Always a highlight of any Pro Tour event, the kicker and bonus trick hits that pro men get on their way back into the dock are usually either train wrecks or perfection, but they’re always interesting to watch. Phoenix was especially good because the water was glassy most of the time and the ride back to the dock from the opposite end of the course was about as long as you’ll get for a Pro Tour stop, so riders had plenty of time to set up. Watch for Vandall’s huge wrapped heelside 720 near the end.
With two early, uncharacteristic falls, Vandall had some catching up to do. Watch his whole run from start to finish and you’ll see his demeanor change after his falls. He knew he needed something big to get him through, and probably just to please the crowd and himself, and while it wasn’t enough to get him through, Vandall definitely threw down some crowd pleasers with his wrapped heelside 720 into the flats, and huge, anti-wake-to-wake toeside backside 540 (check out how far he compacts on landing, that shows you how difficult this trick is — especially when taken so far into the flats).
Not much to be said about this one. Everyone pretty much knows how significant it is. This was the first time a girl has landed a toeside 720 in competition, and Amber Wing had been trying to get this for a while. The reason the video cuts out so quickly is because we were all going nuts in the boat and it got pretty loud.
PRO MENS FINALS
Tino Santori’s run, click here.
Rusty Malinoski’s run, click here.
JD Webb’s run, click here.
NICOLA BUTLER’S PRO WOMEN WINNING RUN
Click here.
