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The weekend of 25th & 26th May saw 42 riders from 11 coutries come from as far afield as Argentinia, USA and Australia, to gather in the beautiful setting of Viveronne, Italy for the 1st stop of the 2002 European Wakeboard Pro Tour. Once again the level of riding has increased considerably
and it soon became clear that all the riders had been training hard through
the winter months. As the event got underway on Saturday moring, the water
conditions were perfect and the Pro Men, Pro Ladies and the Open Men's
competitors obliged the crowds by giving them the action and excitement
they had come to see. Sunday morning came around all too quickly for some but what a beatiful day it was, with warm waters and blue skies plus some 6,000 spectators watching from the banks, the semi finals were to provide the best riding in Europe to date. Everyone went into the finals in high spirits and the crowds were cheering on their own personal favourites. Nick Heaney (GBR) pulled out all the stops to put together an excellent pass which was both clean & huge, consisting of a handle pass KGB, a big Whirlybird and huge Tootsi Roll together with other rotational tricks made his run the best of the weekend. A change in water conditions did occur towards the end of the event, making it more difficult for the last few riders to stick every trick. However, despite the sudden change in water conditions, previous tour winner, Rodo Vinh-Tung still managed to pull off an excellent run which included a Tootsie Roll, Bat Wing and big S-Bend to take him to second place. Competition was fierce in the truely international Pro Ladies division. Winter training had obviously paid off for the girls and the results were highly visible. Justine Charriere (SUI) pulled off some awesome wake jumps and grabs but two falls cost her dearly in the end, and it was the consistency of Louise Moore (GBR) that would take her to first place. There was also a fight for the top podium
spot in the Open Men's division, especially between the two Belgian's,
Michael Callebert and Julian Bonnet, both at just 15 years of age and
actually still classed as juniors, made their end podium positions even
more prestigious. In the finals both riders executed similar runs, however,
Julien clinched the position with a bigger scarecrow, bigger
heelside back roll and a bigger 360. |
Pro Men Pro
Ladies
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