Brandon is Back - Red Bull Joyride 2015 Contest Recap 2

Semenuk the Serene - photo Scott Serfas/Red Bull.

​Watching Brandon Semenuk pull off a performance for the ages in unReal had us thinking that when this guy puts it together, he's very hard to beat - even though Brett Rheeder seemed to be getting the better of him in the contest arenas of 2015. With the added benefit of hindsight, we can now bask in the glory of our keen instincts, as Semenuk laid down a flawless first run at Red Bull Joyride 2015 to put the pressure on Rheeder and his pursuit of the Triple Crown of Slopestyle. Rheeder would ultimately buckle under the assault, and he never really looked comfortable on the Boneyard, crashing out twice to put an end to his hopes of becoming the first ever winner of Slopestyle's most prestigious trophy. Instead it was Semenuk who would add to his legacy by taking a third Joyride win on the trot, his 4th overall.

Trick machine Nicholi Rogatkin had a crash in his first run, but showed nerves of steel to lay down a perfect run of his own - with a cork 7, a triple tailwhip and of course his signature cash roll, perhaps only a relatively timid backflip on the last feature of the course stood between him and a serious challenge for his first ever Joyride win. Remarkable performance from the young newcomer, and it's surely only a matter of time until he figures out how to win on slopestyle's biggest stage.

Belgium's Tommy G (Thomas Genon) came through with a clutch second run to climb onto the 3rd step of the podium, just ahead of France's Tomas Lemoine who laid it all out in his second run only to come up just short.

Apart from Rheeder's 2 crashes, the big disappointments of the day were Tom van Steenbergen who went down hard on a front flip off the cabin drop (!) and was unable to attempt a second run due to a banged up shoulder, and Cam Zink who twice bit the dust on a backflip superman seatgrab. There are always "what if's" in slopestyle, but above all we really wanted to see both riders complete their runs and show us their bag of tricks. Anthony Messere also failed to put it together when it mattered going out early in both runs, robbing us of the full pull.

Looking to the future, it is clear that slopestyle has no plans to stop evolving. Tricks are at PlayStation level already, and there is plenty of young talent stepping up to challenge the veterans. Look no further than Torquato Testa, a relatively unknown Italian rider who earned a Joyride invite with a strong performance at the Colorado Freeride Festival, and who showed us that he is ready to thrown down with the big boys any day. He crashed out, but we can't wait to see him put it all together. The future is bright - the future is now!

Brandon Semenuk's Winning Run - Crankworx Red Bull Joyride 2015

​Nicholi Rogatkin's 2nd Place Run - Crankworx Red Bull Joyride 2015

​Thomas Genon's 3rd Place Run - Crankworx Red Bull Joyride 2015

​2015 Crankworx Red Bull Joyride Results

1. Brandon Semenuk, 93.80
2. Nicholi Rogatkin, 90.40
3. Thomas Genon, 88.00
4. Tomas Lemoine, 86.60
5. Logan Peat, 85.00
6. Sam Reynolds, 83.60
7. Yannick Granieri, 76.80
8. Louis Reboul, 74.40
9. Tomas Zejda, 69.20
10. Greg Watts, 68.60
11. Mehdi Gani, 62.60
12. Sam Pilgrim, 62.00
13. Paul Genovese, 58.80
14. Torquato Testa, 52.00
15. Anthony Messere, 40.80
16. Brett Rheeder, 39.00
17. Tom van Steenbergen, 33.00
18. Cam Zink, 24.80

Catch all the action in the replay of the live webcast here.

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