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Berlin Bacchanal
Inline Street Finals Recap
By Mike Opalek
Last night’s Ed Hardy party is taking its toll on my day. I’m mostly worthless when I don’t get at least 6 hours of sleep. So be it, I’m just hoping for a rain delay so I can sleep under a table somewhere. Have you ever done that? It can be quite comfortable at times. Shreds of memory float back to me over the day - I remember driving home in a cab with some local dude and a girl from Brentwood. I also stole some beer from the bar, but that’s a totally different story.
After only one rain delay where I found a corner and some bags to lay on, the street event finally started. Franky Morales was a scratch because of a possible torn ACL. On the women’s side, Jenna Downing also pulled, but she didn’t say why.
Speaking of women, it was looking like a few might medal against the men, the way the guys were skating in the first round. It was like it was raining men out there on the street course. Bada boom tap… Thank you folks… I’ll be in Berlin all week.
Wilfried Rossignol found out the hard way why you should buckle your helmet. It’s too bad too as Wilfried is a sick skater and can medal at any time. Marek Doniec took the trip from Katowice, Poland to show us that the Polish can represent. His arsenal of tricks included a 540, 720, fakie 720 and a stylish mizou down the rail. It was good enough for 8th place.
The last time I saw Carlos Pianowski, it was 3 AM and he was wasted in some club. Today, Hardcore Brazil started his run off with a massive transfer from launch box to spine, but sadly it didn’t get much better. He missed a disaster backside grind around the bowl corner and threw in a 540 for good measure. His last trick was his best one, a true spin alley oop topside soul grind down the double barrel rail. Carlos ended up in 6th place.
London’s Joey Egan came out with a match under his ass and earned himself a 5th place finish! He started with a clean 360 over the box then topsouled the rail right into a monkey plant 360.
Chris Haffey's first run was a little sketchy. So when he dropped in for his second and nailed a 540 to wall ride, it looked like he was going to pull off an upset. He had the most difficult grinds of the day, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. His line lacked amplitude and his grinds weren’t as good as they should have been. He finished with the bronze.
Sven Boekhorst had two sweet runs. With his massive inverted forward 720s over the launch box, he definitely got the crown on his side early. Sven did bobble on a few tricks and then fell on a transfer. He came back with a nice 360 transfer and a backside farfergnugen, but it was only good enough for silver.
Nicolas Schopfer was our king of the street today. The Swiss skater had the cleanest run out of everyone. His highlights included a 360, negative makio down the ledge, acid soul and a 270 backside farfegnugen. The 19 year old is stoked to say the least, capturing his first victory of the season.
I’d personally like to thank you all for reading this. It’s been a pleasure writing for you all. See you in Paris, party people!
»»View the official results from the men's contest
»»View the official results from the women's contest
