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Red Bull Ride Finals - round one (page 2). Cam McRae

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Dave Watson did some fine hucks up top but then traversed across to where the judges were stationed and to some lines no one had contemplated. He took his time picking his chute and dropped in but sketched out when he landed. This left him in a spot he didn’t anticipate but, in the interest of continuity, he launched from an extremely exposed and precarious position. As every one of us there gasped, Dave began to tumble off a cliff. Luckily he managed a complete forward somersault off a drop of at least 20 feet and landed with his head up. You’ll see that one in magazines and videos in the coming months.

Dave Watson sampling the Utah soil.

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Tyler Klassen was probably the most anticipated rider of the first round. After his performance in qualifying it was clear that his plan was to go big. Everyone was buzzing as he made his way down the south ridge, nailing big step-downs along the way before slowing atop a huge cliff and then launching off. He seemed to fall for an eternity before landing hard. Tyler bounced up onto his front wheel at high speed but managed to bring the bike back down as the crowd went ballistic. The drop was at least 35 feet – perhaps more.

Tyler 'Super T' Klassen doing what he does best.

He nailed another step-down and then pedaled to the south ridge towards a drop no one had noticed. Super T launched over an outcropping other riders had been dropping off (some 8 feet below his launch pad) and harpooned the landing perfectly. As the buzz continued and there was a sense that this bold series wouldn’t be improved upon.

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Lance Canfield rode the same line as Shaums and looked clean until one of the lower step-downs where he seemed to miss the landing, boosting at least 17 feet to flat. It was rough and he almost lost it, perhaps holding on because of the custom frame he built for the comp. He crashed on his final drop making it a tough run to score well. Cedric Gracia finished off round one with his characteristic boisterous, speedy style. He rode clean and boosted a couple of big gaps, including the canyon.

Lance Canfield from qualifying.

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Riders, judges and spectators were all ready for a break and we headed off the mountain to grab a Red Bull, some grub and cool off. On the way back up the hill riders, were plotting their lines and those of us with cameras (especially those of us without 300mm lenses) were quizzing them to see where they would end up. They all saw their scores from round one and the pressure was on to answer Tyler’s 79.4.

The judges.

These were the standings after round 1. Round 2 began in the order below reversed.

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Stay tuned for coverage of round 2 of the finals.