Published on May 9th, 2019 | by Kayak Session

UNLEASHED Quebec MMXIX – Stage 3, White Dawg Wave Freestyle. Recap + Results + Video

UNLEASHED Quebec: MMXIX
Stage 3: The Rouge River – White Dawg Wave – Best Ride Freestyle presented by Dewerstone
Recap + Results + Video
by: Kalob Grady

Never in the history of Unleashed have stages been held on back to back days, until now. The stars aligned and the spring flow of the Rouge delivered prime flows to build off the remarkable BoaterX in Stage 2 on Monday, and transition straight into the ambitious task of holding Stage 3 on Tuesday afternoon.

Stage 3 was formatting as a best ride competition featuring UNLEASHED’s own unique scoring system for technical freestyle events. In Stage 1 on the Rib, athletes only had to focus on 3 massive tricks throughout an entire session. Now, in Stage 3, athletes needed to transform to the format.

Rest Ride Freestyle format: (Score sheet below)
– 5 rides.
– 1 minute time limit.
– Best 2 rides combined count.
– 3 judges.
– 1 judge for tricks.
– 1 judge for steeze and style.
– 1 judge for flow.

The White Dawg wave on the Rouge River was the perfect location to display this technical freestyle format. A big enough wave to throw every wave trick, and most combo tricks, but small enough compared to other Stakeout waves to allow athletes to stay in control and focus on stringing together tricks in 1 continuous ride. In addition to checking tricks off the list, athletes were encouraged to stay stylish and focus on staying in motion, working the wave to increase their style score and flow multiplier.

Tom Dolle © D. Stewart

Athletes enjoyed a second beautiful sunny day in a row as they gathered on the banks of the Rouge river. Separated into 4 heats, they were able to cheer on and support as athlete after athlete dropped in for their rides. Austrian crowd favorite Andi Brunner (AUT) was a constant delight to watch on the river simply for his stoke! Young chargers Tom Dolle (FRA) and Hayden Voorhees (USA) continue to show that the next generation is already here. Darby McAdams (USA) and Natalie Anderson (USA) threw down on their respective rides, with Darby having an overall highest individual scoring ride, but Natalie earning a higher placing with her consistent efforts.

Make sure to follow along as athletes travel north towards Quebec City in search of the perfect steep creek for Stage 4.