Flashfrost Flyover Reverse: Gold

Tl;dr:

1. Skyward Ascent to start
2. One AND ONLY ONE Surge Forward right after the Skyward Ascent
3. Don't touch any abilities until you go through the last ring at the bottom of the initial long dive out of Ruby Lifeshrine
4, Spam Surge Forward for the rest of the race
5. Be sure to hit the recharge in the second tunnel
6. Take the low line at the top of the waterfall to avoid the first purple orb

My best time is 57.172. This method consistently got me 57.xxx times.

I accidentally found it by trying to build enough Vigor to get a Whirling Surge. Turns out Whirling Surge is disabled on this course, but I didn't really know that until I was toward the bottom of the first steep decline out of Ruby Lifeshrine. By delaying to be able to use Whirling Surge, only using the one Vigor for a Skyward Ascent to start the race, I had 3 Vigor when I hit the low point at the river and from there could just spam Surge Forward from the river all the way to the end. Even though that particular race was still Silver, I could feel a huge difference.

Even better, if you use one -- and only one! -- Surge Forward right after the first Skyward Ascent, you'll reach the river with around 4.5 Vigor.

Before writing this post, I confirmed it with multiple Gold times. Other than the obvious "get all the recharges that are pretty much right on the path", the one other thing that seems to be a real difference between a sub-59 run and a 60.xxx run is the recharge that is in the second tunnel. Even though it is practically right on the mainline, it's surprisingly easy to miss. Hitting it really rockets you though.

About the short section near the end from the top of the waterfall to just under the aqueduct, the part with the two purple momentum killer orbs. While it's fairly natural to just have momentum carry you up over both of them, the best line is to anticipate the break at the top of the waterfall and fly under the first orb. I don't think it ultimately makes that much of a difference though.

Oh, and because that last turn for the goal is kind of awkward, some people might find it useful to set a Bronze Timelock at the finish before starting, and hit it as soon as you cross the penultimate ring. Totally doable without it.

I tried incorporating Zedrock's suggestion of getting the last orb on the descent. As others have said, it works, but I couldn't improve on my sub-58 times. I tried a few different strategies with it but they all came up 59.xxx for me. It *did* seem to remove the necessity of hitting that recharge in the second tunnel though, so if that's been a tricky point for you then maybe his method will be easier.

Good luck! Highway to the danger zone ...

Easiest way I could find to make gold was at the first descent just before the first turn, hit the left corridor and turn hard right in a circle to collect the additional vigor twice and then maintain top speed from that point on.

I couldn't even get close without this tip. Thank you so much!