Contest preparation Part 3

I sent a bunch of interviews out for this opening main article for the new site, and only these two got back to me! Which is also quite fitting, both Dez Maarsen and Jean Francis Boulianne have been killing it regularly on the contest scene, and JF also killed it in groundtactics! Time to find out a lil more depth what these guys do behind the scenes to get dialled!

2 SMALL BIKES 2 LONG COMBOS from FermeTaGueulePisRide on Vimeo.

Firstly, how do you decide what combos to practise and dial in for a contest?
JF: I try to chose trick i feel comfortable with and that makes me look different than other rider. Frontyard baby….
Dez: Practicing combo’s is most of the time freestyle or I check what fits in well with the rest of the tricks. For dialling it’s the same. I try to do freestyle links with most of my hardest tricks in there.
       
Do you have a practise routine that you stick to before a contest? If so, what is that routine?
JF:I use to repeat repeat and repeat but when you hit everything in practice and the nothing in your run. Its makes you wonder. If this is the right technique, these day I mostly just ride. 
Dez: In contest I have a standard routine, except when its a battle I try to mix in some freestyle. I don’t practice these exact same links only during the practice time at the contest.

Does your practise routine vary if there is a 3 minute run, or battle format style?
JF: Not really, I just wanna pull some stuff and be proud of the way i Rode. That what put a smile on my face after the event knowing I rode good.
Dez: I think you can find the answers in previous questions.

Do you practise on different types of floor?
JF: Unfortunately not really maybe i should but if your combo is dial at your home  spot it should be dial almost anywhere. sometime it slippery, in a hill or bumpy then you have to adjust your riding…
Dez: Not on purpose. My indoor spot is sometimes slippery so I’m pretty used to that. When I have to do a show I do my contest tricks as a warming up and those are sometimes really crappy and small!

How long before a contest do you start training?
JF: I usually train all year long to try to keep my trick dial.
Dez: I used to practice 2 weeks before, but since I’m really busy with my study and stuff I’m happy when I can ride, so I’m not gonna waste time on preparing for contest! The latest contest I went to I try to
pull all my stuff during the practice at the contest.

Dez in action at the 2011 Ninja spin, third place at both Ninja and Game of skills! Consistency!

MY FIRST FLAWLESS RUN @ CIRCUL8 CONTEST IN MONTREAL from FermeTaGueulePisRide on Vimeo.

JF’s first flawless run in Montreal, earlier this year!

Who do you look at as the most dialled contest rider?
JF:For contest riding I would Say Justin, Matthias and Terry.
Dez: Uchhie is I think one of the most dialed riders at the contest. He’s pulling a lot of new tricks in competitions! Also Moto! 

How do you juggle contest training and progression?
JF:Oh man thats the game, thats even harder with traveling around the whole world and never riding at the same spot. Honestly like i said before nowadays I just ride when I can where i can with who I can.
Dez: I don’t think to much about that! When I’m riding I just try to enjoy it and learn new tricks. My main focus is to progress not to be a contest machine.

If you do “5 in a row” method of getting consistent, how strict are you on that? And what is the timeframe for getting that done?
JF: I used to do 3 in a row and I wasn’t so strict on it, like i would practice 5 combo x 3 times each but i would let maybe 3  or 4 mistakes go inside this. For the timeframe its wasn’t a big deal because when i rode everyday I use to pull the 3 in a row on my first try.
Dez: I’ve never done that for contest! Only when I had to the live TV performs on Holland’s Got Talent. And I was not that strict and it where not hard tricks!

Do you do any other kind of training to be contest ready?
JF:Drink protein shake, sit up and push up and party, have fun enjoying life give you energy before the contest.
Dez: I don’t know if it counts as training, but I’m always checking out video’s to get my self hyped.

How in your mind do you know when you are contest ready?
JF:You know your are ready when you can hit your trick good, but are you gonna perform the same at your spot and     in a contest that a different thing.
Dez: I’m always ready for a contest, because I enjoy going to them! Maybe if I didn’t rode so much before one, I still love to go there and have good session, meet up with riders, get motivated and try to
set down a good performance!

Do you have any superstitions going into a contest?
JF: Not really just some rules hey.Not wear headphone anymore and try to find a song that make me feel good.
Dez: No, not any I can think of.

12 thoughts on “Contest preparation Part 3

  1. I’m not sure how long JF has been competing, but I regard these two riders as part of the new generation of pros coming through. Two top three placings in recent weeks from Dez. And I believe he’s heading to the Red Bull contest in Indy at the end of the month! Good luck Dez!

  2. Yeah these guys are rad ,Dez has some seriously hard moves and is a good contender for number 1 spot and J.F Boulianne has great flow gotta love the Frontyard switch combo he does incorporating something different ,top guys 🙂

  3. I guess my question is how would you judge that next to a normal contest run?

    If someone did a combo that was hard, original and stylish, maybe even included tricks on both wheels, and they managed to bang it out 5 times in a row in a contest setting I think that would be pretty amazing. Riders are getting super-consistent with their contest combos and while I certainly don’t think it would be heathly to see it as the norm, I do think it would be an interesting experiment for someone to push the consistency aspect of riding to another level and see how people react.

    • That is a good question Chris. I see where your coming from?.
      There are a few factors I guess you would consider with this scenerio.
      1) What is the judging criteria?
      2)Would this happen in a run format or battle format?
      2) If run format- I guess you would compare against how the other riders rode.
      3) The novelty factor of someone doing that (with say a banger combo)- might score highly the first time, then next contest lose its novelty, i’ve seen similar things happen.
      4) It would in some degree depend on what other riders did, a rider who say strings together 4-5 really good combos with more variety would score higher.

  4. its all politics to me bro ,whats normal and whats not ?? comp runs normally include combo’s which the rider is comfortable with a consistent run etc where pushing their own limits would suit a jam session format then can the rider decide whether it would be included in a comp run depending if they are comfortable with it or not.

  5. All good points E.
    It it would need to be a run format for it to be a proper 5 in a row. They’d need to be done immediately after one another.

    I like that the run as a whole would be meaningful beyond its constituent combos, so yes @howard i guess it would be a political statement!

    What’s harder? 5 different combos in a row, or the same combo 5 times?

    5 the same feels harder in my mind, the probability of doing it seems less. Maybe not?

  6. Hmmm that would depend on the combo of course Chris, i’ve done all my combos in the past 5 in a row or more everyday, and if i was to just focus on one, the probability of hitting it over and over would be more realistic if I focussed just on that. 5 different combos is way harder in my mind. I’m sure someones reading this, im gonna do that now !? and actually i’m surprised no-ones done that yet. Thanks for bringing that up chris!

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