After Dirt on Friday night it was time for the street contest on Saturday. In 102 Fahrenheit temperatures it was hella hot over there in the parking lot of the Hardrock in Vegas. The street course was more than decent but was built on a slopy parking lot which took some getting used to for all the 28 riders. Again it was a strong field of perticipants. Some of the riders who did not make the top 12 (finals) were: Dakis, Morochan, Beringer, Ross, Taylor, Martinez, Mihelich, Heaton, MacKay, Paddy Gross, Napolitan, Tobias Wicke, Darden, Van Homan, Chase Hawk and Diego Canina. With those riders out, you can expect the finals to be nuts.
In 12th place we find
Alistair Whitton who had been ripping on the course all day long. When he dropped in for his first 60 second run (best run counts), he went for a huge front flip on the box but landed a bit too deep and got off the bike. He possibly broke his arm as he was in a sling in no time (welcome brother) and rushed to the hospital later for inspection. 11th went to UK's
Baz Keep. Making the final was
a victory in itself and Sebastian kept on spinning both ways and did an awesome no-hander on the 8 feet tall quarterpipe for good measure. 11th. Up next we find stuntman
Austin Coleman who did rad flairs and one-handed tailwhips on the quarter and did a superman/decade transfer that had everyone go nuts. In 9th we see
Brian Hunt who was all over the course with downside whips, barspins and turndowns but was lacking a bit in the "crazy new trick" department. His icepick on the wall as his last trick was amazing though. Brian's only 20 and has a future ahead of him.
Guess how old
Allan Cooke is? 23! The Specialized rider showed up in his huge RV that he parked next to the street course. He needed a good result to help pay for that thing and with 8th place he won another grand. Flip transfers, whips, toboggans, nothings, flips over the spine, a tailwhip on a quarterpipe and flairs are some of the tricks that Allan had to offer for the grand.
Sergio Layos got 7th. Sergio flows and goes both ways. Finishing 7th in this field is an accomplishment for the Fly rider. 6th went to Mr. 180 style cat
Mike Aitken. I can't believe how much he goes through before he pulls a trick. Mike met with the parking lot plenty of times but still continued to pull that lookback 180 over the box or wallride to 180. His nosebonk on the hitching post to 180 was nuts and so were his alley-oop one-footed table transfers. Mike deserved 6th place, maybe even more.
Morgan Wade needed a strong 2nd run in qualifying to make the final. Once there he didn't hold back (does he ever?). A 50/50 grind on top of the wall, flair on the quarter, superman tailwhip and a 360/backflip handplant over the hitching post. 5th for Wade.
Michael Cleveland had his fans in the crowd which pushed him to the next level. The HARO rider was all over the course and does the best downside whips out there. His turndowns couldn't be more stretched either. 4th.
In 3rd we find
Dave Dillewaard. Mr. consistency had the course down and double-whipped the box, did turndown 540-s on the quarter and touched every other ramp on the course with a variation. His last trick was a brakeless tailwhip footjam on the hitching post which he pulled after his time was up.
Gary de Jong (Young) was riding incredible. For his last trick he did a lipslide on top of the wall which was sick.
A frontflipping (no-handed no less)
Scotty Cranmer won the contest though. The 18 year old Felt rider had some rough crashes ealier in the day but when you're sponsored by Tylenol, you've got the solution nearby. Scotty did double-whips, 360-whips over the box, wallrides to flairs like it was nothing. He's got that shit so down it's unbelievable. Back to back, bam, bam, bam! Scotty finally got his win and with $15 grand on the line it was a good one too.
VANS Let it Ride street contest. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
1st - Cranmer $15,000
2nd - Young $7,000
3rd - Dillewaard $5,000
4th - Cleveland $2,000
5th - Wade $1500
6th - Aitken $1200
7th - Layos $1100
8th - Cooke $1000
9th - Hunt $800
10th - Coleman $700
11th - Keep $600
12th - Whitton $500
STREET PURSE - $36,400
BdJ
a victory in itself and Sebastian kept on spinning both ways and did an awesome no-hander on the 8 feet tall quarterpipe for good measure. 11th. Up next we find stuntman Austin Coleman who did rad flairs and one-handed tailwhips on the quarter and did a superman/decade transfer that had everyone go nuts. In 9th we see Brian Hunt who was all over the course with downside whips, barspins and turndowns but was lacking a bit in the "crazy new trick" department. His icepick on the wall as his last trick was amazing though. Brian's only 20 and has a future ahead of him. 
Guess how old Allan Cooke is? 23! The Specialized rider showed up in his huge RV that he parked next to the street course. He needed a good result to help pay for that thing and with 8th place he won another grand. Flip transfers, whips, toboggans, nothings, flips over the spine, a tailwhip on a quarterpipe and flairs are some of the tricks that Allan had to offer for the grand. Sergio Layos got 7th. Sergio flows and goes both ways. Finishing 7th in this field is an accomplishment for the Fly rider. 6th went to Mr. 180 style cat Mike Aitken. I can't believe how much he goes through before he pulls a trick. Mike met with the parking lot plenty of times but still continued to pull that lookback 180 over the box or wallride to 180. His nosebonk on the hitching post to 180 was nuts and so were his alley-oop one-footed table transfers. Mike deserved 6th place, maybe even more. 
Morgan Wade needed a strong 2nd run in qualifying to make the final. Once there he didn't hold back (does he ever?). A 50/50 grind on top of the wall, flair on the quarter, superman tailwhip and a 360/backflip handplant over the hitching post. 5th for Wade. Michael Cleveland had his fans in the crowd which pushed him to the next level. The HARO rider was all over the course and does the best downside whips out there. His turndowns couldn't be more stretched either. 4th. 
In 3rd we find Dave Dillewaard. Mr. consistency had the course down and double-whipped the box, did turndown 540-s on the quarter and touched every other ramp on the course with a variation. His last trick was a brakeless tailwhip footjam on the hitching post which he pulled after his time was up. Gary de Jong (Young) was riding incredible. For his last trick he did a lipslide on top of the wall which was sick. 
A frontflipping (no-handed no less) Scotty Cranmer won the contest though. The 18 year old Felt rider had some rough crashes ealier in the day but when you're sponsored by Tylenol, you've got the solution nearby. Scotty did double-whips, 360-whips over the box, wallrides to flairs like it was nothing. He's got that shit so down it's unbelievable. Back to back, bam, bam, bam! Scotty finally got his win and with $15 grand on the line it was a good one too.
VANS Let it Ride street contest. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
1st - Cranmer $15,000
2nd - Young $7,000
3rd - Dillewaard $5,000
4th - Cleveland $2,000
5th - Wade $1500
6th - Aitken $1200
7th - Layos $1100
8th - Cooke $1000
9th - Hunt $800
10th - Coleman $700
11th - Keep $600
12th - Whitton $500
STREET PURSE - $36,400
BdJ
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.