Published on 10/04/2014
Column , William Van Den Putte
Column: William van de Putte
Hello everyone! It's been a few weeks since my last column and a lot has happened in the meantime!
Last time I stopped my frontflip training in Spain. After a short break I returned to sunny Spain to train. This time, however, I wanted to focus on my 'normal' tricks... Before, I was so busy with the front flip that I didn't attach enough importance to all my other tricks. I had already mastered it, but still not quite with the perfect feeling.
There was also no more jumping in the foam pit. Without doing even 1 backflip in the tank, I immediately started with all the backflip combos on the sand. Everything went smoothly and it feels good, almost better than before my crash last year. The conditions were ideal. A radiant sun, little wind and no rain... as I say in the video: 'Just another day in paradise!'
After such successful weeks of training, I couldn't resist on the last day and ended up doing another front flip in the foam pit (two actually 🙂 ). The rotation wasn't that good the first try, but the second try would almost certainly have been good enough to land on dirt. An ideal ending to my Spanish trip! I enjoyed those three weeks so much that I still enjoy them now that I'm writing about them. The tricks work better than ever before and I'm having a great time!
I've been back home in Belgium for a few weeks now and it's cool to be with my friends and my family. The beautiful weather in Belgium naturally makes it even more pleasant. I returned from Spain on time because there was a party in my local pub on Saturday evening. But I was sensible and was in bed at 2am. The next day I went to watch the BMB cross in Genk with a friend. (Thanks again Stephanie!!) As always, I saw beautiful cross at AMC Genk and had a great time with the AMC crew (Ronny Neelen and chairman Freddy Knoops). The circuit was ideal and our Sickrider FMX park was already waiting…
But that had to wait a while. My Peugot Expert and my engines had finally arrived home after six months and I still had some work to do. Everything had to be in perfect order for the first show of the year that I had in Riga, Latvia. With a road trip of 1900km ahead of me, the car had to be in order, and in the end this check-up cost me some money. Some new cardan shafts and things like that…
My Latvian FMX buddy organizes his own show in Riga and I didn't want to miss Alex and Friends. I left on Wednesday with my good friend Olivier Dierckx, who was going to play records there as a DJ in the large Mai Tai disco for the afterparty! We were only there for 1 weekend so we had to take advantage of it! Our work is dangerous enough, so there must also be time for some relaxation at the afterparty 😉!
The show went off without a hitch. Everyone had fun, the tricks went perfectly, a great show and a great atmosphere in the hall. That shouldn't be more for us! We enjoyed the afterparty for a while and the atmosphere on the way home the next day was great!
Once we got home, preparations started again for the next show the following weekend for the open day of a motorcycle shop. For the demo I was alone. We had to drive on the asphalt and there was a mobile landing. The show went almost perfectly… There was no rain or wind and the tricks went well. Afterwards I was putting on a show and doing some stops when something went wrong. I went over my handlebars, put my hand on the asphalt and immediately felt that something was wrong. I went to the hospital and there they diagnosed a broken wrist. Simply with such a small fall...
This means that I won't be able to drive for 4 to 6 weeks, but I am already making plans again. For the time being, I have no immediate plans to return to Spain, I can now train at home in Genk. I am super motivated and we will revive the FMX park in Genk!
And those front flips? I will take a look at that and see what we can do with the foam pit in Genk. I still have some time to think about it now that I have that plaster around my wrist. I'm already enjoying being home. I have been to several MX races for several weeks in a row and have visited AMC Genk several times. The motocross feeling is good for me again! And I also owe that to a good friend!
That's it for now, thanks for reading and see you next column! Be sure to check out the videos of the show in Riga below.
Willis
Freestyle show – VIDEO ATSKATS – ALEX & FRIENDS from Edgars Trankalis Production on Vimeo.
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