Lacondeguy Qualifies First On The Qashqai Dirt Course In Milan

The Spanish rider Andreu Lacondeguy put together two great runs today in the first qualifying round of the Qashqai Urban Challenge in the Piazza Duca D’Aosta.
Andreu flipped the twenty-eight foot first jump, 360’d on the second jump and dumped a stylish 360-tailwhip over the last jump. Smooth style and big tricks were enough to put the Spanish Flea at the top of the qualification list.


Lance McDermott, Darren Berrecloth, Ben Boyko and Greg Watts finished just behind Andreu. All riders in the top five had to throw their best tricks on all three jumps.

The riders have four qualifying runs (two during the first qualifing on Friday and two during the second one on Saturday) and the best two runs will count towards the finals.

The top five riders were riding very strong, but there are plenty of riders on the start list for tomorrow who could make it into the finals as well. Benny Korthaus drove through the night from Germany and competed in the first qualifying round on four hours of sleep, so he should be improving his qualifying position tomorrow after a good night’s sleep.


The day of qualifying was capped off by the best trick contest. The top five riders were invited to have three runs through the course, where they were instructed to pull their best trick on the last jump. Greg Watts came out strong with a 360-double barspin. Ben Boyko was next and he did a trick that confused even the announcers of the event—an attempt at a downside whip opposite three-sixty!

Then Darren Berrecloth attempted a 720. He pulled a little bit too hard and nearly ended up landing in the crowd! Lance McDermott tried a three-whip and Andreu Lacondeguy came through with a perfect superman backflip.

The next round of the best trick started with Ben Boyko landing his downside whip opposite 360 (the trick is half tailwhip, half decade...bikes and body flying in every direction)! Boyko landed perfectly to pedals and the crowd went crazy.


The only other rider to challenge Boyko’s trick was Greg Watts, with a 360-double tailwhip. Technically the trick is very close in difficulty, but Watts was not able to stick the trick to his pedals and had to ride out of the trick on his seat.

Boyko was awarded the win for best trick, with a big bottle of champagne and 1500 euros. After aiming the champagne-spray at the riders, he took a big gulp of the champagne—just like the previous best trick winner, Phil Sundbaum.

Tomorrow is the second chance of qualifying for the riders, as well as the final runs for the Qashqai Urban Challenge in Milan, Italy. 20,000 euros is on the line for the riders at the second event in the five-event tour.

Visit the new Qashqai Urban Challenge website (www.nissan-qashqaichallenge.com) with information about each city, the events, rider bios about the invited tour riders and also the listings of the specialist riders for each discipline.