Photos: Volcom

The 11th stop on the 2007/08 North American Peanut Butter & Rail Jam tour found us at Quebec’s Mont Avila Sat March 1st!

Over the course of the past four years we’ve been lucky enough to check out the best of “la belle province’s” young talent. It is the real deal! Quebec has been producing some of the best riders in the world for a few years now and by no means does this trend appear to be slowing down. Au contraire mon frere, the riders are getting better and better each visit. Speaking of which, this past weekend marked our 4th annual Peanut Butter & Rail Jam at Mont Avila!

The 15 & Under Division were the 1st riders to attack the three features set up for the PBRJ. There was a c-box, down rail and an imposing flat-down ledge made to look like a massive brick wall. Very groovy. The action was fast and furious as all the 15 & Under riders threw down an impressive array of tricks inn all three zones! It was too close to call right up to the end, but after the scores were totaled, it was Sean Thompson taking 1st, Alex Sarrazin in 2nd and Cody Shepherd 3rd!

The 16 & Over Division took centre stage just as the light began to fade and Avila’s night scene came to life! I’m not sure whether it’s in the poutine or maple syrup, but there’s something in Quebec that breeds rippers! Whatever it is, the 16 & Over group contained no shortage of this special ingredient as hammers were thrown down with calculated abandon! After all was bonked and jibbed, the top three were Patrick Groux 1st, Phil Giroux 2nd and Simon Cantin 3rd!

The Girl’s Division was up next and these ladies spread good times and skills like peanut butter! Each year Avila’s Girl’s Division gets more and more intense and this year was no exception. The girls hit the rails with switch boardslides, back tails and even a few nollie front boards. Bold, concise and to the point! After the judges had just about as much as they could take, mon ami Lindsey Smith slid into 1st, Cudree Larocque 2nd and Marilou Asselin took 3rd! Nice work ladies!

The Open Division rounded out the day’s ripping with a solid session the left event hardened PBRJ shaking our heads. Riders were hiking up the drop-in area further and further to gain more speed for their airborne attacks! You’ve gotta check the video to see what I’m talking about. Swtich 270s onto and off of everything 180 to switch 50-50 360 out and one nollie b/s 270 to boardslide 270 out. Bang, bang, bang! At the awards ceremony a few minutes afterwards, Guillaume Beaudoin claimed 1st, Zach Aller 2nd and Antoine Truchon jibbed his way into 3rd! Keep the dream alive and see you back at Avila next year!

A huge thanks to MSSI’s Marie-Helene Sauriol as well as Alex and Johnny in the terrain park! We’re stoked on all the support and can’t wait to come back next Spring for the 5th annual PBRJ! Thanks to Top of the World’s Eric Dionne for once again being our man on the mic. Thanks also to Eric Gravenish, Tyler Ellement and Leroy Seymour for judging as well as Liam Ellicott for tabulating. Thanks to Christina Campbell, Melanie Dewitt and Jean-Philippe Belanger for helping us hold things down across the board. Last but not least, thanks to Celtek gloves and Vestal watches for kicking prizes for the winners.

Results:

15 & Under:
1st: Sean Thompson
2nd: Alex Sarrazin
3rd: Cody Shepherd
4th: Mikael Legendre
5th: Martin Rancourt

16 & Over:
1st: Patrick Groulx
2nd: Phil Giroux
3rd: Simon Cantin
4th: Tommy Belanger
5th: Jonathan Lapierre

Girls Division:
1st: Lindsey Smith
2nd: Cudree Larocque
3rd: Marilou Asselin
4th: Veronique Gaussiron
5th: Nelly Dufour

Open Division:
1st: Guillaume Beaudoin
2nd: Zach Aller
3rd: Antoine Truchon
4th: Alphonse Deziel
5th: Alex Beauconge

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