John Cowan was up next and he took the most straightforward line and was floating down stylishly before attempting a tail whip (yes - a tailwhip on a Kona stinky) and bailing hard. He was done for the day. Johnny Waddell took the same line as Peaty and stomped it.

Dave Fleming attempted one of the toughest, most exposed lines and lofted a really nice air off it before hanging on to a very tough landing. He took a drop option next instead of a big step down (the drop is bigger) and bailed hard. Big balls Daver! He crashed hard on his second run and was escorted off by medical personnel who released him after checking things out. I don't think the judges adequately rewarded the difficulty of his line and the fact that he stomped it. More on the judging later.

Brett Tippie has been having a tough time of it and when he found himself off line on Canadian Bacon (only the Canadians rode it last year - hence the name) he pitched it anyway - right toward me. I ran like a madman to get away from that huge head of his tumbling down hill. He dusted himself off and continued valiantly on, only to bail again. His second run also involved big clouds of dust. Somehow the tough bastard from Kamloops managed to finish the weekend uninjured and grinning.

Darren Berrecloth, despite only doing one training run and being given his ticket to ride at the last minute, threw down an impressive, muscular line and impressed the judges enough to hold down 2nd place after the first round. His second run was just as good and he qualified easily.

Andrew Mills had a great, fast run that left him tied for 3rd with Thomas Vanderham after round one. Vanderham poached a line that had been scoped by Lance Canfield that was technical, stylish and big. Vanderchild got some of the best audience reaction of the morning session with his line.

Bender couldn't do it with his banged shoulder and he dislocated it again on the first drop of his run. He was in a lot of pain when he was helped off the mountain.

Randy Spangler had a rough day crashing several times both runs, including one that left him helmetless and another that destroyed his Marzocchis.

Shaums March put down a nice run in round one but wasn't in the finals until his second run. This added some serious tension to the qualifying because up until Shaums the top 12 in the standings from round 1 hadn't changed.

Mike Kinrade, like last year, carved out a very scary, steep line that could have ended badly. He
didn't manage to nail his landing and he sketched out earlier as well. His second run was no better and he failed to advance.

Robbie Bourdon had significant crashes on both runs (2 in his second run) and failed to make the top 12.

Kyle Strait looked great, hucking a huge no hander off the big step down near the bottom, allowing him to qualify 10th.

Gareth Dyer had crash problems as well and will be spectating tomorrow. Andrew Shandro put down a good first run but needed to ramp it up after Shaums, who was 13th after round one, laid down a beautiful run bumping Lance Canfield who then bumped Shandro with his bold and stylish ledge drop. Complicated I know, but only the top 12 advance so when 13 moves up to 8th (Shaums) and 12th to 2nd (Canfield) 11th becomes 13th and needs to turn up the volume. Shandro approached a new angle off what I will call the cornice, but his front wheel dug in and sent him flying over the front. He landed hard and was unable complete his run.

The buzz of the morning was Tyler 'Super T' Klassen who flung himself off the biggest drop of the day. He was bucked, lost contact with his pedals but managed to motor down the hill at high speed with his sternum on his saddle before being pitched by a bush. He also crashed earlier when the wind blew him off the ridgeline while attempting the first air of the course. Despite going down twice in the same run Tyler finished round 1 in first place and then played it conservatively for round 2, qualifying easily.

Cedric Gracia also had problems on the ridge and was sitting in 11th after round one. He laid down a clean line with lots of style but I was surprised to hear that his score was the highest by 3.4 points, earning him the pole position for Sunday.

Dave Watson put in a good performance in the morning but then in the afternoon he carved and cleaned an original line that nobody had seen, ensuring a solid qualifying position.

Johnny Waddell had easily qualified after round 1 but he decided to keep the volume up and attempted a tricky step down that hips to the right. He came up short and pummelled, separating his shoulder. He was a maybe for Sunday and then wisely opted out.

Steve Peat didn't return Sunday, opting instead to watch US open motocross racing in Vegas.

The top 12 below qualified but because of Peaty's absence and injuries to Shandro and Waddell, Schley and Bourdon moved into the 11th and 12th positions respectively.

Red Bull Rampage Qualifying 2002

Rider	Run 1	Run 2	Best
1. Cedric Gracia FRA	66.2	75.4	75.4
2. Lance Canfield, US	66	72	72
3. Tyler Klassen, CAN	71.8	67.2	71.8
4. Dave Watson, CAN	69	71.6	71.6
5. Andrew Mills, AUS	70.4	59.6	70.4
6. Darren Berrecloth, CAN	70.8	70.8	70.8
7. Thomas Vanderham, CAN	70.4	59.6	70.4
8. Chris O'Driscoll , US	69.8	64.6	69.8
9. Johnny Waddell, AUS	68.4	dnf	68.4
10. Kyle Strait, US	66.6	68.4	68.4
11. Steve Peat, UK	67.6	67	67.6
12. Shaums March, US	64.2	67.2	67.2
13. Andrew Shandro, CAN	66.6	dnf	66.6
14. Richie Schley, CAN	62.8	64.6	64.6
15. Robbie Bourdon, CAN	63.6	64.4	64.4
16. Aaron Peters, US	64	55.8	64
17. Gareth Dyer, CAN	61.4	63	63
18. Mike Kinrade, CAN	46.4	62.8	62.8
19. Bas de Bever, NED	59	62.8	62.8
20. Lars Tribus, US	60	61.8	61.8
21. Greg Smith, US	60.4	61.4	61.4
22. Dave Fleming, CAN	57.8	dnf	57.8
23. Randy Spangler, US	55	dnf	55
24. Brett Tippie, CAN	35.2	53	53
25. John Cowan, US	42	dns	42
26. Josh Bender, US	dnf	dns
27. Richard Gasperotti, CZ	dnf	dns
28. Cory Derpak, CAN	dns	dns

Cam McRae