Moscow, Russia - While many of the skateboarders have been on tour for a couple of months already, this event marked the first major contest of the 2005 season for the BMX riders and inline skaters. Nobody knew quite what to expect, but one thing was certain - the vert ramp was monumental. At 13'9" tall, the LG Action Sports World Tour ramp is one of the largest on the planet, promising massive airs and big tricks once the skaters and bikers have it dialed.

The BMX riders took to the ramp first and, not surprisingly, John Parker and Tom Stober got comfortable fast. Practicing regularly on the huge ramp at Camp Woodward paid off for John, whose smooth airs and variations helped qualify him in first place. Stober and Jay Eggleston both pulled out brand new no-hander-one-footers. Fighting through injuries, Koji Kraft and Jay Miron both managed to pull signature tricks. Of note was Kraft's tailwhip to X-up followed by an X-up to tailwhip. With the qualifying round designed to seed the riders for the final on Sunday, all of the bikers held back and played it safe, ensuring an exciting and unpredictable final.

Few Russians are familiar with action sports and fewer still know inline vert, but it took no time at all for the Yasutoko brothers to generate a cult following. Takeshi Yasutoko nailed a textbook Viking Flip and corkscrew 900, but it was Eito Yasutoko 's California Roll 1080 and inverted alley oop 720 that pushed him into the top position. Shane Yost looked stronger than ever with spin tricks that defy classification. Nel Martin and Marc Englehart showed they haven't been slacking over the summer.

The skateboarders looked the most comfortable on the massive transitions. Andy Macdonald wowed the Muscovites with a series of complicated lip tricks. Buster Halterman showed off a mctwist and a rodeo indie 540. Sandro Dias , Danny Mayer and Tas Pappas looked strong as well with solid lines and high airs. When rain began to fall, the hardy people of Moscow pulled out umbrellas and continued to cheer, but the driving wind made the ramp unskateable.

» go to Day Two recap

» View results from this event

Dr. Doolittle was unable to make it to this event to tend to his pushme pullyou. (Tom Stober and Sandro Dias seem to be heading in opposite directions...)