Roller Freestyle shines in Sunny Montpellier
With yesterday’s qualification round, the crowd of Montpellier already witnessed some high-level, high-flying performances in Roller Freestyle Park. Well, it was time to turn things up a notch today in the Pro Men semi-finals, and with a selection of the best riders from all around the globe attending this World Cup event, everyone was in for a treat!
Packed on both sides of the Lez, as well as the bridge overlooking the course, the audience was loud and supportive, and this great energy fueled the competitors as they pushed their limits for a chance to be among the 12 riders in the finals on Friday. Traveling all the way from Montréal, Yuma Baudouin took a break from his routine at the Cirque du Soleil to land an impressive collection of tricks during his runs and grabbed the fifth spot. Another FISE regular, the traveling Joe Atkinson was also flowing around and putting together unique, creative lines, always skating on the edge. He gets fourth place after landing a beautiful 900 right at the buzzer.
The top three riders, however, were definitely on a level of their own today.
Vert legend Takeshi Yasutoko was flying (literally) over the park with the smoothest run of the day, throwing huge transfers and some of the craziest flips while making it all look easy, even putting on a show for the crowd on his second run. Needless to say, Montpellier was loving it! Dutch supporters also made their presence felt, pushing 22 years old Jaro Frijn to new heights as he stepped up from the qualifications with an even crazier run which lands him in second place. Yet Julien Cudot’s performance only leaves us with one question: how many backflips can one guy land in 50 seconds? His second run was just insane, packed with stunts on every obstacle, big flips, and technical grinds, ending with a fakie frontflip as the icing on the cake. Insane.
We all were blessed with the sun today, but with the threat of a little rain for the finals tomorrow, the riders already delivered the best show we could have asked for! Can everything change in the final round, or will Frenchman Julien Cudot keep the top spot? Better stay tuned for all the action and watch the live stream online… Or come join us on the Berges du Lez for what promises to be an incredible show!
