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Stefan Gimpl Wins Big
Innsbruck Air & Style
December 3-5, 1999

  • Koski and Sankala Go Big
  • Creed and Ice T Playing Tonight
  • Tragedy Strikes Air & Style

    Winner Stefan Gimpl from Innsbruck Air & Style
    LISTEN:  [RealPlayer]

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    Ice-T
    Today was THE day in every way. Here in Innsbruck the weather turned warm after the "föhn," a wind from the south, hit the city. Everybody usually goes nuts when the wind comes; it gives a lot of people a headache. My grandmother feels the wind coming a day in advance.

    Anyway, today a lot of spectators were probably dressed too warmly. The quarterpipe session started in the early afternoon. The stadium started to fill around 2pm, when I sat in the middle of the spectator's area eating a hot wiener sausage. The straight jumpers came up later and during this time, Jonas Emery was already snaking the big jump as well as the quarter. Somehow he made it into the style jump, along with the straight jumpers and the invited "Special 7" riders at this 7th Air and Style, incuding Mr. Sani Alibabic and Mr. Gigi Rüf (both AUT). Their board friend Chris Brown (CAN) didn't make the last cut either and was also going for the Style jump, and with that a trip to the Fijis. For the girls it was Pauline Richon (CH) winning in front of Nici Pederzolli (AUT), who is the local girl here at this event.

    "But today Trevor got it together to tough out the fattest Mc'y Mc, I have ever seen, landing smooth as buttered bread..."

    Ah yeah, the style jump. Well, Jonas won it. Jonas Emery (CH), big time sneaker, big time styler and motivated rider got the style award, in front of a prominent jury, such as Mike Basich (USA) who broke his jaw yesterday. He couldn't even talk anymore, but nevertheless, came to the bar last night. Well, he was one of the judges, which included everyone from a surfing legend to a snowboard legend.

    Jonas took the trip home and I was happy for him. During this summer I went to some climbing sessions with Jonas near Sierre (CH) and this guy has the muscles. When we were there in Sierre, Stefan Gimpl, also a hobby climber came along with David Benedek (GER) and Andrew Crawford (USA) all in today's superfinals of the big air session. But before that was the finals in the Quarter:

    Trevor, Trevor, where are you? I think Trevor has liked it here in Europe over the last few weeks. The weather has been mostly nice, and if I think about him now, I see him either smiling or sleeping. Fact is that Trevor bailed so hard yesterday that even the batteries in his head-set fell out and he got really beaten by the earth. After the slam yesterday I saw him in the hospital for a minute. He's fine, or let's say 45%. Maybe he was motivated by the other dudes, such as: Jan Michelis (GER), Markku Koski (FIN), Henri Sankala (FIN) and also Wolle Nyvelt (AUT) who gave their best to that quarter thing in front of all these people. But today Trevor got it together to tough out the fattest Mc'y Mc, I have ever seen, landing smooth as buttered bread. And since probably a lot of people, let's say 98%, have never seen a trick like this, Mr. Andrew went home with all of it.

    Then the Superfinals started. After the first jump, it was Andrew Crawford (USA) who was in the lead. David Benedek (GER), the simpatico guy from Munich, also showed his gangster stuff and finished 3rd. On Stefan Gimpl's (AUT) last air, everything was attached. He did a backside 7, kinda inverted with a indy, as well as I can remember. The moderator motivated him to do more stuff, and so he did in the second jump. What it was you will see in the next Video collection coming out in OnBoard magazine.

    About Mr. Stefan Gimpl I just can say he is a very nice, natural person. He comes from Leogang in Salzburg, and is a real mountain dude. I've know him since 1996 and back then he was quite small and young. Now he is 20 and today he won the Air and Style. What a surprise. He just messed up his mother's car. But today he won, besides the $40,000, a nice little Audi A3. He told me that he can have in any version he would like.

    Well, Stefan owned the world on this evening, and I was thinking about our trips together. In 1997, we were in New Zealand, where we got to know each other a little better. We founded the Easy Division together with Pascal Imhof, short just PI, Dani Sappa and also Dani Kiwi Maier as well as Martin Rutz, who was this evening the only one missing in Innsbruck.

    And the devils went out tonight (and until the Monday comes) to represent the bad, the devil, the piper, Lucifer in form of a hairy man with a mask. Around the time when Mr. Mother... ICE T came up, the crowd was vibrating. For the men or the mice it was a special experience in the winter city.

    — Nils, MountainZone.com European Correspondent

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