Extreme Exposure: Hoefler's Dew Tour dominance, Hobgood's final run, more
Welcome back to Extreme Exposure, a weekly column bringing you the best photography and news from the world of action and outdoor sports.This week Kelvin Hoefler wins his third event on the Dew Tour, CJ Hobgood makes a final run at Teahupoo and more.
Going for a Triple
Brandon Semenuk was out of Triple Crown contention in the Crankworx Slopestyle this weekend as the tour finished its third and final stop in Whistler, British Columbia, following a ten-day festival. But that didn’t stop the local from winning his third straight Red Bull Joyride on Sunday, a mix of slopestyle, dirt jumping and classic downhill mountain biking. After finishing No. 14 to start the season in New Zealand, Semenuk ended second in the Les Deux Alpes event before his win in Whistler, which made up for everything. “It’s complete redemption for the bad start I had,” he told the Vancouver Sun.
The Crankworx tour topped off its season by awarding Triple Crown championships in a number of mountain biking disciplines including Dual Slalom, Enduro and Downhill, among others.
Three is Better
Kelvin Hoefler is having himself a stellar year. The Brazilian won his second and third Dew Tour events of 2015 on a steep course set in downtown Los Angeles on Broadway Street right near City Hall. Hoefler put away some serious cash too, as he pocketed $100,000 thanks to his Streetstyle win and his top podium finish in the Street competition ($50,000 each). Hoefler also won the Street competition during the Dew Tour’s Chicago stop in June. Needless to say, 2015 was huge for Hoefler who comes from extremely humble roots, having grown up in Guarujá, a beach city 65 miles east of São Paulo. “It’s not about how you win, but how many times you refuse to give up,” he said on his Instagram account. “My life has never been easy but I will keep going for my dreams.”
Old Dog, Old Tricks
Even after 17 years on the World Tour, this can’t get old. CJ Hobgood, the 2001 world champion who this month announced he’ll retire following the 2015 season, upset No. 7 Nat Young in Tahiti this weekend, setting himself up for a Round 3 matchup with Julian Wilson (currently ranked No. 3). Hobgood, who was recently enshrined into the Surfers Hall of Fame, won the Billabong Pro Tahiti in 2004 and has long been respected as one of the best barrel riders in the world. While free surfing will satisfy his itch as he spends more time in Florida with his wife and three daughters, the competitor in him will always long for these moments in a jersey: "When someone asks me what I'm going to miss about the tour it's that man-on-man combat," he says.
Young Dog, New Tricks
In June, Colorado's Megan Mascarenas told SI.com that “she wasn’t very good at interviews,” after she won the Colorado stop of the International Federation of Sport Climbing’s World Cup of Bouldering. Well, she might be getting better with the media now. At 17, and heading into her senior year of high school, Mascarenas is still the only American woman to win a World Cup event this year and her third place finish in Munich this weekend propelled her into the No. 5 spot in the world to end the 2015 season. She was the only American woman to make the finals (she was in first after the semis) and is the only one in the top 15 (Margo Hayes finished 17). Only one American man, Salt Lake City’s Nathanial Coleman (4), finished in the top 15.
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