Round 3 of the UK BMX Vert Contest Series. Manchester. By Chris Job

Sep 28, 2013

Written by Bart de Jong

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The third round of the UK BMX Vert Contest Series took place at Beast Rampz in Ardwick, Manchester on Sunday 22nd September, and with each round the series is gathering momentum like someone bombing a hill on a mid 90s Basic Big City Bastard. Vert Squirts reprised the round to round battle between Moz Chudley and Kodee Jaykins, who are moving higher up the ramps with every round. Brother and sister act Zak and Lily Bernstein got some carving action in along with Jesica Laidlaw, but top of the tree today was young local shredder Zak Turner who easily got out of the top and flung in topside no foot cancans and barspins into the mix. All this whilst looking like a mini Slash. Awesome.

The Amateur comp was up next, playing host to an incredible 18 entrants. Now I don't recall a turnout that size in a vert contest for a long long time. Fantastic. The styles of riding on show were as varied as the ages and genders of the contestants, but what made it all the better was everyone rooting for each other through their runs, despite being hindered by a hungover ginger

old soak attempting to provide comentary simultaneously through an echoing skatepark wide PA and a loudhailer as clear as an AM radio in a rainstorm. Never mind that though, 42 year old men on 22" wheel bikes ripped alongside silky smooth teenage girls (shoutout to Charlotte Worthington for entering and holding her own), and in the end local ripper Lee Hebb showed the progress you can make with a solid vert ramp in your home skatepark, and ripped to the win ahead of series leader Jaygun Evans, who took home 2nd place and a mashed shoulder.

The Pro Class was made all the more interesting by a lower than normal roof, which helped to level the playing field somewhat, favouring the tech a little over the pure blasting of high airs. For the second contest in a row everyone walked out in one piece, despite some close calls for Mike Mullen and Denis Wingham. Denis' 540 to loop out certainly proved the worth of a good helmet, whilst Mike showed cat-like reflexes for someone of his years by aborting mid air and walking out unscathed. So, to cut a long story short, utter ripper of the day has to go to the much under-rated Matt Search, who

mixed awesome front and back brake lip trick tech (pulled abaubacas and canadians on the 11 foot high extension) with the burliness of double tailwhip airs for a very deserved 3rd place. Inching Matt into third was unassailable series leader Paul Meacher, impeded a little by the height of the roof, but nevertheless able to condor no hander with the light under his armpit. This left Zach Shaw to take first place, who amid whispers of fixed judging and rigged scoring that had shades of some unnamed big money TV contest, ignored the slander (purely made up by me) to unlock his knee during a timeout to turndown flair, body jar, and generally rip the ramp a new backside, all on 20 minutes or so sleep in the last 4 months due to actually organising this whole shebang.

So, big props to all riders who turned out and rode, Beast Rampz for hosting, go check them out and Zach for organising and keeping the pulse of vert alive in the UK. As ever, thanks to all sponsors - support those who support the sport! Custom Riders, Vocal, Zeal, Alone, Etnies, Total BMX, Pro-Tec, Wethepeople, ASIF clothing, Homade BMX, Black Sheep Manchester, Cheeky Monkey DVDs.

The final round rolls into Creation Skatepark in Birmingham on Sunday 3rd November. Go find the 2013 UK BMX Vert Series on facebook for all the details you need.

Sunday 22nd of September brought tens of thousands of sports fans to Old Trafford for the annual Manchester Derby. Unknown to most people, the city also played host to another sporting competition the same day; round 3 of the 2013 UK Vert BMX Series was held in The Beast Rampz Skatepark in Ardwick.