None are bigger than the most exciting competitor in downhill skateboard – the defending world champion Scott Smith.

At Bathurst in 2008 Smith earned the number one qualifying position for the Newton’s Playground International Gravity Sports Association World Cup Downhill Skateboard race after the Canadian set a time that was nearly a full second faster than second placed Ethan Lau of the United States.

Now back for his second visit, Smith (61.576 seconds) found the going a little tougher, qualifying in third place behind Mischo Erban (61.403) and triple world champion Martin Siegrist (60.814).

“It is certainly one of the coolest tracks I’ve been on and I’m happy to have gotten a few solid runs in,” Smith said of the course at Mount Panorama.

“I came off my board on my first run down like a lot of riders did, but since then everything has felt really good and I’ve happy with how I have gone.”

Despite the wind reaching speeds of 57 kilometres per hour, Smith said their were more pressing issues to worry about when racing down the Mount.

“Once you get used to the wind you don’t really notice it is there,” he said.

“On this track you more have to concentrated on the challenging turns which make it a bit harder.”

After winning the prestigious Maryhill Festival of Speed at Goldendale in 2007, Smith has quickly made a name for himself as one of the elite competitors on the IGSA World Cup tour.

In 2008 downhill skateboarding was all about the man nicknamed ‘Scoot’.

His year started off with a sold third place finish in Bathurst and gained momentum from there.

He finished a close second to Kevin Reimer in France and then a week later staged an amazing come from behind victory in Germany.

As a testament to just how strong a year Smith had, his worst finish of 2008 came a week later in Austria when he finished 10th. He came roaring back by winning the Maryhill World Championships and followed it up with a victory in England to clinch the series.

Sporting green hair and a carefree attitude, Smith seemed relaxed about what he was hoping to achieve in the finals.

“I’m happy to just go with the flow and see how the cookie crumbles,” he said.

“Really I would just want to get out in front and hold on to it from there.”