Then the rains came and didn’t stop until springtime. The clay surface on the Sweettrails is rock-hard if it is dry, but smudge and slippery when it’s wet. That makes maintenance tricky and therefore we started with putting together a drainage system on the most critical point which appeared to work. When the rain finally stopped we had to repair all the damage it caused. This resulted in a perfect condition of the Sweettrails and a considerably improvement even compared to when the trails were freshly build last year. -- The 9th of August it was on: the Sweettrails jam 2009. The first of what we hope will be a long range of an annually returning and growing event. The weather gods were nice enough to let the sun come out that weekend and although the amount of riders was less then expected we were sure to se
e some big stuff. Both the amateurs and the pros were not going to be holding back. In the pro-class there were a couple of Dutch top riders including some competing on an international level. During practice Sweettrails local Patrick Harteveld bumped into a recent knee injury and was of to the hospital. Bart Mol also crashed on the big line and dislocated his shoulder. Amateurs practice went, beside the usual spills, without problems and the riders seemed to go into the competition with confidence. After three runs Thomas Jacobs (Billy Trails local) won the Sweettrails Amateur Champ 2009 title.
Then the pros were up and so was the wind. Out of nowhere the wind just seemed to get stronger by the minute. That didn’t hold the riders back though. The riders pulled out the biggest a
nd baddest tricks to show the competition and spectators what they were made of. Highlights were no handed backflips, flatspin 360’s and a more than huge superman seatgrab over the 8 metre gap from Roy Groenewegen (Kona). Eventually Kona Euro Clump rider Kevin Katinas could call himself Sweettrail Pro Champ 2009 followed by his technically very strong riding teammate Roy Groenewegen. Also Best Trick was won by Kevin Katinas which was ' the man to beat' that day. Amateur Best Trick was won by E-19 local Benji Claes. All in all it was a successful first event which we see as a platform for a bigger and better event next year. We want to thank our sponsors: Red Bull, Hans Struijk Bicycles, Foxstore.nl, Kona Bikes, and Den Braber Ram. We would alson like to thank:No-Kidding for their presence, the City of Zoetermeer, FCC Zoetermeer ‘77, SDG-crew, Billytrails-crew, and everyone else who made this event possible.
Ilja van Bommel
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.