Deano’s Report: Taking 3rd at Slalomania

Well, after missing out on the podium at the last Slalomania event by just 2 points after a silly mistake at the end, my focus for the latest round – Slalomania series 2 – was consistency throughout and this certainly paid off with me gaining the 3rd spot this time!

I had a few hours of practice around the pylons the day before the comp started and was quite comfortable with all the same equipment used at the British Open so using my beautiful Parajet Zenith with the Polini 200 and my 20m Paramania GTR.

There were a few hot-headed maneuvers by some of the younger participants in the early stages of the comp, resulting in penalties so my strategy was already paying off. By the second day and midway through, I was up to fourth and not too far off 3rd but Mathieu Rouanet was pulling away from me slightly with aggressive flying.

Unfortunately for him, on the Saturday morning, he had a small accident taking him out of 3rd and with no time for any more tasks, the podium spot. I feel very sorry for him as he was attacking for the 2nd position but it reinforced my style for this event to be smooth and not make mistakes. It’s now time for training for the upcoming World Championship ‘classic’ style competition in Spain later in the month and we’ll see if our new found form keeps momentum there too.