Geoff Gulevich lines up another landing on the right side ridge; unfortunately he couldn’t solidify his signature flow, but rode some killer lines regardless

Mike Hopkins launches into the last bowl of the course

Deserts are, by their very nature, dry places; being bereft of moisture and clear of sky are two attributes that are a safe wager even for the most conservative of gamblers. It’s a good job I’m not (much) of a betting man then, as Saturday dawned with an accompanying patter of heavy rain upon the motel roof and the regular bing-bong of arriving emails informing me of the postponed event. Turns out the first rain in over a hundred days had turned the course to porridge and the access road into an impassable quagmire, pushing the event back a day and triggering a flurry of flight/car/motel rearrangements. I shrugged it off and turned my attention to a day hike in Zion National Park, using the opportunity of a free day to explore the area.

Sunday morning was touch-and-go: I’m sure it was raining when I woke up, but that could well have been the automatic sprinkler system watering the hanging baskets. Apparently the event was good to go, conditions were “all time” and the riders were “stoked”, so the prerequisites of a successful day were firmly in place. Turns out the reports weren’t unfounded – the day’s rain had been swallowed by the parched desert, the only trace a hard-packed crust that indeed promised to provide perfect conditions.

Matt Hunter just millseconds before dislocating his shoulder for the second time

Naturally, there was a trade-off – the softer ground meant the riders would only be able to do one run for qualifying, which brought up an interesting conundrum – play it safe, do an easy run and risk not qualifying due to the low-scoring run, or go big and risk crashing, thus effectively nullifying the only possible attempt.

Most riders stuck on the conservative side; those that didn’t mainly found themselves on the receiving end of a sand faceplant. Hopeful prospects such as Cannondale’s Chris Van Dyne and Turner’s Kelly McGarry lost out on finals placings after falling at the same ridge line feature, although Kelly gave it his all by going on to perform the only inverted trick of the day – a silky smooth backflip over the large table towards the bottom of the course.

Left Just another day in the office: Mike Kinrade has been sending huge drops for longer than most Right It’s easy to get blase about big cliffs, and treat them as ‘just another bit of the trail’. Cam Zink dropping his way to a place in the finals

Biggest upset of the day was probably that of Mike Kinrade, whose smooth styled big-drop line failed to inspire the judges enough to let him into the top 14. Current flavour of the month Brandon Semenuk joined definite favourites Cam McCaul and Thomas Vanderham on the podium, all three impressing the judges with their smooth flow and creative lines down the hill.

The scene has been set for the climactic finals tomorrow – it’s clear the riders have found their feet in the desert, and are only too keen to step it up tomorrow. Good thing really, there’s a 60ft canyon gap jump here with a few people’s names on it…

There were high expectations for Chris Van Dine following his almost-stuck barrel roll in practice. Turns out this drop had other idea, and Chris landed crooked and wiped out hard. It took him a while to get up, but thankfully he walked away

No expense spared – Red Bull ponied up for helicopter coverage, sadly out of Bikemagic’s budget but cool nonetheless

Scary things of the desert part 1: Angry rattlesnakes

Brandon Semenuk invades Cam’s top spot on the qualifying podium – a sign of things to come?

Scary things of the desert part 2: Wandering tarantulas

Results – Qualifying

1. Cam McCaul 83.0
2. Brandon Semenuk 82.3
3. Gee Atherton 79.0.
4. Darren Berrecloth 78.0
5. Kyle Strait 75.3
6. Michal Marosi 74.7
7. Dan Atherton 74.3
8. Cedric Gracia 71.7
9. Paul Basagoitia 71.3.
10. Robbie Bourdon 71.3.
11. Cameron Zink 71.3
12. Kurt Sorge 70.7.
13. Graham Aggasiz 70.0.
14. Mike Hopkins 69.7.
15. Thomas Vanderham 69.7
16. Mike Kindrade 69.3
17. Guido Tschugg 68.7
18. Geoff Gulevich 68.3.
19. Alex Prochazka 66.3.
20. Logan Binggeli 64.7.
21. Kenny Smith 63.7.
22. James Doerfling 58.0
23. Kelly McGarry 55.3.
24. Garett Buehler 48.7
25. Andrew Taylor 39.2
26. Trond Hansen DNF.
27. Matt Hunter DNF.
28. Chris Van Dine DNF