Red Bull Framed Reactions. Giving BMX a push in The Netherlands. By BdJ. Pics by Jos Wissink/FATBMX

Jun 11, 2013

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 4917 times

It had been a while since Red Bull put on a BMX freestyle contest in Holland but when Gabe Authier got on board at Red Bull Netherlands his goal was to create a big BMX event. Not just a big BMX event, but something that had never been done before. Fast forward a year and things were starting to look good. The ramps of the Skylines event had been brought over to Amsterdam and a concept was worked on. With the Red Bull team behind him, also the work in the background was taken care of.

A few weeks ago Nate Wessel's building crew made it to Amsterdam to work on the course which included some moving obstacles. It's that part that had never been done before but it took a lot of thinking, designing and manufacturing to get those obstacles to work. But on June 7th everything was ready for the 16 invited riders to try out. During practice the riders could get used to the massive course which not only had big ramps, but was one of the longest courses ever seen.

The top section looked like a bowled in area with big ramps but when that area was left, a who street with obstacles was there. Making it to the finish was a goal in itself because with all the different sized obstacles ranging from spines to step-ups to jump boxes, also some of the ramps changed. You don't want to hit a spine at full speed thinking it is the box. Or hit the step up where the distance has changed and the landing is now 6 feet further away. Practice time was used and needed but the riders that were invited know how to ride a bike well and they adapt to different terrain in no-time.

The next day, June 8th was the big day. The event was scheduled to kick off at 9pm. An extra training session was fit in starting from 10am - 1pm. followed by a riders meeting and more practice from 3pm - 5:30pm. At that time the crowd started coming in already. Those who showed up with their BMX bike got a good spot to watch from. Also people on boats were welcome to watch from the canal along the course. This got a bit tricky as the water had raised and space under some low bridges was limited. So getting there was a mission, just ask Frits. When I heard that 6000 - 7000 people were expected I wasn't sure that would happen. It was a BMX event we were talking about here but it was Red Bull behind it so anything could happen.

In the end the official count was 10.000 people so you know the place was packed when the riders started to drop in.

Darryl Nau was on the mic and freestyled his way through the program which kicked off with a flatland demo by Matthias Dandois, Viki Gomez and Dez Maarssen. Other side acts to give the riders a little break in between the riding was a band and some BC1 breakdancers who were really good. But the crowd came for the BMX action mainly and spectacular riding they got. Each rider had two qualifying runs. The best run out of the two would count towards transfering to the final 8.
Looking good in practice not always means an automatic transfer spot.

The 16 invited riders were all on a high and even level so it could go either way. Fact was that you had to ride well to make it through to the finals.

With so many cameras and eyeballs on the riders it was easy to get nervous. It was getting chilly too at night so dropping in cold wasn't the best preparation for this. But by the end of the long obstacle course the riders were heated up again. At the finish the riders were taken back to the start in a small boat. It was a slow boat but faster than making it back to the top through the crowd.

The finalists had one run each. It was all, or nothing for those who wanted to throw the dice. Some riders who missed out on the finals were Ben Hennon, Daniel Wedemeijer, Bas Keep, Logan Martin and Ryan Taylor. Not because they didn't shred, the level of the field was just high. Alessandro Barbero put a great qualifying run together to make the top 8. But ended up on that spot after his final run. Harry Main flair dropped into spot 7, one spot behind AJ Anaya who enjoyed his time in Amsterdam to the max. Daniel Sandoval was on his way to a podium spot but had a crash and got 5th, one spot behind Gary Young who rode the obstacles differently but got stuck on #4. The podium spots went to Pat Casey (3rd), Ben Wallace (2nd) and Drew Bezanson (1st).

It was exactly Gabe Authier who had picked up Drew

Bezanson to ride for Red Bull when he was still working at Red Bull over in Canada. Now, doing the event in Amsterdam, he couldn't have asked for a better winner. Let the BMX sales begin.

BdJ

Results Red Bull Framed Reactions
1 Drew Bezanson
2 Ben Wallace
3 Pat Casey
4 Gary Young
5 Daniel Sandoval
6 AJ Anaya
7 Harry Main
8 Alessandro Barbero

Best Trick: Drew Bezanson double tire ride to whip in.
Best line: Harry Main. Truck transfer