ISL 2006 N6

Let $a>b>1$ be relatively prime positive integers. Define the weight of an integer $c$, denoted by $w(c)$, to be the minimal possible value of $|x|+|y|$ taken over all pairs of integers $x$ and $y$ such that $$a x+b y=c .$$ An integer $c$ is called a local champion if $w(c) \geq w(c \pm a)$ and $w(c) \geq w(c \pm b)$. Find all local champions and determine their number.