Friday, July 6

Soul Bowl 2001

By Brian Tunney

I made it to the Soul Bowl just in time to watch vert. I didn't get to see the street comp but I heard that Dave Mirra pulled a double back flip on this shady box jump. I also heard that Colin Winklemann did a huge gap and that Koji Kraft nose picked a wedge that sat on top of a 10-foot quarter. That's what I heard anyway.

Mirra. Enough said.

Now what I did see with my own two eyes was vert, or actually bowl. This was one big bowl vertical ramp thing. It was "neato." Josh Heino was inverting and can-caning with a style that's all his own. Brian Blyther finally made it back to a comp and carved the living poop out of the ramp with airs like his chicken butts, one-handed can-can, and even big 540's. It's great to see him back in action.

Dave Brumlow relearned 540's and was doing them constantly as well as clicked turndowns, can-cans and other variations. The biker in black with bleached air - Rick Thorne - tailwhipped footplanted, tailwhipped, 540ed and did more variations than I can shake a stick at. He also went for two flairs and came so close. John Parker was going high as usual, doing lots of variations like supermans, tailwhips, and no-handers.

Josh Heino going for it.

Jim Burgess has been tearing it up lately - double peg-grab no-handers, high airs, 540's and lots of other variations. We'll be seeing him place better and better at more comps. Mr. Motorhead, Jason Davis, is coming on strong this year, too. Nice high, smooth 540's and big variations. Kevin Robinson was cursed at this contest with bike problems. But he still pulled a huge flair and a no-handed flair on Brian Blyther's bike. That kid doesn't mess around.

Mr. High Flyer, Jay Eggleston, was soaring into the sky with one-footed rocket one-handers, no-handers, 540's and no-handed fakies. That kid rocks. Koji Kraft is a loose cannon. He does some of the craziest variations and you think that he's just not going to pull it but he does. He did a back-to-back tailwhip to x-up. Jamie Bestwick was carving like crazy and flairing, and 540ing all over the ramp. Dave Mirra won the contest. Flairs, 540's, huge variation, double tailwhips but the thing I liked the best was the no-footed can-can to tailwhip. It was unbelievable.

After the main contest there was a high air contest. They ran it by height elimination and everyone was tired from the main event. Jamie Bestwick won with 13 feet. Dave Mirra wasn't far behind him. The contest was awesome. It's great to see a different ramp and what the riders will do with it. Radical.

Jamie Bestwick took home the High Air honors.

Results:

VERT
1. Dave Mirra
2. Jamie Bestwick
3. Koji Kraft
4. Jay Eggleston
5. Kevin Robinson
6. Jason Davis
7. Jim Burgess
8. John Parker
9. Rick Thorne
10. Dave Brumlow
11. Brain Blyther
12. Josh Heino

HIGH AIR
1. Jamie Bestwick

PARK
1. Dave Mirra
2. Koji Kraft
3. Josh Heino
4. Bruce Crisman
5. Colin Winklemann
6. Seth Kimbrough
7. Markus Wilke
8. Mike Ardelean
9. Mike Escamilla
10. Sean Emery