Lance McDermott Qualifies First in Cologne, Germany

The Cologne crowd of the Qashqai Urban Challenge saw some crazy park riding today, despite a short rain delay. Lance McDermott has been riding hard at each event so far in the Qashqai series, but this is his first time in the top spot after qualifying. The park course in Cologne's Mediapark is a mountain bike-sized version of a skatepark, big enough to challenge the world‚s best riders with huge transitions and monster wallrides. The riders began early this morning with a practice session, but it was cut short due to some heavy rainfall. Thankfully, the rain subsided and the course dried quickly, allowing the riders to begin practice again after a two hour delay. The organizers checked the forecast and there is another chance of rain on Saturday, so everyone chose to take both qualifying runs on day one of the Qashqai Urban Challenge in Cologne. The competition amongst the riders continues to be very tight. Lance McDermott (4th overall) qualified first, followed directly by Paul Basagoitia (1st overall) and Darren Berrecloth (2nd overall). The only rider in the top five overall to not qualify for the park finals was Andreu Lacondeguy, which means that Paul Basagoitia will have to continue riding at his highest level to continue holding his top overall position. Lance‚s first place qualifying run today was littered with amazing tricks, like a superman over the 15-foot box jump, backflip over the spine, 360 tailtap over the long spine, finishing his run with an impressive handplant 360! Paul Basagoitia was not going to let Lance steal the show at this park contest. He rolled in on his second qualifying run and 360’ed the first big drop, table transferred up to the top of the monster wallride, backflipped the box jump, 360'ed the spine and then capped his run with a flair, the first one he has ever landed (and the second one he has ever attempted)! Bearclaw followed with a 360 off the drop, wallrode across the monster wallride and kept enough speed to superman seatgrab the huge box jump. He pedaled back to the top of the monster wallride, turned around and started sprinting towards the other wall. Bearclaw hit the 12-foot quarter on the left side of the wall and clicked a one-foot table, landing on the at least 20 feet away into another banked transition. The rest of qualifying was equally entertaining, riders like Jamie Goldman backflipped the big starting drop while Adam Hauck and Phil Sundbaum tailwhipped left and right. Darren Pokoj brought back his original style for the Cologne contest and qualified fourth with some amazing lines and great tricks. German rider Benny Korthaus also impressed the judges, crowd and the riders. He came out blazing with flairs, tailwhip to tailtap and huge flips over the spine. After the two qualifying runs were over for the riders, the best trick contest began. Lance McDermott, Darren Pokoj, Benny Korthaus, Adam Hauck and Phil Sundbaum mounted their bikes for another shot at glory. Each rider was given three attempts to land their best trick on any obstacle on the Qashqai park course. First place qualifier Lance McDermott was also the first place finisher in the best trick contest, with a perfect handplant to 360 over the spine. Lance has been a rider in every best trick contest on the Qashqai tour, so he was very excited to finally take the win and spray the crowd with champagne. Saturday will be the final run for the top twelve Qashqai competitors in Cologne, then they will take a four-week break before they gather in Paris, France for the final stop of the Qashqai Urban Challenge. The majority of the top overall riders are still in the mix for the park finals, so it‚s too early to call any of the overall standings just yet. Qualifying Results - Qashqai Urban Challenge Cologne, Germany 1. Lance McDermott (UK) 2. Paul Basagoitia (USA) 3. Darren Berrecloth (CAN) 4. Darren Pokoj (AUS) 5. Ben Boyko (CAN) 6. Jamie Goldman (USA) 7. Benny Korthaus (GER) 8. Adam Hauck (USA) 9. Cameron McCaul (USA) 10.Phil Sundbaum (USA) 11.Damjan Siriski (CZE) 12.Grant Fielder (UK) Qashqai Urban Challenge Overall Rankings 1. Paul Basagoitia 55 pts Kona (USA) 2. Darren Berrecloth 50 pts Specialized (CAN) 3. Andreu Lacondeguy 42 pts Kona (ESP) 4. Lance McDermott 40 pts Scott (UK) 5. Ben Boyko 31 pts Norco (CAN) Visit the Qashqai Urban Challenge website (www.nissan-qashqaichallenge.com) with information about each city, the events, rider bios about the invited tour riders, results and rankings. Videos of the action can also be viewed on Freecaster.tv . To check out the action directly, go to: www.play.freecaster.com