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Thomas Genon wins the golden shovel at Hall of Dirt

  • Ron 

It was an awesome premiere for Hall of Dirt in Stuttgart (GER). All riders heat up the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle with their mind-blowing tricks. Especially the Belgian „La Frite“ Thomas Genon just nailed it. After his glorious victory with his team mates from Team France 1 at the Hall of Nations Cup on Saturday, he also took home the win of the FMB World Tour Silver Event on Sunday. He shared the podium with Antoine Bizet (FRA) and the surprise of the weekend, the young shredder Torquato Testa (ITA).

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Saturday was show time in Stuttgart. In sight of several thousands of spectators the best dirt jumpers threw down their favorite tricks. At the Hall of Dirt Nations Cup nine teams consisting of three riders took the chance and represented their country.

Every crew dropped in one after the other as a train supported by the cheering crowd. At the end Team Canada 2 with Bobby Lamirande, Tom van Steenbergen and their joker Oscar Nagy (HUN) as well as Team France 1 ruled the first two rounds and competed head to head in the final round.

Louis Reboul, Mehdi Gani and Thomas Genon impressed with their tight runs and their opposite 360s at the last jump. The judges awarded them with a well-deserved victory score!

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At the Best Trick contest the athletes electrified the atmosphere during their 45-minutes jam session. Mainly two shredders awed the crowd: young gun Matt Jones (GBR) and Mr. “Cashroll” Szymon Godziek. They made a lasting impression, reaching unbelievable amplitude as they boosted of the kickers. Matt Jones pulled a clean double backflip, took the lead until Szymon shocked the spectators and judges with a backflip cliffhanger and went home with 1,500 € prize money.

The trick level was high which meant: those who didn’t spill the beans at the main competition couldn’t make it into the finals. Top riders like Yannick Granieri and Anthony Messere failed already in the qualification. In the finals Antoine Bizet impressed from the very beginning: in his first run the Frenchman gained the lead with a huge double backflip. Patrick Leitner (AUT) and Sam Reynolds (GBR) increased their performance from run to run, but couldn’t beat Bizet’s high score. Surprisingly, Italian young gun Torquato Testa put some pressure on Antoine: flip no-hand, flip pendulum, double-whip and a front flip sent the twenty year-old pre-qualifier just behind Bizet.

Only Thomas Genon could beat Bizet’s advanced performance. He showed perfectly executed tricks with maximum amplitude and a great variety. His truck driver, 360 table, double downside whip and a decade brought him an incredible score of 95.67 points and the first victory at the Hall of Dirt. A perfect weekend for the Canyon Factory Freeride Team rider!

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