Tuesday, March 21

CFB Round One

By Brian Tunney

If I were to use an analogy referring to the weekend of the first inaugural CFB comp, Id place my emphasis on a two-liter bottle of soda. When I was younger, I had a wise-ass habit of shaking up unopened bottles of soda so they would explode all over one of my brothers. This kind of reminds of the CFB contest.

First, plans were made to have the contest. (The plans for the contest would be known as the unopened soda.) Next, Mat and Steve and the rest of the gang shook-up the bottle of soda all week prior to the contestbuilding new ramps and planning out the entire production of the CFB TV show. And finallyboom! The weekend for the contest came, and the bottle of soda blew straight up into the humid Florida atmosphere, logging a place alongside the space shuttles that frequent the sky over Merrit Island.

Cory Nastazio, turndown/Brian Foster, turndown/John Stricker, turndown

In simpler terms, what was planned for the CFB inaugural contest blew up into much more than I and many others had originally expected. The riding was amazing, the weather was great and the park was extremely biker friendly. Everyone in attendance could sense the feelings of unity and overall fun that the CFB contest brought, and it was a blast. Like I mentioned before, the bottle of soda analogy blowing up delivered tons of great things to discuss about the contest. Ill try to touch on the exploding soda that stuck out in my mind, which would begin with the skatepark.

The Merrit Island Funplex is probably one of the best places Ive ever ridden my bike. Nate Wessel, Kim Boyle and the rest of the CFB staff modified the street course a bit, making the park even more fun than it already was. There were too many good ramps and lines to list. Theres also a smooth mini ramp, a gigantic vert ramp and a pro level dirt coursetheres something for everyone at this place. The owner Dennis is outgoing and damn pumped on having contests and generally being involved in the sport. He deserves a huge thank you for making this weekend possible. So thanks Dennis!

Jon Taylor, invert/Pat Miller, tabletop

Onto flatland nowYes, the Merrit Island Funplex even has a good parking lot for flatland riding, creating a level of riding on the first day of the CFB comp was insane. What really stuck out in my mind was the fact that it wasnt your same old contest, with the usual names and faces from the U.S. Both the expert and pro classes were internationally stacked. Riders scanning the globe showed up to ride and have fun. There were riders from Hungary, Brazil, Japan, France, Germany and even California. The Japanese contingent of riders, including Tanaka Kotaro, Ryoji Yamamoto, York Uno and Akira Okamura, were turning a lot of faces. It was great to see them riding and pulling original tricks.

What everyone did would make this story too long and complicated, so Ill simply say that everyone rode awesome. Most importantly, everyone had fun riding the contest because the environment was stress-free. Alex Jumelin suggested trying a jam format for Round Two. But we could not have asked for a better flatland contest for Round One.

Tim Hall, no footed can can/Rob Nolli, backflip

Everyone rode well in the Pro Dirt too. I know this well because it was near impossible to judge both expert and pro. And after baking under the arid sun all morning during practice, everyone came together and pulled off one heck of a dirt comp. Before I begin ranting again, I need to mention that Chris Duncan worked hard on the Florida sand they call dirt to get the jumps in working order, so Chris deserves a big thanks. Hug him the next time you see him. (He wont mind.)

Amateur dirt was not that much different from pro dirt. Trend Bike Sources Joel Moody snatched the win, followed by Steven Lilly and Mark Mulville. These guys were not far off from the pro class, pulling big 360s, tailwhips and most importantly, landing backside and tricking every set. And then, the wild bunch of pros Joey Garcia pulled the win, but it was no easy feat by anyones standards. Joey actually tailwhipped the 25 foot table to x-up over the next set to no-footed cancan over the last set. The distance to tailwhip the first table was insane, but Joey pulled it with such control that there was no where for him to go but to first place.

Alex Jumelin, spastic pegbar/Leif Valin, upsidedown roller/Stephen Cerra, fork scuff

Grabbing second was former local Floridian Cory Nastazio. Cory flipped that first table and also pulled his patented superman seat grab snap, with height unmatched by anyone else out there. Following in third was Bensalem, PAs Adam Aloise. Adam was a machine when it came to pulling 360 variations and tailwhips with that smooth PA style that would make Pat Juliff happy. Lastly, deserving a mention in pro dirt is S&Ms Matt Berringer.

Matt double barspinned the first two sets to perfect front flip in qualifying, and then pulled a smooth 180 over the last set when the contest was done. If anyone was the crowd fave, it would have been Matt. He is living proof that originality does pay off.

Now for the leisurely stroll to the vert ramp. What made vert was the top three riders and a new format which was a 30-minute jam for the finals. It proved to be a little too tiring for the riders, but it definitely worked wonders for the first 20 of those minutes. Riders went whenever they wanted and they could either do a marathon contest run, or try for one or two big tricks. The stress was off because the riders did not have to muscle every trick they could into a 60-second run, before trying a big trick to finish. The jam format eliminates the endurance runs and was more fun to watch in my opinion. The guys that were the most fun were; Jason Davies, who is back from injury and pulling bunnyhop off the deck to peg stall to revert, along with his huge 540s and variations at height. In the words of Sheps, "Davies is a vert riders rider."

John Parker, who pulled a double tailwhip in qualifying, came super close to a body varial in the finals. Johns die-hard attitude kept him getting up and trying tricks that he didnt pull. He also chalked up his first pro vert win because of it.

Mat Hoffman, who is back in full form, pulled switch hand look-downs and the dreaded no-handed to no-footed 540. Mat was brakeless and everyone would agree that it was THE highlight of the weekend to see him riding and enjoying himself.

Finally to street.The vert jam format went to the street course as well, and it was a bit confusing after it exceeded the time limit. Riders kept going for it, and who were we to stop them? So many good tricks and lines were exhibited throughout the day, but I think there was a handful of things that stood out to me. For one, Van Homan, who ice-picked the wall atop the wave ramp and then gapped off of an 8-foot quarter to bank landing. Joey Garcia, who went for a bar-spin to tail-whip, and came damn close. Josh Heino, attempted the sickest fufanu ever he came real close and I could never do justice to the insanity that it was. Ruben Alcantara, bunny-hopped up a handrail and tail-whip bunny-hopped off of the top of it, (along with simple bump jumps) showed how much control he had over his bike. Ruben is control; plain and simple.

In conclusion, it was by far the most fun and excitement that I have had at a contest in quite some time. You should do all within your power to make it to both the second and third rounds of the CFB comps. Keep riding your bike and shaking up the soda.