Red Bull set out to make history with its Stomping Grounds dirt contest in Chicago, and even though Mother Nature tried to shut things down, the dirt heavy hitters still took care of business in the Windy City. The Stomping Grounds course was far from a typical six-pack contest setup. Fuzzy Hall and crew became residents of Chicago for weeks to construct trails with 18 hits, a cool berm line, and one jump built on top of a demolished taxi. Big sets, tech sets, transfers, and even a lip to nowhere—unless your name was Brian Foster, Mike Clark, or Brandon Dosch…more on that later.

Mike Clark

The Stomping Grounds top-10 was filled with Dew Tour regulars. TJ Ellis proved that he’s on top of the progression game by landing a front-flip-whip over one of the massive sets. Cam White was riding with a torn ligament in his knee—he says he can’t pinch the seats for barspins with his knee brace—but he had plenty of other tricks to get him into finals. Drew Bezanson continued to impress, and he even did tricks on top of the wallride at the end of the course. Ryan Guettler locked into the spin cycle on one of his best runs, as he 360’d each set and then finished with a 720 over the last hit. Corey Bohan did what only he can do: spin both ways and make every trick look better than anyone. Ryan Nyquist broke out the 360 tricks, 720s, plus a wallride-to-double-barspin.

Brian Foster

The top four guys went nuts every time they rode. Dennis Enarson took fourth, and was doing double-whip on one set to opposite-double-whip on the next set, cannonball barspins, and more. Mike “Hucker” Clark blasted with tons of tricks and a huge smile on his face. After coming up short on a 31-foot transfer, he decided to go for it again, but instead of going to the landing, he jumped it straight to flat! Chris Doyle proved why he’s everyone’s favorite trail rider with the best 360-turndowns in the business and so much more.

TJ Ellis

First place went to a raging Brandon Dosch. Not only did he lay down tricks all over the place, but he was also the only rider to tame the transfer line. When Brian Foster and Hucker both came up short on the gap, no one was sure if it was doable. But then during one of his last runs, Brandon found the speed and fired it out perfectly. Everyone went nuts when he landed it perfectly, but then he blew everyone’s mind by coming back and tailwhipping the same 31-foot transfer!

Brandon Dosch

The contest ended with a heavy jam session in the rain. Hopefully Stomping Grounds returns next year, but maybe Mother Nature will be a bit friendlier next time around.

If you thought Stomping Grounds was a sick contest and you’re looking for more, you can catch Enarson, Nyquist, Ellis, Guettler and many more next month in Chicago for the Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 BMX Open, July 23 & 24 at Soldier Field’s South Festival Lot.  The Dew Tour expands beyond a dirt comp and showcases the world’s best BMX athletes competing in dirt, vert and park. Tickets for the Chicago event are now on sale at ticketmaster.com. For more information, click HERE.

Red Bull Stomping Grounds Results

1. Brandon Dosch
2. Chris Doyle
3. Mike “Hucker” Clark
4. Dennis Enarson
5. Ryan Nyquist
6. Corey Bohan
7. Ryan Guettler
8. Drew Bezanson
9. Cameron White
10. TJ Ellis

Chipotle Best Trick: Brandon Dosch, Tailwhip Transfer