DownUnderGround is the Australian bmx flatland championships and the 25th November saw the finals hit the iconic location of the Melbourne Imax. Bmx flatland riders from around Australia and the world converged on Melbourne to partake in one of the hardest forms of bmx riding, flatland. It was good to see a great turnout with a few international riders attending. DownUnderGround is entering into its 10 year in 2018, the first contest took place in Perth in November 2008. Over the past 9 years many riders have attended at various locations around Australia to compete and have fun. This round of DownUnderGround in Melbourne has the highest rate of beginners the contest series has seen. In Australia bmx flatland riders would rarely get to hang out if it was not for DownUnderGround. It’s not just about a competition, it’s a time for riders to come together, share tricks have goodtimes and build the bmx flatland scene in Australia.
The Riders Life channel came down and filmed this rad compiled video from the competition.
Heading into the finals the points for the year end titles were close. In the beginners David Rooney and Rusty Eylward-Pyko were equal so it would come down to who would place higher at the contest for who would take the year end title. In the expert class Thore Saggau was in the lead by 25 points from Freestyle Now squad member Shaun Jarvis, Thore would have to have a really bad day to place last with Shaun having to be on game to take top spot for things to change. In open class it was tied points with two of Australia’s flatland heavyweights, Paul Chamberlain and Simon O’Brien. Simon unfortunately did not show so the year end went to Paul.
Freestyle Now squad member Paul Chamberlain rolling a nohanded plastic man on his way to placing 2nd place in the open class and taking the year end championship title. Photo June Dungca
David Rooney ended up taking the win from Rusty Eylward-Pyko in the beginners. David was just a little bit more consistent than Rusty but both rode well. With the win David took home the year end title and a rad looking trophy. 3rd went to first time competitor Paul Griznic who had some cool combos, he was pumped. 4th was a tie between Melbourne newcomer Jo Hilis and Perth rider Alexsandra Louise who was also competing in her first competition. What was great to see with all of the beginner riders was the willingness to give it a go and not care how sketchy they were, that is what is needed at more competitions.
In the expert class it was a close result between the two German riders with only one point separating first and second with both riders having some hard combos. Phillip Frueh took the top spot from Thore Saggau who took home the second place trophy. Singaporean rider Ron King Tan placed in 3rd with a banger comb at the end of his run. The best way to describe it is a front wheel rolling spin to a hop whip landing on the back pegs in a backwheel spin. Had the King rode a bit more consistent he would have been a threat to the top two. 4th place went to Tasmanian rider Chris Letchford who made the trip at the last minute, it was good to see him there. With Thore Saggau taking 2nd and Shaun Jarvis placing 7th the year end title in the expert class was all Thore’s.
Clockwise from top left – Alexsandra entered her first competition and placed equal 4th, well done (photo from the riders life) – Phillip Frueh took thhe top spot in the expert class by 1 point – the top 3 in the beginner class, David Rooney taking the year end title – Ais Rahadiyan took 4th in the open class with tricks like this cliffhaneger.
Heru Anwari traveled from Indonesia just for the contestand smashed out some fast backwheel combos to take the win in the open class home to Jataka. Photo June Dungca
The open class was won by Indonesian rider Heru Anwari. Some rad fast back wheel trickery was what sealed his win. There was only 5 points separating 1st and 3rd so you know the riding was good. Heru was on fire and it was great to see his style at DownUnderGround. Freestyle Now squad members Paul Chamberlain and Lee Kirkman took home 2nd and 3rd. Both Paul and Lee had some hard combos on the back and front wheel which would have help their scores. Both were of equal consistency but the judges must have awarded Paul a few more points in difficulty. 4th place went to another Indonesian rider Ais Rahadiyan who has been living in Melbourne for the past year. Ais had some good combos but just was not on game with his consistency on competition day.
All round the finals of DownUnderGround were one of the most successful rounds to date, good international turnout, high number of beginners, the rain stayed away and everyone had fun. 2018 will be the tenth year that DownUnderGround will be running and the promotion of flatland bmx continues.
Freestyle Now squad member Lee Kirkman hittin a brakeless decade to take 3rd in the open class. His last combo in his run was a killer, check the video below for the video lowdown. Photo June Dungca
Expert and open contest runs, DownUnderGround is all about the fun.
DownUnderGround – Australian bmx flatland Championships – 25th November – Round 3 the finals – Official results
Contest sponsors – Freestyle Now, Colony BMX, GAIN Protection, Sneaky Wholefoods, Anchor BMX, Solid Signs
Beginners – David Rooney 78 points, 2nd Rusty Eylward-Pyko 73 points, 3rd Paul Griznic 62 points, 4th Jo Hilis 60 points, 4th Alexsandra Louise 60 points, 6th Richie Spencer 57 points, 7th Seth Eylward-Pyko 34 points, 8th Kit McKenna 30 points, 9th Zephyr Pawlak 24 points, 10th Tahj Pawlak 17 points.
Expert – 1st Philipp Frueh 98 points, 2nd Thore Saggau 97 points, 3rd Ron King Tan 82 points, 4th Chris Letchford 79 points, 5th Ben Pawlak 77 points, 5th Trent Karow 77 points, 7th Shaun Jarvis 74 points, 8th Matt Spencer 72 points
Open – 1st Heru Anwari 127 points, 2nd Paul Chamberlain 125 points, 3rd Lee Kirkman 122 points, 4th Ais Rahadiyan 107 points, 5th Grant Cruse 100 points
