Saturday May 13, Vale Road, Parkwood Springs.

WIDTH=”250″ HEIGHT=”166″ ALIGN=”RIGHT” BORDER=”0″>Dan
the course builder had definitely been busy since the last race and the infamous
Sheffield duel course was in top form for the days racing. The bottom section had
remained mainly the same with a little smoothing off in places, but it was the top
section that was the real triumph. Out of the gate you had an option of either riding
the rollers into the snakey berms or jumping the new doubles that had been dug. No
joke this was the craziest jump ever built by man! The take off was up the slope
so you could literally roll off the start ramp and hit it at the right speed but
this was no viable option as the other guy would be half way over the rollers by
then. The landing was a good 19- 20 feet further down the slope, but instead of just
a lump built for the landing, a bleedin, great hole had been dug. The hole went DOWN
about 8 – 9 feet so you could stand in the bottom with your hands up and the riders
would still not hit you! This was something out of ,Journey to the centre of the
Earth; either that or they could fill it with water and hold the national free-diving
championships in it! A sitting ledge had been cut out and steps carved so it looked
like one of the old pools from skateboard videos. Even with bottling it, if you didn,t
stop in time, the drop to the bottom was bad enough – twisted ankles and snapped
forks early on in the day promoted a healthy “All or nothing” approach.
The second problem came after the jump – riders landed in a berm and then had to
hop over the last berm before the long steep drop. If you had a crap start and decided
to jump the hole, there was always the chance of meeting the other rider at the top
of the drop. Who chickens out? This is the stuff real eliminators are made of – Chris
Batty launched off the top and was landing half way down the slope, a bit too close
to the compression for comfort and thus earning him the second

quickest qualifying time.

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only a couple of seconds between first and twelfth the racing was close. Marshals
(a welcome addition since last time) were running around keeping kids off the track
and therefore no re-runs were needed. Saying that, Andy Stone flat bottomed the big
doubles avoiding a child near the landing – result, a bent wheel and a hectic few
minutes finding a new one.

All of the 36 qualifiers were jumping the final doubles, not so intimidated as last
time meaning a more spectacular finish to the runs. The racing was frantic as the
pairs fought hammer and tongue to get to the bottom first. As mentioned before you
had to rely on a good start or the other guy crashing to get past but that didn,t
stop them from trying. The crowd was screaming all the way down and as the sun came
out, so did the deck chairs and beer. Crowd favourite, sixteen-year-old Andy Stone
was pushed out by the steep drop at the top putting him back to fourth place, just
pipped at the post by last time winner Jay Duxbury. James Swindell suffered a snapped
chain in his

final run, leaving him with second, whilst Mike Alderson stormed through to take
the overall win.

WIDTH=”250″ HEIGHT=”168″ ALIGN=”RIGHT” BORDER=”0″>A
dirt jump comp had been set up at the bottom for a few more Planet-X prizes and the
riders were going Large. Mr Stone was throwing down a series of consistent no foot
one handers, whilst Chris Batty attempted a 360 and wowed the judges with hang time
rivalling that of Sheffield Airport. Jay Duxbury came in second with the most stylish
look back one hander, pointing right at those on the hill but his real cheers came
after the heel clicker attempt over his fork brace! It was Steve Miller however who
stopped hearts by attempting a BACKFLIP, yes you heard right – a backflip, on his
final jump. Although he crashed, the video shows just how close he came to actually
pulling it off!

Big respect to all those who entered the days events. No stress, only a couple of
quite serious crashes, some fine drum and bass from the PA, good sponsors, an enthusiastic
crowd who supported each rider, decent weather and a buzzin, course made for One
Amazing Day. The next date for your diaries is July 1st so be there or we,ll throw
you in the pit at the top! More is promised from the builders soon – Sheffield is
getting BIG!