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On Friday before the contest fellow jump builder Benny Paulsen estimated a 10 rider field for dirt. The set up was gnarly and people who had entered (48 pro riders) did not have much time to get used to the course. Making it to the end of the course wasn't easy but when it mattered, 33 riders rode, which was a decent number. Respect to all who had the balls to drop in from that 5 meter high platform and made it to the last set.

Mother Nature is a BMX fan! Despite weather forecasts predicting cold and rainy days for the weekend, a packed Whistler Village witnessed the skies clear and Red Bull Elevation go off to once again live up to the hype as the best event in BMX dirt jumping. From the first run, the 32 invited riders were throwing it all on the line and in the qualifying rounds, it was Corey Bohan who led the pack dropping a double tailwhip, superman seat grab and backflip in his first drop-in!

From there it was a battle between Bohan and 2005 winner Ryan Nyquist as they dropped every killer combo on the course and inched point by point up the board to land first and second place settings leading into the finals. 

There have been talks about this year's dirt course. After weeks of building and dealing with a lot of rain, only Marcus Hampl had made it through the complete set on Friday 13 July. The field of 48 riders will be cut quickly as most riders simply can't handle the terrain. The straight final (with whoever wants to ride) will be on Sunday afternoon. The course starts with a 5 meter high platform where the riders get speed to jump into a 2,30 meter landing followed by a 5 meter hipper to the right and some mighty sets.

After qualifying in first, Hungarian Adam Kun couldn't put it together in the finals. Justin Miller however did. The KHE/adidas rider from the USA took on the rest of the world in the well attended flatland tent at the BMX Masters in Cologne, Germany.  Michael Sommer from Austria (still the current pro flatland world champ) finished second with UK's Sam Foakes in third. It can go either direction in pro flatland and this is the way the final results came out at the 2007 BMX Masters:

PRO FLATLAND FINAL RESULTS:
1. JUSTIN MILLER (USA)
2. MICHAEL SOMMER (AUS)
3. SAM FOAKES (ENG)
4. SHINTARO MISAWA (JAP)
5. WALDEMAR FATKIN (GER)
6. MATTHIAS DANDOIS (FRA)
7. RAPHAEL CHIQUET (FRA) 

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 

It was packed at in Cologne as soon as the Street/Park qualifiers started. The sun had come out in Koellefornia and it's always a good scene with the crowd surrounding the course. Mark Webb qualified in first but won't be able to ride the finals because of a broken arm. This moved Joris Coulomb from France into the 12 rider final cut and makes Jason Phelan from Ireland the first reserve in case someone else gets injured. Other finalitsts are: Ryan Elcock, Louis Smith, Maxime Cherveron, Leon Perkins, Kevin Kalkhoff, Allan Cooke, Ben Wallace and Alessandro Barbero.

It was a no-holes-barred final stage for the Braun cruZer Tour at the Suzuki BMX Masters in Cologne, Germany, but defending champion and series leader Mark Webb crashed out on his final run. Webb, who has won the two previous legs of the Tour and was champion in 2005 and 2006, was on his best form. He had already pulled out a Tailwhip to the sub-box and was flying across the ramp but fell heavily after misjudging a relatively simple trick. He knew immediately what had happened. “My arm is broken,” he announced from the ramp. “Tell someone it’s snapped!” Before being lead away by medics he proudly displayed the bone that was bulging out of his forearm to the crowd to massive applause.

It was left to Daniel Dhers (VEN) and Ben Wallace (GBR) to finish their runs and they didn’t disappoint the enormous and enthusiastic crowd. Dhers knocked out huge Alleyoop Flairs before nailing a No-Handed Flair and a Double Tailwhip over the spine. 

Nass was back in Shepton Mallet for 2007, with names like Mark Webb, Ben Wallace, Daniel Dhers and Ben Hennon the somerset crowd were in for a treat. It was the second stop for the Braun spine cruzer tour and even though it was quite windy the riders didn't hold out. There were a crew of Mexican bmxers who made the long trip to Nass and all had some good tricks and good style to follow.

Chris Mahoney placed in 5th and had a good solid run filled with tricks and finished his run trying to backflip the 7ft spine. Ben Hennon Placed in 4th and went so high over the spine I think you could of stood underneath him with your arms straight up and he still would of cleared you. Daniel Dhers who rode with his usual smoothness and consistancy.; 360 double whips, 540 tailwhip airs and invert flairs got him 3rd place. Ben Wallace placed in 2nd and rode the whole ramp from tech spine tricks like whip to over ice to back over to double whips and flairs and smooth rode with his usual smooth style.

Endless miles… broken bones… lost teeth… snapped frames and bunny hops on conveyor belts… it had to be the Relentless No Half Measures BMX Tour..! Last week saw The ‘Relentless No Half Measures BMX Tour’ stop off at some of the most impressive parks in the country to inspire and encourage local fans (as well as each other). From the ball pits of Corby to the Spines of NASS, the Relentless message was taken to the masses, taking in blistering skills and taking out a couple of teeth along the way. 

Full results from the Braun cruZer Tour's second stage have now been released and Mark Webb's (GBR) title defence is well on track. Webb, the 2005 and '06 winner won the second stage of the three-part competition at the National Action Sports Show in Bath, Great Britain, much to the delight of his substantial, and mainly female, travelling fanclub. He will now go into next week's final round at the Suzuki BMX Masters as clear favourite to take the overall Braun cruZer Tour title.

In a repeat of the top three positions from the first stage, Ben Wallace (GBR) was second and Venezuelan Daniel Dhers (VEN) third. Using every square inch he could find, Webb's Alleyoops covered the width of the mini spine ramp, while his Flair 360 Tailtaps were technically perfect. Ben Hennon (GBR) was fourth and Chris Mahoney (GBR) fifth, with another Briton Tony Watkinson improving on his ninth place at stage one to move up to sixth. Two more Britons Phil Aller and Louis Smith were seventh and eighth respectively, and rounding out the top ten were two Mexicans Jorge O'Lveda and Sergio Manzo.