The inline skaters of the ASA Pro Tour descended on Louisville for the third year in a row for ESPN's second B3 event of the season. The weather literally stole the show on Friday. High winds made vert skating nearly impossible so all of the vert competitions that were scheduled for Friday got pushed over to Saturday. The rest of Friday was then left to practice and catching up with friends and seeing what's new in the industry, such as a sneak peak at 7XL's new UFS frame which looks really good and RB's new skate, which should shake things up a bit when it comes out this Christmas.

Taig Khris throws a McTwist during his winning run.

On Saturday our hopes that the winds would calm down were dashed against the rocky shores of reality. The wind gusts were stronger than on Friday, but nevertheless the show went on. I'm not sure if it was the crowds or the roar of the fighter jets performing above us, but whatever it was, the skaters were pumped.

With both the Salomon and USD teams on tour in Europe, the door was open for a few of the rookies to make a mark at their first pro event. Chris Fleener, Jon Murakami, Cameron Card and Adam Killgore all turned pro at the ASA Amateur Championships in Vegas last October - and all four represented well here in Louisville. Chris Fleener made it into the finals, which were held on Sunday.

The vert competition was compressed into a finals-only format since the prelims blew off in the wind on Friday. I was amazed that the vert guys actually adapted really well to the gusty conditions and pushed the progression line once again. The top three spots went to the guys who dominate the whole ASA Pro Tour with Frenchman Taig Khris skating past the ever-consistent Takeshi and Eito Yasutoko in the top three.

Santiago sticks a wallride to 180 only a few feet off the ground.

But the vert story in Louisville wasn't the results of the competition, it was the insane progression of vert skating. And pushing the progression envelope at this event were Matt Lindemuth and Eito Yasutoko. Matt has spent a lot of time at Camp Woodward over the last couple of years and his constant access to ramps and foam pits paid off with the first ever attempted double back flip in a vert competition. At each attempt, the crowds went out of their already unstable minds. Matt tried the trick three times and got so close to landing it that there's no doubt he'll pull it off at one of the next competitions.

The other recent trend in vert has been spinning. Led by Shane Yost last season with his consistent 1260's, other skaters have tried to take spins to a whole new level. I understand that some skaters are visiting a secret lab in Wyoming working on the 5400, but in Louisville it was Eito Yasutoko who pulled off an incredible 1440. That's four complete body rotations in one trick!

Another progressive force, Marc Englehart also attempted his flatspin to backside grind again but didn't land it. Damn, vert can be fun to watch.

At the park finals on Sunday, rookie Chris Fleener proved he deserves pro status, by earning the fifth place prize check at his first pro event. Notable runs of park finals included Brian Murphy, who pulled some of the biggest tricks of the day, including a 360 acid drop to the bottom of a gapped wedge. Jason Stinsman who can now throw a double back flip at will pulled out a very impressive second run to capture the third place spot. Santiago Azpurura, who probably has the best style I've seen, skated well enough to take home the silver with tricks like a wall ride along the side of a grind box and some smooth switch-ups. Jaren Grob, who finished the 2000 season as the top-ranked skater in the world, again proved that on a good day he is extremely hard to beat. Jaren took home the gold with his usual go big or go home style and his trademark corkscrew 900 over the launch box.

So, the huge crowds in Louisville were treated not just to the fireworks and air show of the "Thunder over Louisville," but also to some huge progression by the best rollerbladers in the world.

Matt Lindemuth attempts the first double backflip ever seen in competition.

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