{"id":1859931,"date":"2026-04-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859931"},"modified":"2026-04-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:00:00","slug":"the-red-bull-features-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1859931","title":{"rendered":"The Red Bull Features Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The inaugural Red Bull Features Cup wrapped in spectacular fashion at Oppdal Ski Center, redefining what a snowboard competition can look like. While teams from Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific battled across four progressive zones, the real story of the week was the atmosphere: a high-energy, creative playground where some of the world\u2019s best riders came together to push each other and celebrate snowboarding.<\/p>\n

Blending competition with camaraderie, the format delivered something entirely new; earning widespread praise from riders for prioritizing style, creativity, and shared experience over traditional contest pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was super refreshing, it\u2019s what snowboarding is about,\u201d said Asia-Pacific Team Captain Cool Wakushima. \u201cRiding with your friends, meeting new people who love snowboarding\u2026it was just such a good vibe. I had so much fun these last two days. Honestly, I\u2019m just super stoked.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Teams from each region brought distinct strengths to the course, with Europe represented by Marcus Kleveland, Fridtjof Tischendorf, Isak Ulstein, and Celia Petrig; North America by Luke Winkelmann, Denver Orr, Egan Wint, and Lane Weaver; and Asia-Pacific by Cool Wakushima, Zephyr Lovelock, Rocco Jamieson, and Miyabi Onitsuka.<\/p>\n

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Outrageous looking course!
Photo: Olav Stubberud \/ Red Bull<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Competition unfolded across four zones: banked slalom, rail jam, quarterpipe, and jump, each testing a different skillset and team strategy, with points awarded 5-3-1 per zone and creative challenges layered throughout via the \u201cMischief Multiplier.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Markus Kleveland
Photo: Theo Acworth \/ Red Bull<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Skies our thighs out eh Zephyr Lovelock?
Photo: Olav Stubberud \/ Red Bull<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The opening banked slalom combined speed, strategy, and unpredictability. Teams logged cumulative times across two runs, one on standard boards and one on mini boards, with penalties for missed gates and bonuses for creative risk-taking, including time deductions for tricks like flips mid-course. North America\u2019s Luke Winkelmann set the pace on a standard board, showcasing the team\u2019s speed, though penalties and format twists kept the standings tight.<\/p>\n

The rail jam quickly became one of the most dynamic zones, starting as a traditional session before introducing a randomizer element in the form of a spin wheel that dictated specific tricks and features riders had to incorporate on the fly. This forced rapid adaptation and rewarded creativity under pressure. North America leaned into its technical rail depth here, making this zone a clear strength, while Europe\u2019s Fridtjof Tischendorf \u201cFridge\u201d emerged as a standout, consistently delivering under both open and randomized conditions.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>
Double Trouble \u2013 Luke Winkelmann and Denvere Orr
Photo Theo Acworth \/ Red Bull<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the quarterpipe, the focus shifted to amplitude and team coordination, with added features like a wall ride and hitching post expanding creative options. Bonus points were on offer for synchronized \u201cdoubles\u201d runs, where one rider hit low on the coping while a teammate aired over them. All three teams pulled off doubles, adding to the collaborative energy of the event. Tischendorf again helped anchor Europe\u2019s performance, while Asia-Pacific, despite showcasing strong air awareness across its roster, fell just short in the zone standings.<\/p>\n

The final jump session became a defining highlight. With a unique progression format requiring each rider to build from 180s up to a maximum of 900, teams had to carefully plan trick selection while maintaining style and consistency. The capped rotation level shifted focus away from sheer difficulty and toward execution and flow, creating a session unlike anything seen in traditional competition. Europe, led by Marcus Kleveland, came in as a powerhouse, but all three teams rose to the challenge in a tightly contested finale.<\/p>\n

In a testament to how evenly matched the field was, the event ended in a rare and mathematically improbable three-way tie after all four zones, with each team finishing on 12 points. Europe secured two zone wins, Asia-Pacific combined a win with multiple second-place finishes, and North America\u2019s consistency across zones kept them level \u2013 forcing a sudden-death scenario.<\/p>\n

The tie was ultimately broken in a high-stakes hip session, an unplanned fifth zone, where Asia-Pacific capitalized on momentum and depth to secure the overall victory.<\/p>\n

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Podium winners
Photo: Olav Stubberud \/ Red Bull<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Final Results:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

1st Asia-Pacific<\/p>\n

2nd North America<\/p>\n

3rd Europe<\/p>\n

More than the podium, the defining takeaway from Red Bull Features Cup was the vibe: a session-driven environment where riders fed off each other\u2019s energy, pushing creativity and progression without the pressure of a traditional contest.<\/p>\n

With its successful debut, the event sets a new benchmark for competitive snowboarding\u2014one where creativity leads, teamwork matters, and fun remains at the core.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>
Len J\u00f8rgensen
Photo: Olav Stubberud \/ Red Bull\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The inaugural Red Bull Features Cup wrapped in spectacular fashion at Oppdal Ski Center, redefining what a snowboard competition can look like. While teams from Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific battled across four progressive zones, the real story of the week was the atmosphere: a high-energy, creative playground where some of the world\u2019s best riders […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,280],"class_list":["post-1859931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-whitelines-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1859931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859931\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1859931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1859931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1859931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}