The 2012 Vans rebeljam. A weekend in paradise. By BdJ

Oct 20, 2012

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 3633 times

It's been a few weeks now since the Vans rebeljam took place and for sure it was a weekend to remember. Paul and I flew in early, on Wednesday and 30 minutes after our arrival at Eurocamp, we were snorkling in the Mediterranean Sea. A quick session before it got dark. Riders who had arrived on Wednesday were checking the scene and were amazed by the location. "Paradise" was on everyone's lips and the resort felt more like being on holiday, than being there for a BMX contest. But the contest was one without any pressure. The rebeljam is more an event to celebrate BMX over "getting first place".

Flatland happened on the beach, on a wooden platform that wasn't very big or perfect, but the scene made up for it. In between practice sessions the riders could take a dip in the sea, dry up, chill, grab a snack, and continue riding. The temperature was great to ride in and the sunshine made the picture complete.

Dirt wasn't the best either, but riding a session with the boys in

paradise is always fun. The top part had some small bumps that got you down to the bottom where a hip, a speed jump and a steeper straight jump were waiting for you. The wooden quarterpipe could be used to turn around to get back up on that hill.

The Park course at Eurocamp was already good this summer during FATBMX-week, but got even better with the additions on the entrance side. Hundreds of lines could be found but it was hard in practice to try them all out. R

iders could choose when to get some practice in. Some were early after riding for 2 1/2 hours, and went to the beach afterwards, only a 5 minute walk.

The Street course had some quarters, ledges, and little obstacles and one big new steep rail/stair/ledge set up was added to it just for the rebeljam. The good part is that all ramps stay after the comp is over so the park is even better than it was before the comp. Anyway, the drop off the ledge was about 2 meters high, the rail was hella steep and the ledge wasn't slow either, but some of the best riders in the world made it happen. They were all here for the good times anyway.

The nightlife was whatever you made of it. First night we used our apartment which didn't go well with the regular holiday visitors from Switzerland. Complaint #1 was in the pocket. Night two we spent near the reception, where the weak wifi signal was at its best. Friday night we turned the unarmed discotheque into something good and Saturday was the Monster Energy/The Hunt party in Tossa de Mar which was a 10 minute drive away. It went off there as well. With a 04:20hr taxi reservation on Monday morning to catch a 7am flight, the last night didn't get out of hand, which was fine.

With many videos on the net already it doesn't really help now to sum up trick lists of who did what. We'll show you some pics that we shot so you can make some plans heading to Paradise next summer. You won't be disappointed.

BdJ

PARK

PARK Hard Trick Award
1. Andy Buckworth
2. Daniel Sandoval
3. Ben Hennon
4. Vince Byron
5. Maxime Charveron
6. Kevin Peraza
7. Todd Meyn
8. Harry Main
9. Jack Watts
10. Mark Webb

PARK Creative Award
1.Gary Young
2.Ben Hennon
3.Maxime Charveron
4.Tobi Wicke
5.Mark Webb
6.Kevin Peraza
7.Bass Keep
8.Kevin Kalkoff
9.Daniel Sandoval
10.Rob Darden

PARK Style Award
1. Kevin Kalkoff
2. Bas Keep
3. Daniel Sandoval
4. Gary Young
5. Ben Hennon
6. Kevin Peraza
7. Maxime Charveron
8. Rob Darden
9. Harry Main
10. Danie Penafiel

STREET
1. Dan Lacey
2. Bruno Hoffmann
3. Diogo Santos
4. Ed Zunda
5. Dakota Roche
6. Ola Selsjord
7. David Budko
8. Diego Navarro
9. Vasya Lukyanenko
10. Andres Lainevool

DIRT

DIRT Hard Trick Award
1. Daniel Sandoval
2. Rob Darden
3. David Godziek
4. Andy Buckworth
5. Ben Hennon
6. Mark Love
7. Kevin Peraza
8. Lima Eltham
9. Jeremy Muller
10. Gary Young

DIRT Style Award
1.Daniel Sandoval
2.Dan Foley
3.Kevin Kalkoff
4.Lima Eltham
5. Rob Darden
6.Kye Forte
7.Jeremy Muller
8.Kevin Peraza
9.Ben Hennon
10.Gary Young

FLAT

FLAT Hard Trick Award
1.Alexis Desolneux
2.Jesse Puente
3.Dez Maarsen
4.Matthias Dandois
5.Guelo Monzon