FLATLAND FINALS - SUNDAY AUGUST 18, 2002

FIRST RUNS

Alex is up after a clean run he gets the score of 85.80 special thanks to ESPN and Philadelphia for the parking problems we had which made us miss the first few riders of the finals and not get any pics or video of practice today, good planning.  Alex apparently took a peg to the forehead during practice and had to get some butterfly stitches right before his run so we may not see the most that he has to offer.

Matt Wilhelm is up ad starts off with a dump truck half body varial links.  He pulls it as a perfectly clean first link.  Next he goes up to the blender combo linked out to a upside down mega spin, up  to the pedals and into a forward time machines.  PERFECTION!  He pulls it clean and steps things p from yesterday.He touches down on the next front wheel link but then goes into a spastic hitchhiker which he pulls clean.  score 85.20

Viki is up next and starts on the front wheel..  Firehydrant tubine halfhiker to cross footed halfpacker dropped and tubined and twistede out to hitchhiekr and out. Bars hit but he pulls it.  He works the ftontwheel again and sketches big time on a boomerang combo but doesn't touch the ground.  He works the half hiker andcoasts around and jumps the frame, but touches the ground - big sketch, he seems to get bugged by nerves at these events.  He goes for a superfast hitchiker to cross footed backpacker combo but get's eaten on it and then can't hang onto his last link either.  He can give so much more and does all the time in practice... if only it could be true for the actual event.  Score:  83.60 and fourth.

The Minnesota Machine....  Trevor Meyer has stepped things up this year and he begins with a half hiker pulled to a bunch of e-squeak barflip combos stuff and a big kickflip on the front wheel..  He works it through and pulls about a 30 second link clean as his first trick.  He then works the back wheel.  Pedalling into a death truck, coasted one foot on the pedal and then to a blender and straight over into a pedalling stick bitch dropped to a switchbitch and pulled clean.  Perfect run for him and he pumps his fist in satisfaction.  Probably the first perfect run of the day, and it bumps him into first and will probably put him in medal contention with a score of 92.00.

Nate Penonzek is ready to go and starts with a half bike flip to steamrooler to one handed mccircle then up ont he back wheel with a quick time machine and out clean.  Up ont he back wheel he rools smooth into a forward rope and into an upsideown megapsin turbined three times over and into a bacckwards wheelie then around to a junkyard tubined and back into the upside down wheelie and some dump truckage to out.  He flows around the entire bike like it's nothing.  A megapin int a couple of body varials to gerato and a sketch on his way into the upside down megaspin and it's a one touch run for him.  He really needed that last trick for it all to work out perfectly.  He receives the score of - 90.20 and second place for the moment.

Martti is up next and looking for gold again.  He begins with a cross footed half hiker to half packer which he tries to hold by scuffing with his hand but he can't hold onto it.  He tries again, holding the rear tire and he's into a cross foote dhitchhiker and around into some cross footed pinky squeaks and a  halfpacker kcik flip then another kick flip to halfpacker and out clean.  The guys are definitely fighting the ground here.  A cross footed hang nothing then kic flip to wheel chair glide and another kcik flip  which he doesn't quite get.  Hang 5 then ahyoldign the sta hang ten and he sketches the kick flip out.  NOt his best run for sure and despite the difficulty probably not enough in the land where a single touch usually kicks you out of first place.  His score - a disappoiting 89.00

Phil Dolan is is up and starts with a huge nose wheelie across the course and then back up the heill with one on the pedal dropped to a hichhiekr then down the hill in a pedal nose wheelie and a hithhiker again and out.  Solid and flawless.  He heads to the top of the hikll and comes down with a upside down wheelie stepped over to the pedals, pedalling backwards and up the hill and out clean.  He has a flawless run going with 15 seconds left to go. He sets up and does  ahalfhiker to around the wrold to hang 5 and a few whiplash swqueaks and out clean.  Second flawles run for the day and Phil may have taken over first with that, hard to say with the level of difficulty that all the riders are throwing out today.  He gets a 93.00 and takes over first place... but not by much.

Mike sstarts down the hill and does a nice rear wheel link ending with a time machine on the pedals and out clean.  Back on the front wheel with a whiplash to hang 10 holidng the set to hitchiker and aroundonto the front wheel bar flip and steamroller then a e squeak barflip to inside steamroller and into a wheelchair then a hitchhiker out and pulled perfect.  His game is on today and is above right now>  He's up into his stubble ducked rear wheel combo with a stick bitch oneither tdside of the bike and stubble ducks on both sides he pulls it clean.  That should be a SOLID first place with the difficulty he throws down and the skills that he has.  A definite build up for the entire day for his last run.  93.40 - definitely in first place for now... for now.

Effraim Catlow, whom we missed the first run on thanks to parking difficulties is up again in just a minute...  Let's talk about this for a seocnd...  Major city, major event (X-Games) so let's have a baseball game with the Phillies the same day when the X-Games is currently using about half of the parking facilities that are already there.  Is this going to spell a parking nightare?  DUH!  So we were running a little late and missed all the practice, but to take 45 minutes to park is just lame no matter what.  Good planning, and very typical of the eXperience.  Thanks for letting that rant happen.

SECOND RUNS

Okay, here comes Effraim - He starts down the hill and hits a coasting dump truck turbined twice but sketched on the ride out and touches..  He tries again and takes it to a forward rope a roni but sketches when he brings the frame around.  He hits a cross footed hitchhiekr and brings it down the course.  He tries to twist it around to a backwards backpacker but can't hold on.  A cross footed dump truck to upside down megaspin and the buzzer sounds .  He goes for a gloyt trick but can't get it.  Just nothing was coming together for him today, but he has to be happy to make it to the finals and be here.  He doesn't score well and stays in 10th.

Stephan is up again and begins with a few tomahwak combos including the no footed coasting variety pulled clean.  He goes to the top of the hill and comeds down with a teea glide on the pedal thenright onto the junction on the concrete he touchesdown.  He goes intoa timemachine on the pedal to blender at speed and takes a hand off, but can't hold on.  He waves to the crowd and says that's it.  He seems irritated by the surface and the quality of his riding today.  His score - 81.80  -  88.40 and sixth place for now.  He drops his second run.

Alex Jumelin comes out again and throws out a hang 5 to spastick cliffhagner sketched out but didn't touch.  At that speed still cool.  A few scuffing hang -5 combos with some turbinage going on.  He sketches and touches on the out.  Cliffhagner arouto a mcricles and some pinky squeaks sucffing the fronte wheel forward in between.  He takes it out clean then onto the front wheel again with some steamroller stuff then steps over to a wheelchairl glide but can't hold on an touches.  He thwos a n-handed one footed hang 5 and jups into the stwheelchair glide and finishes it all up clean.  He gets a 84.60 and 7th place with 85.80 as his final score.

Matt starts up his final run with another round of dump truck casting to half body varial to half body varial to upside down whelie to rope a ronti undertaker ride out, clean.  He then works up into the bldner and holds on to take it to the upside down pedalling mega spin.  He takes it to the forward time mcahine and despite somesketch he pulls it clean and the crowd roars in approval.  He does a half barflip to a swheelchair glide but sketches and then the buzzer sounds loud as he is in the middle of a spastic hitchiekr.  He does one more glory trick... 360 body varial?  We'll never know because he sketches before he can jump.  Not his best outing this year, and he gets a 85.20 and 8th place.

Viki starts off with a karl cruiser to mcc ircle then out... clean, but not what he wanted.  Next is what he wants but he sketches as he pulls the fire hydrant around to a hitchhiker.  He gets it this time and pulls the hitchhiker itno a cross-footed halfpacker he works onto the front whel again and the steamrollercombos dropped to an overtaker ride out but can't pull it.  He hits a hang ten and stepsit into a tubined steamrollerand toa half packer but his nerves are playing him down hard.  He's happy, but has to be a little disappointed with that run.  He gets a 82.40 and finishes with 9th place with 83.60.

Trevor is up now and looking to improve on thirsd.  He worsk the front wheel to begin with some side glide kickflip stuff and jumps into a steamroller and a huge kiclfip on the ftonwwheel pulled clean and rides out.   He knows he has to step it up so he works ontothe back wheel and a pedalling upsdie ddown mega spin to a backwards blender... He sketches it though and can't pull it as he touches down.  He pedals into the coasting death truck on the pedal and takes itto a bleder and steps it through to the pedalling stick bitch again to a switch bitchand he gets the perverted boomerang rideout clean.  He gets a 89.40 this run down from his 92.00 and stays in third place.

Nate is up again and looking to do better.  He starts ont he rear wheel wand works into a upsdie down megaspin and around the bike again with some tubine and half ghetto flip stuff and pulls out clean.  Sosmooth.  He starts wtih a mmega spin and ends up in and upsdie down wheelie turbined into a dork wheelie then he turbines that around and takes it to a crosffss footed mega spin but touches down.  He works it around again ton the back wheeland nearly runs ito the sidelines.  He pulls it clean then starts up on the rear wheel with a geratore tubvrned int and pside down wheelie and pulls it out clean.  A suepr difficult run, but the one touch kills you here - he gets a 92.60 and stays in 4th place.  One out of medals..

Martti - cross foote d half hiker to halfpacker then he kicflips it once, he kicks it around again - two kiclfips same combo...  A couple of pinky squekas to a halfpacker whatever...  Pulled clean, he is so hard to desribe as he rides.  A cross footed ahng ten holding the seat, then takes the hand off kick flipped to wheelchair glid   kidclifpeed to fork wheelie and rides it out clean.  10 sconds left and he does a hang 10 holding the seat keicklfipped and jupmed to half packer and the buzazer sounds...  loud int he mieddle of his run he works it around the front wheel and despite a little sketch he pulls it clean.  Any guesses this year?  FLAWLESS from Martti:  95.00 and he jumps up to first and knocks Trevor out of the medal spot and the Americans are off the podium this year.

Phil is up again and rolls down the hill in a nose wheelie on the pedalswith no brakes.  He works up the hill with a whillash and he tries to step it up to the pedal for a side straddle nose wheelie but can't hit it.  No touch but he's not on perfect.  He does a quick rope a roni stepped u p to the pedals and out.  The tries the nose wheelie ont he pedals down the hill again.  He works up the hill with a pedal nose wheelie and then to a hitchhiekr then to pedal nose wheelie and aroudto a hitchiker (soudn familair )  he finishes it up with one more pedal nose wheelie and then heads to the top for a couple around the world links to hitchiker and coross footed backpacker, but he sketches and steps out of the trick, you simply know who won this after watchinng Martti ride.

Or maybe you don't know for sure.  Mike Steingrabber knows he COULD do it...  He's in second and has ZERO to lsoe by going for it full tilt.  A whiplash double... no brakes toNow a 360 bunny hop...????  He does itagain a sketches, he knows it's over.  He does a barhop   He's simply having funHe goes out and just is Mike with none of the pressure anymore and works around teh front whee like it is practice, a few more touches won't hurt him at this point and he does a rollade brakeless and then does a barhride down the hill to the crowds approval...  Doing it for the crowd he is happy with second place and an invite for next year.

But the gold is Martti again...  No questions, no rumors, just gold.