ORAGE MASTERS 2 / 2004

Thovex Shines at Orage Masters

Story By Brian Rosa / FREEZE Magazine

Droves of spectators turned out on Saturday to see Boyd Easley's team take first in the second annual Orage Masters held at the base of Mammoth's Main Lodge. Easley, who was sidelined with and injury, captained a squad consisting of Candide Thovex, Steele Spence, Craig Coker, and Luke Van Valin to victory. Hailed as the "uncompetition", the event consisted of six all-star teams captained by the likes of Easley, Tanner Hall, Phil Belanger, JP Auclair, Iannick B, and Philou Poirier. Teams went head to head with one another in a jam-style format and were given fifteen minutes to impress their peers, who served as the event's judges.

Filled with and assortment of rails, the polished course was capped off by Mammoth's signature wall ride where athletes wowed a sea of fans gathered on the deck of the Main Lodge. Thovex, fresh off the disabled list due to knee surgery, came back with a big European bang leading his Team Easley cohorts over Auclair's squad and into the next round. In the other two rounds Iannick B's team knocked off Poirier's, while Belanger's team knocked off Hall's team after a tiebreaker where Tanner Rainville (Team Belanger) defeated Peter Olenick (Team Hall).

In the three-team final round it was Thovex who carried Team Easley again with ridiculous 630s onto the box and effortless stalls on the wall ride. For his efforts, the French superstar took home a new Yamaha snowmobile. As for the rest of Team Easley, Coker took home a new G4, Van Valin took home a new 197-inch plasma TV, and Spence took home a surfing trip to Costa Rica.

The Masters was part of Mammoth's FREEZE-sponsored West Coast Invitational. In addition to the Masters, the weekend featured live music, an evening rail jam in the village, and tons of free stuff thanks to the event's sponsors.

RESULTS
1. Team Easley (Captain: Boyd Easley, Candide Thovex, Craig Coker, Steele Spence, Luke Van Valin)
2. Team Iannick (Captain: Iannick B., Josh Bibby, Mark Abma, TJ Schiller)
3. Team Belanger (Captain: Phil Belanger, JF Houle, Phil Larose, Tanner Rainville, Thomas Rinfret)