Story by Brian Chapman
Photos by Brian Chapman & Nicolas Hostein

Terry Adams	Ed Nussbaum
Alexis Desolneux	Jeff Desroche
Gabe Kadmiri	Matti Röse
Bryan Huffman	James Kennedy

I can't remember the last time a contest had no entry fee and big prize money. I'm still curious about who funded this event as I didn't see any PlayStation or Red Bull banners anywhere. I know a lot of the entrants rely on that money to survive — they manage to live off of flatland which is an incredible feat within itself. I think those riders are pushing themselves and the rest of the pro class pretty hard while trying to make ends meet. Good for them and good for the sport of freestyle biking.

The organization of the contest was amazing. Brian Sofer and the entire theflatlander.com staff managed to churn out a contest in record time. Considering that this was their first effort, I was impressed. The contest format reminded me a lot of my racing days back in '84; the only difference was that they used the word "heat" instead of "moto". Each heat consisted of 5 or 6 riders, and the top three in each heat went on to the semi-finals. The semi-finalists then each hammered out another minute and a half run to compete for the top six positions which would go to the finals. A very fair format that was unique for a flatland contest.

Twenty-six riders showed up that Sunday. Interestingly enough, almost one-third of the riders were from foreign countries: riders came from Canada, Germany, Austria, France, and even Trinidad. When I asked Brian Tunney where Trinidad was, he let me know that it's right next to Tobago. I had to look them both up to find out that Trinidad is 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Trevlon Hall traveled a long way to compete and he had the skills to hold his own against the rest of the competition. I was impressed with all the riders but the people who travel the farthest are the ones who get my support. I'm always curious what flatland is like in other countries. Are there lots of riders? Is it easy to get parts? etc. So many questions unanswered.

My only complaint about the event was the distracting announcer — George Gallo. I don't think his arrogance went over too big, especially annoying was his astonishment that Erin Donato was a female. I say astonishment because he said "She's a girl!" over and over during her run. Fortunately most of the riders were able to tune him out while they rode.

I'm looking forward to round two of the Fury (if there will be one). I suggest that theflatlander.com keep the format and charge some entry fee so they can make a little money to reward their efforts — they deserve it! I'd say get rid of the doubles portion of the event, but that would mean no more Terry Adams in drag...nice G-string.

James McGraw	Checking the results	Stephan Clark	Zack Demboske
Terri Adams	Rich Upjohn	Michael Sommer	Matti Röse
Alexis Desolneux	Trevlon Hall	Doubles

Pro Results
1. Terry Adams (USA) — $3500
2. Matti Röse (GER) — $1500
3. Michael Sommer (AUT) — $1000
4. James McGraw (USA) — $800
5. Art Thomason (USA) — $700
6. Jeff DesRoche (CAN) — $600
7. Aaron Frost (USA) — $500
8. Armin Batoumeni (FRA) — $400
9. Alexis Desolneux (FRA) — $300
10. Trevlon Hall (TRI) — $200

Full results on theflatlander.com