De qualifictatie zit er op. Darren Berrecloth, winnaar van de afgelopen twee edities, heeft zich als eerste geplaatst voor de Bike Magazine Monster Park 2006 Finale. Kort gevolgd door Ben Boyko. Carlo Dieckmann houdt de Europeese eer hoog door zich als twaalfde en laatste te plaatsen voor de finale.

Bike Magazine Monster Park 2006 Final Roster Set
“My Scorecard has blood on it.” Brandon Semenuk

Fifteen-year-old Brandon Semenuk discovered one of the pitfalls of rider-judged slopestyle competitions today: someone may bleed all over your scorecard. Semenuk was judging the Bike Magazine Monster Park qualifying run with 11 other riders—half of the competition—when he looked down on his scoresheet and saw a spot of smeared blood. It could have come from Kyle Ritchie, who cut his head earlier in the day and stood to Semenuk’s right, or Joe Perrizo, to his right, whose elbow was shredded raw. Many of the riders, it seemed, ended the day with a new cut, scrape or bruise.

A few riders managed to survive the carnage, however and make it through to the finals. Darren Berrecloth advanced easily with a big no-footed can off the course’s initial drop. Cam McCaul threw an impressive series of tailwhips and Thomas Vanderham sought out the course’s biggest moves and spent as much time in the air as on the ground. Ben Boyko, coming off a fourth-place finish at Crankworx, excited the crowd with a combination of big airs and technical moves. A contingent of the contest’s youngest riders also made it through.

In all, 12 riders advanced to the finals, which will take place today, August 20, at Snowshoe Mountain in West Virginia (see complete list of riders, and their scores, below). For the qualifying round, the field was broken into two groups of 12. While one group rode, the other judged. Riders were scored on style, fluidity, amplitude and the tricks they pulled. Mountain bike legend Andrew Shandro served as head judge and Mitchell Scott, Bike’s editor at large, served as the event’s emcee, calling out the action and reminding the crowd—on several occasions—that it was his thirty-sixth birthday.

Soon after qualifying ended, Nike 6.0 hosted a jump jam. With many of the riders injured and tired after the qualifying round and others trying to stay healthy for the finals, only three riders entered the competition—Cam McCaul, Phil Sundbaum and Steve Bafus. McCaul started the action early, tossing no-footed cans, backflips and tailwhips. Sundbaum would throw his own flips and tailwhips too, but Bafus snapped an axle just as he was heating up. In the end, McCaul took first place, earning $500 and ending a long day of intense competition.

Monster Park Final Riders (with qualifying score)
1. Darren Berrecloth 77.0
2. Ben Boyko 76.4
3. Thomas Vanderham 66.6
4. Cam McCaul 65.0
5. Brandon Semenuk 64.9
6. Dave Smutok 64.8
7. Adam Hauck 64.3
8. Wayne Goss 63.7
9. Paul Basagoitia 62.5
10. Jamie Goldman 60.0
11. Kurt Sorge 59.1
12. Carlo Diekmann 51.8