The Weekender: Top action sports videos of the week, upcoming events
Every Friday in The Weekender we'll take a look at some of the best videos of the week from the world of action and outdoor sports—like CandideThovex shredding dirt and Evan Geiselman’s dramatic rescue in Hawaii—and we'll also give you a preview of the most exciting events to watch out for this weekend.
Shredding Dirt
Candide Thovex has easily established himself as the most exciting freeskier in the world. And that has more to do with his edits than anything else. Last year he shot a GoPro video at his home mountain in Val Blanc, France that blew the snow world away with his speed and progression. And he blew minds again this week when he teamed with Audi for this video that has him shredding dirt in Megève.
Evan Geiselman Rescue
This edit isn’t that spectacular for its quality, but the content was intensely poignant. After taking a three-wave hold down during training for the Pipeline Invitational, Evan Geiselman was knocked unconscious. His dramatic rescue by South African bodyboarder Andre Botha was caught on camera, adding brevity to an already heavy situation in what was a heavy week on the North Shore. Geiselman was extremely humbled and thanked Botha and others for his rescue on Instagram this week.
McMorris is More Than a Park Rat
Um, Mark McMorris is Mark McMorris no matter where he rides and instead of shredding the park in Burton Presents 2016, a web series from the snowboard company, he unleashes on the backcountry from British Columbia to Australia to Japan and beyond. And it’s safe to say the Canadian’s skills transfer well. It’s actually completely eye-opening to see this Olympic champ do what he loves outside the boundaries of a resort and the watchful eyes of judges. No rules. Just pure expression. And it’s really fun to watch.
Keep Your Tips Up
Red Bull’s Series with Sean Pettit and Joe Shuster continues as the two Canadian freeskiers head to Crested Butte. Trust us, you never new a pair of ski bums lived this lavishly—if that’s what you call it. As is the case with roadies, sometimes things don’t work out the way they’re supposed to. Avalanches and truck wrecks sort of derail the boy’s trip. But Pettit’s father—who they’ve made into a character, aka Groovemeister—saves the episode.
All Day BMX SHOP Mix Tape
What could be better than watching some of the world’s best BMX riders—like Ty Morrow and DeMarcus Paul—shred the streets of Southern California and Ensenada, Mexico to flowy underground tunes? That’s what you get with the All Day Mix Tape. The nearly 12-minute flick is pure riding, no fluff, filmed by the All Day BMX crew, a bike shop in northern Baja. Despite all the negatives, the modern world is still fantastic, where free movies proliferate the Internet.
The Weekend Roundup
The Pipeline Masters |worldsurfleage.com | Dawn Patrol Morning Show, 12:30 p.m. EST, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii
In the surfing world, it doesn’t get any bigger than the Pipeline Masters, an event that’s almost considered a World Title unto itself. And this year, as the WSL’s final event of the season, World Championships are on the line with at least six surfers still in contention. Unfortunately, one of them, Owen Wright, was hurt in training and following a hospital stay, had to withdraw from the contest. The most dangerous wave in the sport will decide surfing’s most sought after title. And the best free telecast in sports is live all weekend.
The Dew Tour | dewtour.com | Saturday 10 a.m. EST, Breckenridge, Colorado
In one of the main warm-ups for the X Games, the Dew Tour has a full slate of finals this weekend with skiing and snowboarding’s best athletes competing for freeriding supremacy in Slopestyle and Superpipe. And in preliminary events, it’s been a bit of a throwback as Sean White won the Superpipe semifinal. Interesting storylines abound before the holiday break as Gus Kenworthy—who recently made headlines by coming out—gets a real competitive dress rehearsal before his X Games competition in January, one he’s tagged as the most important competition in his career and one he’s yet to medal at.
Women’s World Cup |Universal HD | Sunday at 7:30 a.m. EST, Are, Sweden
Sorry fellas, but the women’s storylines run deep this weekend. While the men head to Val d’Isere, France for the Giant Slalom (and Ted Ligety is currently third overall) , the women are in Are, Sweden for a Giant Slalom of their own and the American women are on top of the world at the moment. Mikaela Shiffrin is the world’s best slalom racer. Lindsey Vonn, the best in the speed game, just had a huge weekend in Lake Louise and currently holds a four-point lead over her young American teammate in the overall World Cup standings. This weekend will be huge to see if the youngster can un-seed the veteran. NBC will be streaming US Ski Team events all weekend long. Check the schedule here where you can catch the men’s events too.
