Written by Matteo Attanasio
Shanghai is an amazing city – you probably can’t consider it as part of China. So many different cultures meet up and live together that it is more a big melting pot. This makes it a great place for the Asian X-Games and for all riders which want to discover new spots, riders and ways of life.
The SMP skatepark should be mentioned at this point which is one of the most impressive constructions I have ever seen: bowls, street and probably one of the biggest vert ramps ever built.
Well anyway – let me get back to the first day of the X-Games. The event is located in a massive stadium in Shanghai featuring a nice competition set-up. Today served everyone as registration day and training day, trying to get over jetlag and adapt to the climate here. I might question the street area as it seemed a bit small and skateboard oriented but nice respecting the quality of construction. Set up without one transition and only short ledges and rails I doubt that it is able to represent the full scope of the sport of rollerblading.
The line up of riders is great and very international. Due to meetings I didn’t get to see everyone and hang out a lot. But just seeing guys ride like Takeshi Yasutoko, Anthony Avella and Cesar Andrade I could tell that many riders are here to push the level and take a podium if possible. The line up for street seems just as awesome with Chris Haffey, Brian Aragon and many others.
Tomorrow morning street qualifiers are on and I am curious to see what the guys will make out of the course as I missed the training session today. Stay tuned for some action coming from Shanghai!
-Matteo Attanasio
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