French Fries, French Bread, French Dressing… and Jean Postec

Sep 02 2006 / Los Angeles, CA Paris. No, not Texas, France. A few things come to mind when I think of Paris. Fashion of course. Crêpes and French bread.  The Eiffel Tower. Of course the culturally important 1985 film, National Lampoon’s European Vacation. Ah, where would the world be be without the Griswald family. But action sports? How about action sports directly in front of the Eiffel Tower. If Clark Griswald wouldn’t have approved of that, I don’t know who would.
 

PHOTO GALLERY Check out pictures from the 2005 Paris stop on the LG Action Sports Tour. View Gallery>

“Paris is one of my favorite events of the year because it’s a great opportunity to bring action sports to people who would otherwise probably never see it live” said BMX rider Tom Haugen. “Being in a foreign country means a lot of these spectators are seeing action sports for the first time. That’s usually not the case in the US,” he added.
 
The historic Trocadéro location is a prime spot for an action sports event, and Paris will have it’s share of local favorites including hometown boy Taig Khris, and recent Southern California transplant Jean Postec. Taig has several inline vert titles under his belt, and the home turf just might bring out the best in him. There’s no doubt the Yasutoko brothers will have something to say about that, as will Berlin stop winner Shane Yost. Jean Postec recently made the move to Encinitas, California to skate with the best vert skateboarders in the world, and it shows. He has been consistently making the top ten at events this year, and recently finished third at the Portland Dew Tour stop. Jean means business. French soil could produce a win for the stylish local. Mathias Ringstrom, Jake Brown, and Anthony Furlong are all expected to be in town to try and stop him.
 
This event means more than a shopping trip to an area known more for fancy boutiques and fine pastries than for action sports. Two riders from each event will earn qualifying spots into the LG Action Sports World Championships, taking place in October in Dallas, Texas. The Championships are a big money event, so there is a lot on the line for all the riders.
 
The LG Action Sports World Tour currently uses the tallest vert ramp of any competition tour. At 14 feet-tall the ramp dwarfs the 8 foot scraps of wood most of us grew up riding. While the taller ramp can make things a bit scarier to the first-timer, it does provide a more gradual transition, which can translate into a bit more to land on. It can take a bit more work from the legs to get a pump up (resulting in more height), but more transition can make for a bit more surface to fall on. Don’t take that to mean it’s safe, however. It’s not safe at all, but when you’re going ten feet out of the top of the ramp, you want the comfort of knowing you might actually land back onto some transition, and not the flat bottom. “The ramp is great. Once you get the timing down — because it is bigger than most ramps — it feels nice,” said Haugen. Either way you look at it, standing next to or on top of a 14 foot-tall vert ramp is intimidating.
 
In Paris, you could say it’s one sculpture in front of another, at least this weekend. You’ll have the architectural wonder that is the Eiffel Tower, and then right in front of that you’ll have the action sports wonder that is the LG World Tour ramp. Add in some of the top BMXers, Skateboarders and Inline Skaters in the world, and you’ve got a weekend that rivals the best runway show Paris has to offer. Action Couture?