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Winners: Chad Kagy, Simon Tabron, Jimmy Walker
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Steve McCann
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Simon Tabron
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Spin to Win: BMX Vert Finals
ASA Action Sports World Tour - Cincinnati
By Jared Souney
For the BMX riders, the Cincinnati stop of the ASA Action Sports World Tour was the first domestic vert contest of the year. That said, we were sure to see some new tricks on the vert ramp from the riders, and they definitely did not let down the Kings Island fans.
Some heavy hitters made up the final round after yesterday's prelim. Big Guns like Chad Kagy, Simon Tabron, Jay Eggleston, Jimmy Walker, Steve McCann, Tom Stober, Jorge Jovel, Francisco Zurita, John Parker and Koji Kraft.
Since Joe Johnson tried the first Triple tailwhip air in 1989, only two riders have landed it on a vert ramp, and both were on the deck for the finals in Cincinnati: Fracisco "Coco" Zurita, who landed it two years ago for the first time, and Steve McCann who recently landed one in China. Being the first US vert comp of the year, I expected things to be mellow, but McCann came out swinging, and through down a triple tailwhip in his first run that was as good as that trick can be done. Super high, super smooth... perfect. But then a slide out crash on a flair ended his run. I asked Coco if we'd see the triple whip in his run now that McCann had thrown his down. He simply laughed and said "I don't think so."
Koji Kraft and Chad Kagy also added some new tricks to their runs. Koji actually took a page out of Kagy's book and added a perfectly done barspin to tailwhip two-thirds of the way into his first run, but the adrenaline got to him and he hung up a set-up air on the following wall -- An awesome run until that point. The crash left Koji with a flat tire, and he had to take his second run on Jimmy Walkers bike. Strangely, Koji was able to hold it together on a borrowed bike and actually earned himself a higher score. He also managed to keep Jimmy's bike in one piece, which I am sure Jimmy was sweating with his second run to come. Kagy sketched a few walls, so he was forced to leave out one of his biggest tricks, the double tailwhip flatspin he's become known for. We did see a single tailwhip flatspin, though (still incredible) and a new trick, a one handed X-up flair that looked awesome. Kagy held the lead until the final run of the contest.
As the first place qualifier, Simon Tabron would be the last rider to drop in for the finals. This meant it was all or nothing, and we new he wasn't going to let Kagy off without a fight. Simon's second run was full of flow, huge 540 variations, and a 900 in the middle of the run that was smooth enough for a head high air on the opposing wall. First Place for Simon.
McCann's triple whip was definitely the trick of the contest, but aside from that crashes left him down in 7th place. In true class-act form, Steve donated his entire prize check to the Mike Vincent Fund. Mike has been in the BMX community for many years as a rider and judge, and was hit by a car in early '08. As a result of head injuries, Mike has been without his vision since. Over the the course of the weekend BFD.com was holding a fund raiser to try raise money for an experimental surgery which Mike is traveling to China for next week. Thanks to the fans who donated and took part in the raffles, and a special thanks to Steve McCann for his part.
Check out the BMX Vert Gallery on BFD.com
