The skies were clouded and gray over the burgeoning bike metropolis of the Kona Skatepark today, but the international light of a heated Flatland contest brought warmth to riders and spectators alike.
Practice brought both the pros and amateurs from their early slumber and onto the slick surface of the skatepark at 9 a.m., and the large number of participants kept it going 'til nearly 6 p.m. That's some hardcore Flatland action! Word 'em up, yo!
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| Martti Kuoppa |
Stunt boy Flatland commenced with the first bit of international flavor, peppered with the first leg of the Japanese contingency. Akto Katani san brought home the 1st place bacon with a completely original run of front wheel moves, including something that resembled funky chicken switch whips. Florida local Scott Weaver took 2nd place with a run of smooth, rolling moves, including a sweet no-handed switch foot caboose glide. Did I mention it was sweet, dude? Well it was. The remainder of the stunt boys rode like the pro class and were only a small step away, so keep an eye out for all those fantastic riders very soon in the future. And now, here's a quick look at the Stuntman class, chock full of international Flatland talent.
Spain's George Gomez grabbed a hefty 9th place, full of halfhiker to cross foot halfhikers and barflip combos galore. George rode clean in practice, but touched a bit too much in the finals to place any higher. Japan's Ryoji Yamamoto san rode his way into 8th place with whiplash to steamroller jumps and pleased his fellow Japanese riders by making the finals. Ex-Florida local Aaron Behnke put his German sponsor "We the People" on the map by placing 7th with his usual array of weirdness on both the front and back wheel. Maaaan, it was awesome.
The first of two French riders in the top 10 was Jimmy Petitet, who brought his brakeless links to fruition for 6th place. Japan's Kotaro Tanaka pushed his back wheel walkarounds down for 5th, following closely behind England's Phil Dolan. Phil came into 4th with his trademark brand of walkarounds, and...a pedaling straddle roni. And now, the top three...
France, Canada, Finland was how it went down. France's Alex Jumelin grabbed 3rd with trick injections that made everyone's jaw and lips drop. He is too fast at his trickery to even tell you what he does. Just wait for the show. You won't want to miss it.
Canada's Nathan Penonzek pulled his patented front and back wheel 30-second links for 2nd place bucks, ready for the exchange to Canadian loonies.
And in 1st place was Nathan's good buddy and chief Flatland innovator, Finland's Martti Kuoppa. Martti has been on a winning streak since last year's X-Games, and definitely deserves it. Martti is light years ahead of everyone in Flatland, so keep an eye out for his dizzying skills when the first CFB contest of 2001 makes it's way to television, on ESPN and ESPN 2.
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