Over 110 riders descended upon Cables Wake Park in Penrith this past weekend for the 4th stop of the Australian Liquid Force Rail Series and despite Sundays rain delays and sudden storms it was another huge success for the riders and organisers alike. On Saturday we saw record entry numbers for both the Indy Industries 2 Tower Challenge and the Jet Pilot King of the Kicker event. Sunday saw another huge turn-out for the Liquid Force Rail Jam and the Go Ride Flatwater Freaks as riders from all over Australia competed alongside others from Korea, Italy, Germany, England and the USA.
Over 50 riders competed on the linear cable system in the Indy 2 Tower Challenge on Saturday, where they received 6 laps of the course to show what they could do on the flatbar and kicker combination. Riders hit the water one at a time and were judged on technique, style and intensity across a variety of divisions. The locals showed the home town advantage with Doug Thompson and Aliysa Gibbons taking out the top honours in the Pro Mens and Womens sections. Jamie Neville and USA superstar Jimmy LaRiche rounded out the podium in the Mens section as did Anna Bielen and Bronwyn Bonnette in the ladies. Zahra Kell has come a long way in the off season and took out the Under 17 girls. Luke Boor showed all the Under 17 boys how to ride the system and Don Baker took the title from Chris Flaxman in Amateur Mens.
A large crowd had gathered on the shoreline by Saturday afternoon to witness the 60+ riders that took part in the Jet Pilot King of the Kicker contest, where the “one hit wonders” attempted to land their best trick from 3 attempts on the wave kicker. Highlights included a clean kgb 5 in the Under 17 Boys division by Italian Massimiliano Piffaretti, which also won the X-Mini trick of the weekend, a “frog in a blender” by Under 13 riders Lewy Watt and all the absolutely massive tricks thrown down by the pro riders including Dean Smith, Korean Windy Park and local favourite Mark McNamara.
On Sunday morning the centrepiece of the event, the Liquid Force Rail Jam got underway at 10am and with a field of 112 riders and a few rain delays that kept going all day until after the water settled from the Pro Mens final at 5pm. Despite a larger number of riders and a field of international competitors from Germany, Korea, and the USA and despite narrowly making the finals by just 2 points, Mitch Langfield, in the end showed who is the boss of the rails with another undisputed victory. Mitch continued his clean sweep of the events so far and took an unbeatable lead in the series points chase with one round still to go. USA pro Jimmy LaRiche was in 2nd place just 1 point ahead of Jamie Neville who also locked up 2nd place in the season points series in the Pro Mens division. Without Sophie Hogben at the event the Pro Womens was wide open and Bec Gange stepped up to take the top spot ahead of Aliysa Gibbons and Anna Bielen. Chris Flaxman made it 3 in a row in the Amateur Men, as did Joe Fitzgerald in Under 13 Boys. Luke Boor continued to improve with another 1st place finish in Under 17 boys and Zahra Kell showed she can compete with the big girls by taking out the Under 13 girls division.
As is always the case in these events however it wasn’t the pros or the top riders that carried the best memories but rather the strength and the numbers in the Amateur sections and the beginner Rookies Division. The series thrives upon its “mate versus mate” format where carriers are always loaded and everyone competes on the water at the one time in a series of fast paced heats, semi’s and finals action. Riders of all ages and all abilities can rub shoulders and hang out on the shoreline with the sports top pros and international competitors.
The weekend activities concluded with the crowd favourite Go Ride Flatwater Freaks where cable riding specialists get to show us their best 2 flatwater air tricks from 6 attempts. The riders can be guaranteed to put on a great show and always provide a strong finish to the event. The Amateur section was taken out by local ripper Don Baker from Tony Iacconi and Massimiliano Piffaretti. The Pro section once again saw Alex Klimowsow at the top of the podium from german rider Sasha and Cairns import Ethan Agius.
In the end it was yet another epic weekend of riding, showcasing all styles of riding skills and abilities from Rookies to Pro’s, as everyone enjoyed the world class facilities offered by Cables Wake Park. The sheer number and size of these events are a testament to their success and popularity
as everyone in the wakeboard world comes together for a fun weekend of riding. The Australian Liquid Force Rail Series boasts 5 stops in total this season and awards the overall titles of Australian Rail Champions in all divisions. It is made possible not just by Liquid Force but also by the continued support of many sponsors including Jet Pilot, Indy Industries, Go Ride, Loose Kid Industries, Malibu, Nautique, wake.com.au, Obrien, Phalanx, X-Mini, and ML Watersports The final stop of the series for this season will be at Suncoast Cable at Bli Bli on Febuary 11-12.
A full listing of all results and video clips of stop 4 at Penrith is available at www.liquidforcewake.com.au or on the Liquid Force Australia facebook page.
