Home
Time to hit the water! PDF Print E-mail
Saturday, 05 May 2012 12:22

Even though there is still a lot of snow up in the mountains, the weather down near the coast is getting warmer (at the moment 5 degrees), so I figured I’d give kitesurfing a go again. With dry suit, hood, gloves and boots it’s actually not that bad, so if anyone wants to join, give a shout :) Even so I’m really excited to go kiting in 30 degree water in Rhodos this summer with my girlfriend Marte. Tickets are already bought!

IMAG0072

Flat water - Even though it doesn’t look windy at all from the picture below its between 15 and 20 knots. Straight off shore which gives perfect flat water, but it’s a good idea to stay close to the shore in case something happens…

 

Last Updated on Saturday, 05 May 2012 16:22
 
Rems Invitational snowkite competition PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 18 April 2012 14:30

Two weeks ago a Norwegian friend of mine, Remi, called me up and wondered if wanted to come join in an invitational competition where the goal was to make the best snowkite film possible in 4 days. Also joining was Marianna Voznessenskaja, Claes Lundin, Bjørn Kaupang, Jan Schiegnitz, Oliver Palmers, Erika Lindberg, Remi Meum, Marek Murphy, Marlin Rapp and Sam Medysky.

540300_10150801260250259_564705258_12064107_13708829_n

Riders card – At the premiere of the movies that were made during the week every rider at the big race, Ragnarok could give their vote for the best movie

 

We were split into 3 teams and got each our videographer to film and edit the whole thing. Pretty awesome concept for a competition not having to stress with short heats and just being able to ride around the mountain plateau all week having fun! Enjoy the video Smile

 

Rems Invitational - Team #1

 

Even though my team didn’t win the vote, we had so much fun together and got a lot of new friends from all around the globe.

After the film competition, it was time for the Red Bull Ragnarok; an epic  race where 250 kiters start at the same time, racing to finish a staggering 50 km! As race isn’t really my thing, I took things easy and made sure to bring an orange and chocolateSmile Halfway through I encountered some TV guys on a snowmobile and did some jumps for the cameras before carrying on. Then, I ate some chocolate and took a piss before I headed back towards the finish line up in the beautiful Norwegian mountains. In the end I finished 16th but most importantly; I had a lot of fun! I highly recommend everyone to come next year!

DG_130412_Ragnarok_Norway_0043

Hectic start – 250 kiters starting at the same time leaves small room (literally) for errors, so a good start was crucial!

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 April 2012 18:31
 
Norwegian Snowkite Championship 2012 PDF Print E-mail
Thursday, 29 March 2012 16:48

This weekend the Norwegian Championship in Snowkiting went down in the remote mountais of Røros, Norway. As some of you might have noticed it’s been the warmest winter in over a hundred years, and vast snowy plains and mountain plateaus all over Norway have been transformed into a mixture of mud and heather in a matter of weeks. Fortunately Røros still had some left, but rotten snow and slush all over the competition area made landing tricks very difficult. If you landed a bit too hard, your board would sink in half a meter sending you face first into the snow.

marius faceplant

Wet – As the weather got warmer during the day, the snow started to melt in the competition area. BRRR!!!

 

First of for the competition was Freestyle Men, Snowboard. After the qualifiers, quarter and semi finals, I ended up riding the finals against my brother Sigurd, Marius Coucheron and Martin Hovdal. All very skilled snowkiters. Unfortunately, the conditions were so lousy during the finals with low wind and way to much water in the competition area, so the judges decided to redo the final heat the next morning in a new spot where there were still some dry snow left. For the riders who at this time all looked like drowned cats this was very welcome news, and we could go back to the cabin, take a warm shower and drink some cold beer (preferably at the same time Smile)  

 

NM 2012 Andreas Freestyle (3)

Andreas Toverud, KGB

 

The day after the wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped below 0 so everything was looking good for the competition, despite the gloomy looking lake of slush by the landing of the slider. The day started of with the final heat of freestyle men, snowboard. All of us did our best and at the end of the heat, none of us were sure who won. To find out we had to wait until the banquet later that day.

 

NM 2012 Sigurd (til v) og Andreas Klaveness Toverud

Now the time was up for the women to ride and then freestyle ski men. Exhausted from our heat, my brother and I caught our breath watching while getting ready for the next big thing; race and kite cross on snowboard. New of this year was a much shorter circuit at only 1,5km. This was a change all the riders definitely enjoyed since race previous years had been so exhausting one could  barely walk afterwards. This was a lot more action and fun! After 4 rounds with separate starts it was clear that my brother had the best overall score with 3 victories and one 5th place. I ended up third with two second places, one third and one forth after Marius Coucheron who came second.

 

Taking a break – After riding the freestyle finals my brother and I took a break watching the other heats

 

fett lys

Freeride – In between the heats and competitions there was some time to play around. Even though the sky was cloudy the sun shone through once in a while and gave some truly spectacular lighting

 

NM 2012 Sigurd  Freestyle (1)

Sigurd Toverud Shifty raley to blind

 

NM 2012 Før start på Race ved gruvene ved Storwartz

Tight start – Crashes common when the whistle blows and everyone is fighting for good starting position. A good start is crucial if you want to win!

When the race finished it was time for kitecross. Definitely the most fun type of racing! The kitecross race circuit was about 300 meters long, there was checkpoints and obstacles along the way and 4 people compete in each heat. I got “sabotaged” by Marius Coucheroun in the semi finals when he smacked his kite into mine before he rode off and my kite laid twisted and impossible to relaunch. My brother won the semi finals and went straight on to win the finals as well, almost half a lap in front of Marius and Martin Hovdal which came 2nd and 3rd.

premieutdelingAfter a long and exhausting day we had just enough time to shower and get dressed before we had to leave for the banquet and price giving ceremony. I want to direct a big thank you to Trondheim Kiteclub for a great competition!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Price giving – Campagne and medals is mandatory.. And the checks for price money are valid in the bar! Recipe for a good night !

Here is the official ranking for the Norwegian Snowkite Championship 2012

 

Freestyle, Men, Snowboard:

1. Andreas Toverud

2. Sigurd Toverud

3. Marius Coucheron

Race, Freestyle, Men:

1. Sigurd Toverud

2. Marius Coucheron

3. Andreas Toverud

Kitecross, Freestyle, Men:

1. Sigurd Toverud

2. Marius Coucheron

3. Martin Hovdal

 

Best Trick: Andreas Toverud

More Norwegian Champions Smile

Freestyle, Snowboard, Women:       Kristin Lippe
Freestyle, Ski, Men:                            Thomas Lone
Race, Snowboard, Women:             Vera Leivsdottir

Race, Ski, Men:                                  Thomas Lone
Race, Ski, Women:                           Camilla Ringvold
Kitecross, Ski, Men:                         Lars.L'Abee-Lund

Kitecross, Ski, Women:                   Kristin Lippe

Last Updated on Friday, 30 March 2012 20:52
 
Railsession PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 19 February 2012 15:01

Here is a video from the first snowboard session of the year in BodøSmile

 
Snowkite Masters 2012 PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 20 January 2012 11:49

The winter season this year came late.. VERY late! I currently live in Bodø, Norway; North of the Polar Circle, and outside my window it's still +5 degrees and raining. Needless to say there hasn't been much snowkiting going on this year. On top of that, I managed to sprain my nkle just a few weeks before Christmas so things wasn't looking too bright for the competition


Regardless, my brother Sigurd, my girlfriend Marte and myself jumped on a plane to France to compete. When we got there Saturday night, the stars were shining from a clear sky and everything was looking perfect for the day after. The competition didn't start until Monday, so we used the Sunday to get some much needed practice to get the tricks from last year to stick. My brother and I also took turns taking pictures and kiting, and we got some pretty cool shots!

 

andreas kiteloop indy

Training day – Perfect conditions for training the day before the competition. To bad this was the first day of the season :p


The next day started with single elimination and I managed to get to the quarter finals. Even though the wind was a bit low it was possible to do some cool tricks from the kicker building up speed down the hill. My brother Sigurd did an awesome first heat but got unlucky on a huge s-bend from the kicker with the kite glued to the ground and broke his ankle. Even so, he finished his heat and won but wasn't able to do his next heat.

 

IMG_1763

Amazing scenery – All  around us there was beautiful mountains covered in snow perfect for snowkiting


My quarter finals was against Marek Zack; the guy who beat me last year. I was on my new Hadlow ID 12m and Marek was on his 15m Ozone, and that gave me a disadvantage as the wind was very low. Just after the heat started Marek got unlucky and lost his kite on a flat 3 on the kicker. Immediately I was sure I had won since this was reason for disqualification. But the race master chose to restart since the heat had just started, and this time I weren't so lucky. After 7 minutes of struggling for power to do tricks, Marek drew the longest straw and advanced to the next round. I was very disappointed but luckily there was the double elimination the day after which gave me a fighting chance even though I could end up 9th if I lost my first heat. After he single elimination Remi was first, Chasta was second and Marek was third.

 

IMG_1942

Double elimination – In double elimination the competition starts at the bottom and the lowest ranked rider competes against the person above on the ranking list, and the winner advances.


But the day after things didn't go as planned. Already in the second heat I lost my kite, but due to the incident with Marek the day before
the guy I was riding against, Guyot, agreed to rerun the heat. This time I won and we continued the doubles the day after. Now things were finally starting to go my way! I managed to ride my way all the top winning 7 heats in a row beating both Marek and Chasta:D In the finals I had to win two heats against Remi Meum to steal the first position, but now I was starting to get tired from all the heats. The wind picked and things were looking perfect for the heat! We both managed to land a lot of cool tricks (backmobes, frontmobes, KGBs, flat 3s, 5s ++) and were neck and neck in the first heat but just as the heat was about to end I went for a huge kiteloop s-mobe and landed way to hard. Once away I felt something break and couldn't put any weight on my left foot, which meant it was over for this year. Regardless, I was super happy how things went considering how it started out and it felt great to finally be on the podium. Maybe next year ;)

 

IMG_2212

World Snowkite Masters 2012 – riders picture

 

 

IMG_2946

Price giving

 
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>

Page 1 of 10
Andreas Toverud - Flexifoil Team Rider, Powered by Flexifoil!