Trond Hansen wins Qashqai Round # 1 in Milan

Milan, Italy - April 26, 2008:  (Report courtesy Rasoulution)

Trond Hansen, from Specialized wins first stop of the 2008 Nissan Qashqai Challenge! Mischa Breitenstein, Sam Pilgrim, Kurt Sorge, Damjan Siriski, and Trond Hansen qualify for the Challenge events in Munich and London.

Trond pulling off a front flip in Milan

The crowd in Parco Sempione was treated to an amazing final under sunny skies in downtown Milan today. The qualifier was extremely tight, and many new faces were making their presence known. Young American Tyler McCaul put together impressive runs, but was just shy of making the cut into the finals.  He will be one of the many riders making the trip down to the infamous Estadio Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain next week for another shot at qualifying for the final Nissan Qashqai Challenge Events.

The fifteen finalists ran in reverse order, ending with the top qualifier Martin Soederstrom from Sweden. In the finals the wind picked up and riders had to be strategic with their three runs, as their two best scores were combined. Some of the riders like Norway’s Trond Hansen and Switzerland’s Mischa Breitenstein played their cards well and earned their spots in the final challenge events.

In the first round of the finals, Trond uncorked a clean front flip over the final jump for a good first round score. In his next round he earned the highest score of the day as the first rider to pull a clean 360 over the first jump, straight into a one-footed 360 invert, followed by a tire grab to set up for an opposite 360 over the last double. “The last two hours went just perfect, being qualified for the Nissan Qashqai Challenge competition feels just great!” beamed Trond after the award ceremony.
 
Congratulations to Trond Hansen, Mischa Breitenstein, Sam Pilgrim, Kurt Sorge, and Damjan Siriski for earning spots in the final Qashqai Challenge Events in Munich and London. Some of the other highlights of the day were Adam Hauck’s 720, Kurt Sorge’s superman to pendulum air, Alex Reveles’s Indian airs, and Tyler McCaul’s no footed can can x-ups.

1   Trond Hansen              SPECIALIZED                 NOR   

2   Mischa Breitenstein      KONA EUROPE               SUI   

3   Sam Pilgrim                 DIAMONDBACK BIKES    GBR   

4   Darren Pokoj               FELT                             AUS  

5   Kurtis Sorge               GIANT BICYCLES            CAN   

6   Adam Hauck                BLACKMARKET              USA   

7   Damjan Siriski             AUTHOR                        CZE   

8   Geoff Gulevich             ROCKY MOUNTAIN          CAN   

9   Phil Sundbaum            HARO, GRAVITY             USA   

10   Hoppensack              ADIDAS                         GER   

11   Mitchell Chubey          NSMB.COM                    CAN

12   Alex Reveles              ADIDAS                        USA   

13   Linus Sjöholm           SCOTT                          SWE   

14   Martin Söderström    COLORBIKES                  SWE   

15   Andrew Taylor          VERSUS CYCLES             USA