Gary Fisher News
06/22/2007 Team
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I just got back from a long and exciting 6 weeks in Europe. I was over the pond for the Nissan Qashqai Urban Challenge as well as a couple of other events in between. Whenever you travel to a contest that is far away, you never know what to expect and that was the case for the Qashqai events. the Qashqai series was put together by the Rasolution team which was the same team responsible for the Redbull District rides and the Munich Airdome comp, so the riders knew that the series would be top notch.
Week one was in Newcastle, England, where the north shore event was held. The course was fun to ride, and it was located in the center of town. It started out with a drop into a step-up. From there, there was a few different line choices varying from skinnies that were 10 feet in the air, or a wallride line into a step-up. The lines came together at the end for a wood-to-wood trick jump which was where the best trick comp took place. Phil Sunbaum ended up winning the best trick with a perfect 720, but I came in a close second with my first flip double barspin in over a year! The main event went pretty well as everyone threw down for a chance at the biggest cash purse in freeride history. Darren Berrecloth took first with Paul Bass and Kyle Straight following closely. i ended up eighth place which is OK, but i wanted to make it to the weeks ahead. The first week went good, but there was an important part of mountain biking that was left out of the north shore course. DIRT!!!
The next week was the dirt jump comp in Milan, Italy. The course was again in the center of town with a huge roll in into a very trickable straight 6 pack. i think all of the riders were stoked on finally riding in the dirt.
The best trick contest went off! Darren Berrecloth was trying 720s and coming really close. Lance McDermott went down on a frontflip which is odd because he has those dialed. He then pulled a super clean flip indian air! i landed a double truckdriver and i would have won with my three double whip, but I didnt land on the pedals and rode out on my seat. The win went to Ben Boyko with a perfect downside 3 whip. In the main contest, it got crazy! I was just tryin to stay on the bike with my run, but people were hucking themselves trying crazy combos. My run was a flip x-up over the 25 foot first jump, an indian air over the second, and a clean 3 whip over the last.
Usually that would be a podium run, but I ended up 6th. the winner was Andreu Lacondeguy with a flip no hander, 360, and a flip superman. Second was Lance McDermont and 3rd was Paul Bass.
Week 3 and 4 were the street and park events, and even though the courses were fun to ride, It was not really mountain bike oriented. I am not a street rider and I dont think mountain biking contests should be held in those diciplines. I think mountain bike contests should be on a mountain!!! Needless to say i didnt qualify.
The weeks ahead i was stoked on because they were all dirt! First we went to the Austrian King of Dirt, in Linz. It was held at an existing set of trails so everyone knew the jumps were going to be epic! I think Linz was the funnest place to ride in Europe. The contest was really fun using the 1 hour jam format. With the weather raining off and on, the comp almost got canceled! but at the last minute the rain parted for a while and it was on.
All the runs were smooth and stylish. A lot of people tried some hard lines, but with the rain it was hard to stay on the bike. I ended up second with a few solid tricks including a flip barspin, a truck driver, and a 3 whip on the last set. i came second to Sam Pilgrim who came out of England with a surprising trick list and smooth style.
The next week was another sweet dirt contest held in Linz, Austria. It was the 26 Trix Contest. When i arrived, i had a lot of people looking at what i was going to do. At last years 26 Trix i pulled a double flip, and a lot of people were asking if i would do it again. At that point in my trip, i was so exhausted and beat up that I just wanted to go home. I certainly didn't want to end up in an Austrian hospital. The comp went flawlessly with Alex Pro stomping a perfect double flip on the same jump as me last year! Sadly, he didn't make the next jump and just missed qualifying for the finals. In the finals it was all about fluidity in your runs. Jamie Goldman came out with the cleanest runs and took first. Andreu Lacondeguy took 3 tries at a double flip, and finally landed one kind of sketchy, but had good enough runs for 2nd. Darren Pokoj had a unique line and riding style which awarded him 3rd. I ended up in 8th, but i never got in a flawless run.
The next week was supposed to be the Adidas Slopestyle, but sadly the relentless rain in Austria flooded the area, and the contest had to be canceled. I was pretty bummed to hear the news because its the first slopestyle of the year, and the course is always fun. With almost 2 weeks in between the events, I decided to come home for a bit and ride with my friends. Six weeks in Europe is a long time, but I think it was worth it. My bike worked flawlessly, and for the most part, I kept it on two wheels. I still need to go back for the last stop of the Nissan Qashqai Urban Challenge in Paris, so I'll need to update my Europe trip again after I get back. Wish me luck in Paris and ill keep everyone posted on it.
See ya!
Greg Watts
Greg Watts' European Summer Jump Session
Greg Watts is part of the Subaru-Mountain Bike Team on the dirt jump scene. Over the past couple years, Greg has become one of the most consistent presences on the dirt jump scene. This summer he went over to Europe for a series of events. His recap follows:----
I just got back from a long and exciting 6 weeks in Europe. I was over the pond for the Nissan Qashqai Urban Challenge as well as a couple of other events in between. Whenever you travel to a contest that is far away, you never know what to expect and that was the case for the Qashqai events. the Qashqai series was put together by the Rasolution team which was the same team responsible for the Redbull District rides and the Munich Airdome comp, so the riders knew that the series would be top notch.
Week one was in Newcastle, England, where the north shore event was held. The course was fun to ride, and it was located in the center of town. It started out with a drop into a step-up. From there, there was a few different line choices varying from skinnies that were 10 feet in the air, or a wallride line into a step-up. The lines came together at the end for a wood-to-wood trick jump which was where the best trick comp took place. Phil Sunbaum ended up winning the best trick with a perfect 720, but I came in a close second with my first flip double barspin in over a year! The main event went pretty well as everyone threw down for a chance at the biggest cash purse in freeride history. Darren Berrecloth took first with Paul Bass and Kyle Straight following closely. i ended up eighth place which is OK, but i wanted to make it to the weeks ahead. The first week went good, but there was an important part of mountain biking that was left out of the north shore course. DIRT!!!
The next week was the dirt jump comp in Milan, Italy. The course was again in the center of town with a huge roll in into a very trickable straight 6 pack. i think all of the riders were stoked on finally riding in the dirt.
The best trick contest went off! Darren Berrecloth was trying 720s and coming really close. Lance McDermott went down on a frontflip which is odd because he has those dialed. He then pulled a super clean flip indian air! i landed a double truckdriver and i would have won with my three double whip, but I didnt land on the pedals and rode out on my seat. The win went to Ben Boyko with a perfect downside 3 whip. In the main contest, it got crazy! I was just tryin to stay on the bike with my run, but people were hucking themselves trying crazy combos. My run was a flip x-up over the 25 foot first jump, an indian air over the second, and a clean 3 whip over the last.
Usually that would be a podium run, but I ended up 6th. the winner was Andreu Lacondeguy with a flip no hander, 360, and a flip superman. Second was Lance McDermont and 3rd was Paul Bass.
Week 3 and 4 were the street and park events, and even though the courses were fun to ride, It was not really mountain bike oriented. I am not a street rider and I dont think mountain biking contests should be held in those diciplines. I think mountain bike contests should be on a mountain!!! Needless to say i didnt qualify.
The weeks ahead i was stoked on because they were all dirt! First we went to the Austrian King of Dirt, in Linz. It was held at an existing set of trails so everyone knew the jumps were going to be epic! I think Linz was the funnest place to ride in Europe. The contest was really fun using the 1 hour jam format. With the weather raining off and on, the comp almost got canceled! but at the last minute the rain parted for a while and it was on.
All the runs were smooth and stylish. A lot of people tried some hard lines, but with the rain it was hard to stay on the bike. I ended up second with a few solid tricks including a flip barspin, a truck driver, and a 3 whip on the last set. i came second to Sam Pilgrim who came out of England with a surprising trick list and smooth style.
The next week was another sweet dirt contest held in Linz, Austria. It was the 26 Trix Contest. When i arrived, i had a lot of people looking at what i was going to do. At last years 26 Trix i pulled a double flip, and a lot of people were asking if i would do it again. At that point in my trip, i was so exhausted and beat up that I just wanted to go home. I certainly didn't want to end up in an Austrian hospital. The comp went flawlessly with Alex Pro stomping a perfect double flip on the same jump as me last year! Sadly, he didn't make the next jump and just missed qualifying for the finals. In the finals it was all about fluidity in your runs. Jamie Goldman came out with the cleanest runs and took first. Andreu Lacondeguy took 3 tries at a double flip, and finally landed one kind of sketchy, but had good enough runs for 2nd. Darren Pokoj had a unique line and riding style which awarded him 3rd. I ended up in 8th, but i never got in a flawless run.
The next week was supposed to be the Adidas Slopestyle, but sadly the relentless rain in Austria flooded the area, and the contest had to be canceled. I was pretty bummed to hear the news because its the first slopestyle of the year, and the course is always fun. With almost 2 weeks in between the events, I decided to come home for a bit and ride with my friends. Six weeks in Europe is a long time, but I think it was worth it. My bike worked flawlessly, and for the most part, I kept it on two wheels. I still need to go back for the last stop of the Nissan Qashqai Urban Challenge in Paris, so I'll need to update my Europe trip again after I get back. Wish me luck in Paris and ill keep everyone posted on it.
See ya!
Greg Watts
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