Crowd favourite Sam Pilgrim sealed the win at this year's Mountain Biking UK Dirt Jump Invitational at BikeRadar Live yesterday with a stunning final run.
Flying down the start ramp and into the huge set of four doubles, he pulled a backflip off the first jump, a tailwhip off the second and then took things easy on the third to prepare himself for the coup de grace – a perfect double whip off the last jump.
The victory netted the Ashton Diamondback rider a cheque for £3,000 and means he retains the lead in the Freeride Mountain Bike World Tour after 12 rounds.
Earlier in the day, a win had looked far from certain for Pilgrim as he faced stiff competition from the nine other finalists – Jamie Johnson, Ryan Nangle, Ricky Crompton, Jamie Johnson, Adam Williams, Clinton Johns, Ray Samson, Grant 'Chopper' Fielder, last year's winner Sam Reynolds and Daryl Brown.
Watch video highlights of the MBUK Dirt Jump Invitational along with a Sam Pilgrim interview below:
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2009 winner Sam Reynolds just missed out on the top spot this year
The dirt jumpers dug deep into their trick bags in a bid to impress the large crowd and judges. Fielder (Kona) crashed on his first two runs but managed a super-technical 360 double barspin on his final run, while Johns (Diamondback) impressed with a super-lazy tailwhip.
Daryl Brown: stylish moves, not so sure about the trousers
DMR rider Reynolds took second place after pulling crowd-pleasing frontflips off the first jump, along with tailwhips, 360s and tuck no-handers, while team mate Brown claimed third with tricks including a 360 barrel roll and Superman. But it was Pilgrim who combined consistency and big moves to take the win.
Ashton Diamonback rider Sam Pilgrim walked away with a large cheque and even larger trophy
You can watch video highlights of the 2010 MBUK Dirt Jump Invitational, including an interview with Sam Pilgrim, below:
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Victory for Chris Smith and Ryan Nangle in KOD 3
Earlier in the day, the BikeRadar Live jumps had hosted round 3 of the 2010 King Of Dirt series. Riders competed in pairs using the PIG system, where competitors take it in turns to draw tricks out of a hat and nominate the jump on which they must be pulled.
UK freerider Chris Smith impressed at KOD round 3
One member of each pair then has the chance to attempt that jump. If only one rider succeeds, the other team gets given a letter – normally P, but in this case K. When a team reaches a complete word (normally PIG, here KOD) they're eliminated from the competition.
Ryan Nangle had to bail when this frontflip attempt went wrong
The contest went right down to the wire, with the final two teams – Chris Smith and Ryan Nangle, and Ray Samson and Daryl Brown – both on KO when Smith (Corsair) pulled the wildcard, meaning he could nominate a jump of his choice. He opted for a barspin, and upped the ante even further by pulling off a barspin no-footer, prompting Samson (DMR) to concede the win.
Ray Samson impressed with tricks including a no-footer can-can
Samson didn't go home too disappointed, however, as in a previous wildcard round, he had pulled his first ever one-handed barrel roll. Clinton Johns was similarly delighted to land his first backflip no-hander. Other tricks pulled out of the hat included toboggans, no-footer cans and barrel rolls.
Smith and Nangle celebrate their victory
