Victory for Valentin

“A month before the competition I had a feeling that I’d never experienced before. I was super concentrated and calm, with two possible outcomes of 2nd or 1st place. I needed to figure out how both would affect my life.

In the beginning I had no expectations, but I had the chance to make something happen in the semis. I thought; ‘I have to be first, I want to be first and many people want me to be first.”

The semi final heat started well with good scores, but I crashed three tricks in a row. It was hard. I knew that I had to land an 8 point trick before the flag went up. I went for it and everything came together. I think it was my time. The finals are still a blur!”

Aaron, you’ve trail-blazed the freestyle discipline on a world class level for over a decade. How does it feel to see the next generation step up to the plate?

“Seeing the level increase so much in a short amount of time is great. I felt like it was kind of stagnant for a while but since a few new, fresh faces have come in to the industry we have really seen the technical difficulty increase. This year especially, the quality of the tricks from the likes of Valentin, Liam (Whaley) and a few others is really nice to see.”

Valentin chose to ride the 2020 Duotone Hadlow TS and Vegas. How do these designs and setup suit his style of riding?

“I am really happy to see Valentin doing so well and choosing to ride a board and kite I’ve put so much time and development into over the years. The Hadlow TS is perfect for his size and weight, it’s the ultimate board for him.

Valentin is pulling huge tricks with heavy landings and there are certain features in the design specifically for that. 

The flex pattern is relatively stiff and delivers massive pop. The channels can handle big landings, which I would say are most important aspect for him right now; something that accompany his smooth style in the trick.”

What are your thoughts on the future of freestyle ?

“I always wonder what else can be done. But at the moment, it’s really about the execution of these tricks. It goes in stages of who can do the new best trick, then it comes to a point where a lot of people are doing them and it is about who is doing them best -  this has happened many times in the past and is happening again with 720 and 900 handlepass. I am curious to see what happens next.”

GKA

“It’s a distant memory since a pretty much unknown teenage rider has created such a buzz in their first World Championship season… never mind coming and winning the thing at their first attempt. Val is special and exhibits an incredibly powerful riding style that seems unbelievable from such a slightly framed 17-year-old. Who knows what he’ll be capable of as he gets stronger and stronger over the coming seasons. Hopefully he’ll always keep the smile he’s been riding with all season though, ever since storming his way to the podium at the first event of the season. “Hello Colombia!”

VALENTIN’S WINNING TRICK LIST

319 scoring: 8.97

Slim 9 scoring: 9.27

KGB7 scoring: 9.43

Heart attack 7 scoring: 9.63