I had a late start heading off to Warriors. I left Marin at 1:45 and had to back track to Proof Lab in Mill Valley to pick up something that I left at the ramp earlier in the morning. I figured I'd be real late getting to the event and probably miss the qualifiers. I cruised highway 280 all the way and arrived at the event after 3:00. I got a good free parking spot, grabbed my press pass and went in. The event hadn't even started so it was all good.
The first person I saw was Joel Hulsey. He was stoked on the course setup and pumped to be riding, as usual. Warriors is always a good laid back event. It seemed a lot less crowded this year than in past years though. I know there was another contest going on down south so I'm sure that affected turnout. I walked around and shot a few images to find some good pov's as practice started. In between practice sessions I met Jeremy Pavia of BMX Plus. We talked about photography, photojournalism and our old school BMX roots. He's a cool dude, check out his website at www.jeremypavia.com.
I saw local rider Mark Blackwell who I'd met at Calibazas bike park a few years ago. He was going for it and riding good which was cool to see. Joel is always a favorite to watch and shoot because he absolutely kills it. He had some trouble getting his run together early on in the qualifiers but put it down when he needed to on his last run. I quickly noticed a rider with great style, I could tell he had skills and would be a factor if he put a run together. I'd never seen him ride before, turned out to be Jason Lopez from the Bay area and he qualified first. Another rider that caught my eye was on a green bike, showing mad style and going big. I learned he's from Kansas and his name is Tom Dugan. Shea Nyquist was riding good too and he qualified fifth. Chad Bautista was flowing and throwing some epic lookdowns. Other notables were Nick Noble, Diogo Canina from Brazil, Rob Darden, Omar Romero and a few others I met but have momentarily forgotten their names.
Thanks to Ryan and crew for putting on another fun event. Here are a few of my shots:
Thanks to Ryan and crew for putting on another fun event. Here are a few of my shots:
Joel Hulsey
Jason Lopez
Tom Dugan
Mark Blackwell
Diogo Canina
Shea Nyquist Mike Atkin showed up.
Nick Nobel Omar Romero
***I'll Post MORE tomorrow. I'm tired, It's almost 4:00am.***
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Results:
1st - Jason Lopez
2nd - Rob Darden
3rd - Diogo Canina
Best Trick - Nick Nobel
Congrats Jason Lopez 1st place.
Rob Darden 2nd and Diogo Canina 3rd.
Congrats Jason Lopez 1st place.
Rob Darden 2nd and Diogo Canina 3rd.
Best Trick winner Nick Nobel earned it in more ways than one. First with a truckdriver to no footed one hander. He then took a hard slam at the end which included hitting his face on hard pack dirt. He handled it, got up, walked away and now he gets to eat Chipotle free for a year!
Tom, Joel and Shea.
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