The level is getting insane. First round of the FTO series at 040BMXPARK in Eindhoven, NL. By BdJ

Feb 04, 2015

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 2473 times

It's fair to say that the level of BMX riders coming out of the Benelux hasn't been internationally known all too much with the exception of a few. Reason being, no place to "train". But with the 040BMXPARK in Eindhoven around, that has changed. Foam, resi, wood. You can take it step by step. Most importantly, there is an indoor place to ride now which is such a big help, especially in the wintertime when it's cold and wet and it gets dark at 5PM. "040" has been around for a few years and the level doesn't go up in a few weeks, but after a couple of years of riding and riders pushing and helping eachother you can see the difference.

Especially people who had not seen the riders for a couple of years were pleasantly surprised. Not only the pro class impressed, the ams were ripping too. Flipping the box at age 11 (Jari Roggeveen) is unreal. Doing high barspin airs and tailwhips at age 15 (Roby Burggrave) is becoming 'normal'. It's so awesome to see this happening.

26 riders entered the Pro class. Another good sign. A few riders came over from Belgium, a couple from Germany but most of them were from The Netherlands. 040BMXPARK team riders Daniel Wedemeijer, Kenneth Tancre, Rene IJzendoorn, Paul Thoelen and Tom van den Bogaard all made finals. The Freigang brothers from Germany too as well as crowd favourite Maik Hendrick from Belgium and Dutch rippers Desmond Tessemaker, Arjan Ellens and Sem Kok. 11 guys made it in instead of 10 because there was a tie in points for 10th place. Fair enough. Nicky van der Veen actually made finals but Dominik Freigang took his spot and did well pulling a whip to barspin on the quarterpipe as his last trick. Sem Kok showed a lot of flow but at park contests, you also need to add some tricks. Rene IJzendoorn from Tiel is all about the tricks and pulled a sweet 360 double whip over the spine/volcano.

A few years ago Arjan Ellens was just starting out but the guy from Friesland has stepped it up big time. Regular trips to Eindhoven by train are paying off by making finals in the pro class. Arjan ended up in 9th place right after Dominik Freigang and Maik Hendrick (7th) who rode like a mad man finishing his final run with a sweet handplant 180 on the step-up. Desmond Tessemaker hasn't spent all too much time on his bike recently but by the end of the day he got in the swing of things flipping and whipping like superman. Big brother Tobias Freigang, riding for Madd Gear Products', was all over the place and finished 5th behind 4 040BMXPARK riders.

It's nice to not judge an event for once. Kenneth Tancre got 4th lace from the judges. He was ripping and set the standard high. Red Bull's Paul Thoelen from Germany only lives an hour away from the 040BMXPARK and comes over on a regular basis. It showed as he had the lines and brought the tricks. Way too good for a 15 years old guy and always a pleasure to watch.

The riders had a one-minute run each plus three attempts for last trick. By now you've probably seen what seond place finisher Tom van den Bogaard did as his last trick. The 360 triple downside whip on the box was pulled on his third attempt as his last trick but before that Tom destroyed the park with height, style and burliness. The man from Aarle-Rixtel is one to watch for sure.

First place went to Daniel Wedemeijer, another 040BMXPARK local. Yes, Daniel moved from Amsterdam to Helmond to live close to the park. That's dedication. Wedemeijer has been the one representing The Netherlands on the pro level at the international events and riding in Eindhoven nearly on a daily basis showed that he knows every inch of the park. 'Taking it easy' for him is like going 'all out' for others. Daniel knows how to put a run together, goes both ways, mixes in a few solid tech lip tricks, does big transfers and then rides the wall like noone else did. Tom van den Bogaard's last trick could have won a comp, but Daniel's riding was rewarded with a 91.3 which showed he had an amazing run. In 5 weeks time, Wedemeijer and his crew are putting on the Braaab contest at the same park (March 7/8) and we've heard some big names are coming over. We can't wait to see how that will go.

The Soulcycle FTO Park series has two more stops to go. One in Rotterdam (Skateland) and one in Deventer (Burnside). Riders who are ready to step it up and show their talent should enter to see their names on the ranking at the end of the year. Let's raise that level some more. Start competing.

BdJ

Pro results F.T.O. series round 1, 040BMXPARK, Eindhoven, NL:
1 Daniel Wedemeijer 91,3
2 Tom van den Bogaard 89,6
3 Paul Thoelen 88
4 Kenneth Tancre 86,3
5 Tobias Freigang 86
6 Desmond Tessemaker 85,3
7 Maik Hendrick 84,6
8 Dominik Freigang 76,6
9 Arjan Ellens 76,6
10 Rene van IJzendoorn 76,6
11 Sem Kok 76

AM results F.T.O. Series Round 1:
1 Roby Burggrave 74,3
2 Steffen Buyle 74
3 Jari Roggeveen 73
4 Koen Pastor 72,6
5 Pepijn Kuipers 72,6
6 Laurens Joosten 70,
7 Jesper Vervoogd 63,3
8 Jocki de Groot 63,3
9 Oliver 59,3
10 Mattias 54,6