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Vert in Vermont HALFPIPE: March 20, 1999
Nicola Thost pulled past Shannon Dunn and after Shannon sketched a couple times early in the finals. Shannon came back fighting with fierce, flawless 720s and clean mctwists in the judges faces to no avail. They had seen Nicola boost above consistently today and awarded her another US Open win. The girl just can't lose. Tricia Byrnes kept her composure and was throwing down some 7s of her own pulling her up on the second spot on the podium under the Vermont sun.
The biggest man in the pipe, the biggest stoke in the pipe and the biggest 720 flatspins anyone has ever seen were tossed out by the gentle giant, Abram Teter. Abe was increasingly going bigger and taking more chances every run. The crowd knew that was local blood and beat the banners in unison when Abe approached the pipe. It was louder every time Abe dropped in and Abe never disappointed. Another powerful placement was Xaver Hoffman who always makes pipe riding look so relaxed. Just another day in the park for Xaver. "My brains like..it's too much..insane..just look at the crowd..they give you so much props..it's The Open, the sickest contest in the world. I have to think about it and take a rest to check what has happened here" he claimed in dismay.
The stoke was contagious and the crowd tore at anything that might bring them a piece of The Open. Then when the last rider dropped in the banners came ripping down and tossed around. Some used them as transport to the bottom and nailed innocent bystanders like bowling pins. The awards were just what you would hope. A mass of screaming fans chanting names, screaming with stoke and massing for more than an hour so dense that the winners couldn't leave. This was the best Open in years and couldn't be a better way to say "see you in the next century to many". Burton did it right this year, Ross met his fate and everyone rode and partied like it was 1999. This was something for riders to definitely be proud of. Hans Prosl, screaming with supersonic stoke from the sidelines for The Mountain Zone
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