Longboard Classic 25th Anniversary Recap & Results
Press release:
The Longboard Classic in Stuben am Arlberg has been around longer than some of us have been snowboarding. Some weren’t even born when the LBC took place for the first time. For 25 years, this legendary gathering has brought together the community: legends and newcomers, grandparents and grandchildren, teens and kids, pros and bros (and of course, sisters too) eagerly come to Stuben am Arlberg each year for the season’s finale. And fittingly for a quarter-century celebration, the number of well-wishers didn’t dwindle: 610 participants gathered on April 13th to ride down the 1001 meters of Albona ‘sideways’.
The idea for the LBC was born in 1999 by Paul Gruber and Harry Gunz, the founders of Crazy Banana and Rad Air, and the first event took place on April 15, 2000. For the 25th anniversary, organizer Paul Gruber compiled a book that captures the history of this legendary event in countless pictures across over 140 pages. It’s the first gift to the LBC. The second gift transformed the gathering of the snowboard family into the final of the newly launched Legends World Tour.
Other great surprises for the anniversary included a custom birthday song by UCee and Mortal Kombat Sound, as well as two big battery-powered speakers that made the entertaining announcements at the start by Speaker Dani ‘Kiwi’ Meier even more fun. But the two biggest gifts were undoubtedly the spring-like temperatures of +20 degrees Celsius and the over 600 visitors, among them US legends Laurie Asperas, Lori Gibbs, and Tom Burt. From Europe, sightings included Manuela Mandl, Harry Gunz, Serge Dupraz, Micky Früh, Andy Tanner, Max Plötzeneder, Gigi Rüf, and many more. – Jose Fernandez was even present five times; four friends of Jose had fun by racing with Jose Fernandez face masks, and at 75 years old, Titus Dittmann is likely the oldest participant.
The race itself is the most important side event of the gathering. It’s more about reuniting, shredding together, chatting, and celebrating. Nevertheless, huge respect and congratulations to the winners of the various categories! – See the ranking list below.
Also worth mentioning is the evening program on Saturday, where a video show curated by Harry Putz (Freeride Film Festival) took place in the packed party tent. This time featuring the fantastic documentary “Rebels in the Snow” by Arthur Honegger (Swiss Television) and a collage of Absinthe Films highlights, presented by Patrick “Brusti” Armbruster.
In that sense, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! from us as well, and here’s to at least another 25 years! Mark your calendars now for the 26th birthday of the LBC on April 5, 2025!
RANKING: Longboard Classic #25, 13. April 2024, Stuben am Arlberg
LBC Masters Women
1° Manuela Mandl (Austria)
2° Liz Kristoferitsch (Austria)
3° Babs Moser (Switzerland)
LBC Masters Men
1° Ralph Castelberg (Switzerland)
2° Oliver Forsman (Sweden)
3° Leonardo Costello (USA / Austria)
No School Women
1° Sarah Stieger (Switzerland)
2° Isabelle Lötscher (Switzerland)
3° Christine Innerhofer (Austria)
No School Men
1° Roy Brönnimann (Switzerland)
2° Vincent Theurer (Germany)
3° Florian Degischer (Austria)
Old School Women
Kerstin Latzina (Germany)
Old School Men
1° Quirin Peters (Germany)
2° Joe Waibel (Switzerland)
3° Kurt Türtscher (Austria)
LBC Special Award
Marc Keel / Jörg Jux Meile
LEGENDS WORLD TOUR:
Women
1° Ruthie Goepel (Canada)
2° Steffi Hartinger (Germany)
3° Laurie Asperas (United States)
Men
1° Tom Burt (United States)
2° Max Plötzeneder (Austria)
3° Marcel Müsel (Germany)
