14 riders climbed on top of the vert ramp in Cologne for the Pro halfpipe contest. Among those riders legend Mat Hoffman. He had not ridden proper vert in over 6 months due to a knee injury and was a bit out of shape but as soon as the HDT shirt was on his shoulders he got his wings back and fired out trick after trick. In practice he dislocated his toe (I'd never heard of that one) and simply taped two toes together with some duct-tape so he could ride. His pads and shoes had not made it (lost by the airlines) so he was
using all new equipment. Mat's a legend and for the other 13 riders it was an honour to have a session with the Condor. Twelve riders made it to the finals but the organization is giving the other two riders an opportunity to join the final session with Mat.
BdJPro Vert Qualification results:1. Simon Tabron
2. Matt HDT Hoffman
3. Daniel Dhers
4. Matt Fairbairn
5. Jan Valenta
6. Tim Eichert
7. Jean-Marie Baertsch
8. Oascal Baquet
9. Paul Meacher
10. Benni Kopp
11. Fania Giess
12. Jan Jilek
13. Aze Etzold
14. Tomas Foldes
BdJ
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.