Previous week I was back in the land of the rising sun for the Flat Ark competitions in Kobe. Flat Ark was the last stop of the BMX Flatland World Circuit. Japan is definitely one of my favorite destinations! The culture is very inspiring and the food is amazing!

Last years contest was amazingly well organized and this year was even better! The contest was upgraded with a giant screen and there was a live stream of the finals hosted by none other then Mc Scott O’Brien! Besides the contest there where two amazing party’s title Flat Party and Party Ark. As you can guess by the name the last one was on a boat! The rider care was amazing again with good accommodations and nice food!

Saturday was qualifying with over 60 riders and the highest level of riding I experienced this year! I qualified 9th and the top 12 went to the final.

Sunday the final was a tournament battle style! My battle was the first one and I had the start against Japanese legend Hiro Morizaki. Hiro was on point and pulled some of his signature tailwhips combo’s. That pushed me to give it the best I got. I was bumped I was already out the first heat, but I’m happy with the combo’s I pulled.

After my battle it was time to enjoy the show! Some intense battles followed! The rider of the day for me was Jean-William Prevost aka Dub, but in the end it was Ucchie who took the win again followed by Viki Gomez and 3th place went to Dub!

It was an amazing experience again and I can’t wait for next year! Now it’s time to prepare hard for Battle in the Rockies!