Here is part 2 of Oli’s story about his event: the 8th Red BUll Nanshan Open – TTR’s biggest event in Asia this season.
Day 5 – Competition, Day 2 & A Miracle
Another early start, and another morning with a 2-second breakfast! Today will be similar to yesterday, however with a lot more pressure – there’s an even stronger media presence today, and of course, it’s the Finals!!! We’re not as lucky with the weather today – it’s overcast, with a bit of wind, and most of the riders are forced to hit the smaller kicker line due to speed issues. Still, this does not seem to be holding them back! The mood in the judges booth is a bit more serious today – the riders are pushing themselves harder, and their scores matter a lot more now! It turns out Tobias’s ribs are OK, and it’s great to see him riding in the finals – he’s obviously taking it easy though.
Only the top 4 riders will progress through to the Super Finals, and as the results come in we go over the 4th and 5th placed runs. It’s a close call, but the judges are happy with their decisions. I boost to the nearest printer and print out 10 copies of the results for the riders and media.
The afternoon Super Finals sees Juuso Laivisto, David Bertschinger Karg, Nick Hyne and Sergey Lapushkin battling it out. It’s great to watch, but I’m making lots of mental notes for our press release – How’s the mood? / What’s the best trick so far? / Any upsets? / How close are the scores? As the riders finish their runs and the results come in only .1 of a point separates 3rd place from 4th, and some serious deliberation goes on! Iztok, the head judge puts it to the scoring judges and its 2 to 1 on the decision. Juuso Laivisto takes 1st, Sergey Lapushkin gets 2nd, with David Bertschinger Karg just nudging out Nick Hyne for 3rd.
Everyone heads down to the stage for prizegiving, and the live music is creating an awesome party scene down here! After Eric announces the results, I battle the other media to get a few quotes out of the finalists for the press release.
Yet again, it’s straight back into the office for press-release-writing-time! It’s even more hectic than usual, as everything is getting packed up / shutdown / rushed through following the event. Iztok sits with me and we go through the winning runs – again I write, rewrite and rewrite the press release. We’re making a big effort to finish earlier tonight, as I don’t want to miss the celebration dinner and karaoke session. Steve is happy with what I’ve written and gives me some photos to accompany it, Jess translates it, and we fire out the press release and newsletter in record time!
Arriving at dinner, however, I’m faced with possibly the biggest dilemma of the trip. The song my singing partner and I have chosen to perform (Blue – One Love) is not on the KTV discs there. We already have the whole song choreographed out, so switching songs is NOT an option. A last-minute mission to a CD shop next door and we spot a CD unlike the others. Glowing and emitting light, our song is on this disc. It is like a gift from an angel. As we arrive back at the restaurant, the crowd is already chanting our names, demanding a show. We take the microphones. The show-stopping performance that follows simply can not be put into words – the video cameras that tried to capture it simultaneously burst into flames, and every female in attendance fainted. A miracle happened that night; those that witnessed it will speak of it forever. [The above paragraph is the author’s own interpretation of the event and may not accurately represent what actually happened].
The rest of the night is of course a blur (or at least that’s what I’m going to type, because what happens on tour stays on tour or something like that).
Day 6 – The Day After..
Ah, it’s finally almost over! The morning is spent stressed out trying to get everyone out of their rooms and checked out in time, arranging how to get some of the early-leavers to the airport, and making sure everyone’s luggage fits on the bus. Today the guys will head to the Great Wall, however I pass on that trip and send my helpers to accompany them. We get back to Beijing, and Ishi and I have quiet lunch near my house. It’s a crazy contrast from what the past few days have been, and I find it hard to adjust!
Day 7 – Ice biking and shopping
If you haven’t experienced ice-biking, then you haven’t truly lived. Ice-bikes are basically old cruiser bikes from the 80s that have an ice-skate blade instead of a front wheel and sort of training wheels / bars around them to keep them upright. We all spend about 2 hours on an in-city lake in sub-20 temperatures ice-biking to our hearts content, doing big drifts, spins and racing. It gets pretty eXtreme. The afternoon is spent hitting the markets, buying fake Rolexes, shoes and handbags. I mean.. normal bags.
One of the competition judges, restauranteer Alan Wong has kindly offered to host all of us at his private residence for dinner tonight. Chef Asher has cooked up an incredible feed, and you can tell the guys are stoked to finally have some homemade western food! Following dinner, we head to a huge nightclub where we have an entire balcony reserved for us – including 40 bottles of whiskey and free-flowing mixers! It’s a Tuesday night, but the club is packed! Exhausted from one of the longest weeks of my life, I down a Red Bull, get my energy level up, and party with the guys till the sun comes up.
Day 8 – It’s over!
That’s basically it for me! The riders are left to check-out of the hotel on their own time and make their way to the airport. I head home, take a shower, then sit on the couch and do nothing for the first time in eight days. It feels great.
