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soft and the corners of the park course didn't last very long. It resulted in late night repair sessions so some practice could be had before the comp started. Quite a few high level riders showed up for the comp with Paul Thoelen from Germany, Jack Clark from the UK, Drew Bezanson from Canada, Panos Manara from Greece, Catfish (USA) was rocking the mic, Rhys Kember was present from Australia and it felt like most of the Dutch scene was there. The riders list wasn't 100+ riders deep for the first edition, but the talent that was present was sure to put on a good show. The advantage of having an event in the middle of the city is that loads of people just pass by and are blown away by what they see. The event was free to watch so imagine you're doing some shopping and you see someone jump 7 meters in the air doing a backflip or a superman seatgrab on his bike? Lots of phones came out from the 'passers-by' to grab a moment to show their friends later on. Luckily the weather cooperated right on time to finish qualification for park and dirt and wrap up the Best Street comp on Saturday which was won by Daan van Wezel who did a cross-footed toothpick hangover grind down the short rail.

The way the comp was set up had everyone gather on the Spui Plein. The 'free beer for the crew' wrist-bands sure helped with the socializing and soon enough the vibe became good. The after parties were happening just across the street from the hotel and a quick visit to Vapiano for food would only take a 5 minute walk. Being in the city center sure had its benefits.

Come Dirt final time it was soon clear that the win would go between Kenneth Tancré and Tom van den Bogaard. Not only did they go higher than everyone else, they also brought the biggest tricks. Tobi Metz (Austria) however was ripping on the tall jumps as well and got third place. Doing double whips on the first set and nothings to tailwhip sure helped with his scores. Tom van den Bogaard once again pulled a 360 triple-downside-whip first go on the last set and got the crowd and a guy with a megaphone on their feet. But first place qualifier Kenneth Tancré from Belgium pulled what he wanted to do. He's been working on 720 variations and finished his last run with a clean 720 barspin. Along with his other tricks the 040BMXPARK rider from Belgium ended up on top.

The park course was kind of limited. The 40 meters space that were originally planned, turned into only 29 meters. Jumping that box became a lot harder because of that. Riders like Drew Bezanson and Daniel Wedemeijer were sure missing the 'outside the box' obstacles near the course that they could use in their runs to make the podium. The top three spots went to Jack Clark in third, Andreev Kostya (RUS) in second and the win was for Tom van den Bogaard. Jack was just himself doing more tricks than anyone in his two runs and he kept on going and going. His bag of tricks is big and he brought them all to Den Haag. Kostya's first run was insane. If the comp would have been a Best Run contest, he would have won hands down. However, it was announced that both runs would count plus the last trick and that hurt his final score because he didn't have the best of runs in his second outing. But the Dutch Aitken made it happen in Den Haag. 17 years old Tom van den Bogaard (Ale Blie) is a phenomenon. He airs both ways and clicks his tricks longer than should be possible. His smooth riding and great style all add to the tricks he brings to the course. It's better to watch his riding on video because that will explain it all. For lost trick he decided to try to do a double downside whip from bowl to bowl and in typical Tommeke fashion, he pulled it first try, and smooth.

This event has potential to become one of the annual events to look forward to. The first edition had a few hick-ups, but they were soon forgotten when the riders put on the show and the crew wristbands did their work at the Bavaria tent. Good times were had at TH PRO Freestyle. We'll be back for the next edition.

BdJ

Park results:
1. Tom van den Bogaard
2. Kostya Andreev
3. Jack Clark
4. Drew Bezanson
5. Kenneth Tancré
6. Michael Beran
7. Daniel Wedemeijer
8. Paul Thoelen

Dirt:
1. Kenneth Tancré
2. Tom van den Bogaard
3. Tobi Metz
4. Jack Clark
5. Mat Armstrong
6. Spiros
7. Alex Cahill
8. Rhys Kember