Stop 1 Tour Dur Laarbeek; Mariahout.

Jun 04, 2007

Written by Bart de Jong

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"Can somebody get me beer, it's hot in here," was the comment of the lead singer of the band 5 Dollar Shake after they opened up the Tour Dur Laarbeek in Mariahout last Sunday. It was noon and the band was already asking for cold beer. Sweet! The Tour Dur Laarbeek is a fun event. We'll explain it in short: 4 miniramps were on the program for one afternoon. A competition was held at each stop. That meant that after stop one, everyone moved to the next one. Banners were put up during warm up and the sound check was being done during part of the contest. It was chaos and unprofessional but we wouldn't like it any other way. It ruled.

After each stop, the stage was moved to the next ramp by a little tractor. Competitors threw their bikes in the big bus and felt like they were on RoadFools for a day. Others just rode to the next town, it was that close.

$5 Dollar Shake was the name of the first band and they were damn good. It rocked from the start and they sure woke up the whole town. The comp had 2 BMX classes (+ skateboarding and inline), advanced and beginner. The beginner class ended up being 10 riders and the advanced class saw 9 competitors over the day. Not bad for a local event.

Anel Latifovic had no time to waste and tailwhipped the 5 meter wide mini in Mariahout like there was no tomorrow. Stuart Gibson made sure he entered at stop one for a good overall score and pulled back to back 540-s. Tim Frijters showed up just in time to jump on the ramp and ride the comp and also Waldemar made it all the way from Goes. Michael van der Lee, Riccardo Moes and Daniel Wijsmuller completed the advanced class in Mariahout. Pim van den Bos and Jouri joined the crew in Lieshout, the next stop.

The riding wasn't world top level but that wasn't the point. Getting to ride with others on four different ramps in one afternoon and entering a contest (for free) is something that doesn't happen every day. Add to this a live band during the contest and free transportation in a big tour vehicle and the day can't go wrong. Stop one down, three to go.

BdJ