Now that the pros have been riding the course we can’t wait for the contest to start. It’s sunny out so that part is taken care of. The wind has been going crazy which isn’t good for the vert comp or dirt. The wind was crazy in pro mini qualification but that didn’t quite affect the riders. At least it didn’t look like it. The ramp is built up on a platform that sits on the water. The scenery is nice and you could watch the comp while eating something at the Italian place across the street.
Ben Hennon was going huge, and we mean huge. So fucking awesome. He qualified in second behind a rider who has this ramp down;
Mark Webb. When he sees a trick, it doesn’t take him long to do it and that includes all of
Scotty Cranmer’s flair 540 tiretap to tailwhip drop-in moves. It took
Daniel Dhers some time to get used to the 7 foot Braun Spine and he had to re-start his run a few times but got it down in the end. Long live the jam session format. Daniel is a trick machine and I’m sure he will be ready when the finals arrive.
Ben Wallace is ripping too and qualified with no problems.
Gary Young almost overslept the contest (which started at 3pm).
It’s a sign that dealing with jetlag isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Gary was waking up while he was riding and had to pick himself up from the bottom a few times. He did have time to do some killer moves though. Holland’s
Barry Kohne qualified in 9th and had a great first run and blasted big airs to make it to the finals. 12 riders will be on top of the ramp to battle it out. There’s some extra cash waiting for the winners and points to be scored for those who are doing the complete Braun Spine contest series.
BdJ