Basogoitia, Zink go 1-3 in Whistler mountain bikes

The Carson area was well-represented in a professional mountain bike slopestyle event last weekend in Whistler, British Columbia.

Eighteen-year-old Paul Basogoitia of Minden won the event while 2004 Carson High graduate Cameron Zink was third, giving the area a 1-3 finish at the Crankworx mountain bike festival. Zink was able to take third despite a bad knee that needed surgery.

The slopestyle event is the mountain bike version of freeride skiing. Riders were given the challenge of riding through a terrain park with features such as a 30-foot trailer. The riders were limited only by their imagination to come up with the best tricks.

It is easy to throw a tail-whip off a giant Giro trailer in front of a crowd packed Basagoitia made it look smooth and simple when he threw a tail-whip off a giant Giro trailer on his way to the win.

The event became a showdown between Basagoitia, British Columbia's Darren Berrecloth and Zink.

Berrecloth's run ranked slightly lower than Basagoitia's but included a frenzy of tricks. After Berrecloth, Basagoitia stepped it up a notch. His run was both technical and big. It included a 360 off the quarter-pipe and two lazy back flips. Jaws were dropping as he guaranteed his spot on the podium with a tail-whip off the Giro trailer.

A tail whip spins the entire bike around while the rider hangs on tight to the handlebars.

"I saw Eric do three big back flips and I thought I had better do something good," Basagoitia told the area newspaper, The Question. Basagoitia took first among 225 professional riders in the event.

Zink placed third after throwing two back flips and an insane 360 off the Giro trailer. It was an impressive display of pure guts but not enough to win the contest.

On Wednesday, Zink underwent knee surgery to repair a torn ACL and meniscus.

"It was pretty sketchy going over that trailer but I still managed to ride away," Zink told The Question.

Earlier this summer in Saalback Hinterglemm, Austria, Zink placed third against the World's best riders in the Adidas slopestyle event. He also won the speed trials mountain bike race at the Teva Mountain Games this summer in Vail, Colo.