain Branston was on a heater every run

Practice started at 3pm with racing kicking off at four. The crowds rolled in as riders were getting comfortable with the track, and back wheels were sliding around all over the place. Riders were split into three groups based on a seeding run which meant we saw 14-year-old shredders taking on the wise old racers from the past.

Racing between the trees was tight

Is it even slalom in 2021 without a spine?

Dust was a plenty

The heckles were strong as we saw the first elimination races take place, and if they were anything to go by, racing would be off tap. If anything was going to be taken away from this event, the future is bright.

Both Andrew Hacqouil(14) and Giles Button(15) took the wins in their classes with style, showing their elders how it's done. Cain Branston was on fire all day and snuck into second, proving that with age comes consistency. Ben Wheaton was fresh off a broken tib/fib injury and showed everyone that he somehow got faster during the rehab, expect big things from this 19-year-old in the future.

DH, XC, or DJ bike, as long as it had two wheels it could be raced.

Let'r Eat

No one cared about the results, though, because this event proved that all you need is a couple of rakes, some keen individuals, and a bunch of rowdy spectators to have a good time. The beats were loud, beers were flowing, and the heckles were encouraging down the whole track. If this is the first event, we can't wait to see what the future holds.

Roost in Aisle 3

Ben Wheaton wins Best Dressed

Elite: 1st Anthony Hacouil, 2nd Cain Branston, 3rd Ben Wheaton

Expert: 1st Giles Button, 2nd Scott Brown, 3rd Mitchell

Sport: 1st Matt Dann, 2nds Kyle Chrysostomou