Flatland finals for the Bicycle Stunt 2001 Series went down in blistering heat, humidity, and the terror of some freshly paved tar that melted its way onto everyone's tires and socks. It was not a pretty situation. But there were 10 that persevered the circumstances, and they are now wealthier because of it. Here are those dudes and what they did…

10th place- Chad Degroot. Chad had an amazing run in the prelims, but fell apart in the finals. Chad had some amazing tricks, such as a front wheel decade to karl kruzer to bar endo to half cab barspin. No one has the style of originality that Chad has. And he did it all in black pants. He says he didn't know it would be so hot….

9th place- Matt Wilhelm. Matt also had an amazing run in prelims, which earned him the first run. And unfortunately, there's only one way to go when you qualify first. Matt is all smiles about it though, which is good. Matt did pull the pedaling Kuoppa pedal picker spin to upside down pedaling megaspin route, which was probably the crowd favorite.

8th place- York Uno. York consistently makes the finals, which we'd attribute to his steamroller to hitchhiker links. No one else does those in pro flat. He also threw in the no-hand hitchhiker and the inside circle circle k with his leg resting on the top tube.

7th place- Jorge Gomez. Fly Bikes rider Jorge has some of the most innovative snappy riding I've seen in quite a while. I'd describe more of it, but it's hard stuff. One thing that's cool is his switch footed ride in to turbine wheelchair straight to gliding backyard. Esta muy grande, or something like that meant to mean it's real good.

6th place- Art Thomason. Hoffman Bike's semi-neighbor and rider took sixth place with some more of the most consistent riding of the contest. Want to know Art's secret? Check out the inaugural issue of Flatland Manifesto video magazine, available at www.backlashbmx.com. I don't mean to throw in a harmless plug, but this has an in-depth interview with Art that's damn good.

5th place- Ryoji Yamamoto. Ryoji is another Japanese rider making a name for himself on the scene with some innovative rolling switches, like the whiplash walkaround. Look for him at the X games to learn more….

4th place- Stephen Cerra. Stephen made it into another finals, with tricks like knee stand megaspins and no-foot pumping tomahawks. Stephen has had a great year in contests. Watch out for this ripper at the X Games as well.

3rd place- Martti Kuoppa. Well, after countless years of Trevor Meyer's domination, Martti made a change. He won the 2001 Series year-end title, with his amazing style and innovation. If you want to know what determination is, watch Martti ride. He has made the impossible possible, and he does it all with a smile on his face. Congrats Martti!

2nd place- Nathan Penonzek. Nathan is the name you're used to seeing near or at the top, and that's for good reason. He drove straight from Vancouver, a five-day trip, to make it to CT to ride in the comp. Minus sleep and practice, Nathan made the finals and made it count.

1st place- Phil Dolan. Phil, aboard his new Fly flatland bike, made some good money this weekend, scoring first place with some good stuff, like pedal picker glides and switch foot hang 5 glides on the pedal. Congrats Phil.

2001 BS Year End Flatland Title: Martti Kuoppa

Okay, the BS series is done for this year, my laundry needs to go in the dryer, and this story is officially done. Go ride.. -Brian Tunney.

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