Contest Report

Novice

1. Eric Favot
2. Rebecca Pergentile
3. Paula Callery
4. Andrew Sheltraw
5. Kevin Washington
6. Bri-Jon Dodington

Veteran
1. Steve Bergeron
2. Tony Strickler
3. Brian Gavagan
4. Derek Callendar
5. Mark McGrade
6. Justin Eastman
7. Steve Dodson
8. Craig Gaudet

Expert
1. Ron Monis
2. Todd Carter
3. Bryan Huffman
4. Steve Jordan
5. Adam Pergentile
6. Trevor Oleniuk
7. Jeff Brown
8. Marty Clark
9. Joe Cicman
10. Kevin Gallien
11. Shaun Lapsley
12. Johann Chan
13. Roy deGuzman
14. Steve Lapsley
15. Jesse Murrin
16. Paul Igwe
17. Keith Harrison

Pro
1. Jean-William Prevost
2. Sam Foakes
3. Terry Adams
4. Dominik Nekolny
5. Jean-Francois Boulianne
6. Percy Marshall
7. James White
8. James McGraw
9. Bo Wade
10. Esteban Palencia
11. Tyler Gilliard
12. Prasheel Gopal
13. Mark Kuhlmann

For over 9 years the first weekend in March has marked the opening of the North American flatland contest season. The Canadian Freestyle Organization once again teamed up with the Toronto International Bike Show to present Flatland Unlimited 9. Each year seems to grow and get better and 2013 was no different, once again attracting riders from all over the world. Many regulars showed up as well as some unexpected faces. James White and Sam Foakes made the trip from England creating excitement in the building as well as all over the Internet. This almost instantly set the mood and energy level for the entire weekend. Fans would have to wait till the end of the weekend to watch Sam and the 12 other pros.

Friday is reserved as a registration/open practice day for all riders of all classes. Over 40 riders shook off the Winter’s rust and attempted to get used to the riding area.
Saturday is amateur day. Three classes of amateurs were set to compete. Novice Class was up first. Six riders had two, 1 min 30 sec runs to show the judges what they have been working on over the past few months. A wide variety of riding styles were on display. Paula Callery had some nice hang 5 variations on her way to the podium as she captured 3rd Place. Rebecca Pergentile showed that she has really been putting in work and combined back wheel and front wheel links in her run. She had the most well rounded bag of tricks of all the novice riders. Rebecca walked away with a well deserved 2nd Place finish. Top spot went to Pro Park rider, Eric Favot. Eric has been consistently at the top of the novice field over the past year. Combining street influenced tricks with flatland he walked away with 1st after landing a giant whopper to end his run! Eric is not too far off from being an expert level rider.

The Veteran Class has been slowly finding its place at events over the past few years. Participation numbers are climbing and the competition is growing. Riders had two, 2min 30sec runs. Brian “Yellow” Gavagan is high speed! Crazy hang 5 variations mixed with an all around “freestyle” vibe to his riding got him 3rd Place. Cross Arm Hang Nothings! Tony Strickler has been a staple at events all over North America. He’s been one of the top riders in the Vet Class since its inception. He has so many tricks, new and old school. Tons of flow and a smooth combination of front and back wheel links, rolling and scuffing. A well earned 2nd Place for Tony. Blurring the lines between what is Veteran or Expert (and some would say pro) is Steve Bergeron. Super high quality new school style of back wheel and front wheel. Steve has a very fluid rolling/pumping style. He took 1st and by quite a margin.

The Expert Class closed out the night. A total of 17 riders entered. The riders had two, 2min 30sec runs, best run counts. Top 8 would make the finals, which would use the same format as qualifying. After the qualifying scores were tallied the difference between 10th and 8th was 1pt. Joe Cicman and last year’s event novice winner, Kevin Gallien were left on the outside looking in getting 9th and 10th respectively.
8th went to Marty Clark, 7th Jeff Brown, 6th Trevor Oleniuk and 5th to Adam Pergentile. Great riding by all these guys but they couldn’t quite do enough to separate themselves from the Top 4.

Steve Jordan has emerged as a threat for podium every event he enters. He has street style tricks as well as super tech flat tricks. He bunny hops 360s over 2 feet high it seems and can bunny turndown! He spun his way to 4th place. Bryan Huffman couldnt have started the season off any better. After missing the top 3 in overall standings for the 2012 Am Flatland Circuit, he showed up to round 1 riding great! His super solid and fluid style put him on the podium with a 3rd place finish. Todd Carter, last years Am Flatland Circuit Champion in Expert started his title defense with a bang. Combining front and back wheel, scuffing and spinning, he displayed a huge bag of tricks. Not thrown in his run, but Todd is dropping no footed deathtrucks! The robot like Todd Carter couldn’t string together a run good enough to defeat the reigning Toronto Expert Champ, Ron Monis. Ron wins for the second time in a row. Super dialed and technical front wheel links. Ron makes flatland look easy and fun.

And then there was the pros!
It seems like a long time ago, and probably because it was, that the Toronto Comp would have over 20 pro riders. However, over the last few years Toronto has been growing and 2013 was the best turnout in recent memory. 13 riders competed. England, Czech Republic, America, Western Canada, French Canadian, Columbia all were represented countries at CFO FU9. It is great to see faces you’ve never seen before. This year featured three riders who have just recently made the jump from Expert to Pro. Pro class would have 2, 3min 30sec runs, best run counts. Mark Kuhlmann made the jump mid season last year after winning Expert at VooDoo Jam. Mark finished 13th but be on the look for this guy at future stops on the AMFLT circuit.

Another pralex member, Prasheel Gopal made the jump mid season last year also after winning the Expert class at King Of Southsea in England. Prasheel has such a smooth flow to his riding. Not many can argue that this guy is just fun to watch or hang out with. Prasheel entertains. He dropped one of his best contest runs and got 12th. New Freegun rider, Tyler Gilliard made his Toronto pro debut as well. Tyler rides hard and his style and tricks are strong and hardcore. Struggling to link some tricks together, he finally was able to drop a great line and finished 11th. Esteban Palencia made the trip all the way from Columbia. He took 10th. Bo Wade has been progressing at each event. Some solid riding got him 9th place. James McGraw hasn’t been to the Toronto event in years. Very original and technical back wheel links placed him 8th. From across the pond, English flatland legend, James White is silky smooth! Multiple one handed whips to one handed juggling hikers are so controlled. It seems as though he floats and at times seems to not be moving. Insane control! James got 7th.

If you know him or follow Percy Marshall on Facebook, you know he is a character! One of the most fun guys to watch in all of BMX. Percy has a huge bag of tricks. Super fast spinning no handed blenders! Percy is the perfect example of you have to see it to believe it. 6th place for Percy Marshall. The top 5 was heavily contested.  Jean-Francois Boulianne (JFB) has been all over the world competing, traveling and riding. It shows. JF’s style is so crisp and fun to watch. There is a lot of emotion in flatland, and you can see it in JF everytime he rides. JFB gets 5th place.
The Top 4 riders this year killed it. The most difficult job of the weekend award goes to the judges. Insane riding level from the top 4 guys. Anyone of them could have walked away with the win. Dominik Nekolny was only in country for 23 hours. Last years AMFLT Champion had the banger of the year at Texas Toast in 2012 and set the bar for 2013 with a crazy half-hiker to half-packer flip/jump variation. Insane cross footed lines and barflip jumps got Dom 4th place. Terry Adams is one of the most dialed contest riders since Justin Miller. With signature trick after signature trick he got to the podium and 3rd place. One of the most anticipated riders of the weekend was Sam Foakes. His no pump or scuff style is indescribable. It has to be seen (preferably live) in order to grasp how crazy his tricks are. Spinning cliffhangers isn’t the proper term, but its the best I can do. He pulls in and out of tricks from almost a dead stop. Nuts! Sam took 2nd place. Jean-William Prevost AKA Dub, was unknown 4 years ago. I think you’d be hard pressed to find any rider who doesn’t know who he is now. Dub took 1st, his first win as a pro. The direction Dub is pushing his riding on the back wheel is insane. Super clean fast turbines from either side of the bike, pegs, pedals, it doesn’t matter. Super progressive riding put Dub on top this time.
Words don’t nearly speak the volumes that video does.

Check out our AMFLT YouTube page(Videos) for full unedited runs from the event.

Check out the Toronto 2013 Photo Gallery(Photos).

]]> http://amflatlandcircuit.com/amflt_v2/cfo-flatland-unlimited-9-round-report/feed/ 0 http://amflatlandcircuit.com/amflt_v2/toronto-2013-event-gallery/ http://amflatlandcircuit.com/amflt_v2/toronto-2013-event-gallery/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:58:52 +0000 Steve Lapsley http://amflatlandcircuit.com/amflt_v2/?p=657 Toronto 2013 Event Gallery

[Show as slideshow]

1234...678►