Adiridas Team member Lance McDermott of Manchester won the overall title of the 2008 Nissan Qashqai Challenge after the final in London, England, last weekend. His consistency with a fourth place in Munich and a third place in London scored him the victory of the series with just one point ahead of Germany's Benny Korthaus and Norway's Trond Hansen.
British crowds at the Tate Modern were stoked when McDermott took the overall crown after fellow countryman Sam Pilgrim had already won the London contest, his biggest result to date.
"When I was in the top five after Munich I thought I had a good chance for the overall victory," said McDermott. "I had scored good points so I was really hoping for it. And I knew I would have home field advantage in London."
In his first final run he presented a tire grab off the drop, E.T. to tuck no hander, a back flip, a tailwhip, and a flair on the quarter pipe. In his second run he crashed on the drop. "After my fist run I thought there is a good chance that I can do really well, so I said to myself I must stay calm and pull another good run. However, then I crashed and there was so much pressure as I had only one more chance to do a good one.
"That's why I tried to use my head and think more about the overall result instead of winning the contest. My third run would have normally been my second run. For my third run I had planned to go crazy with an X-up off the drop, a tailwhip on the first jump, a back flip no foot on the second, front flip no hander on the third, and I wanted to finish with a wallride to flair."
Instead, he put himself into the top three and secured his overall win with an E.T. to tuck no hander, back flip into front flip finishing with a clean flair on the quarter pipe. "When I was waiting around for the final results it was very nerve wrecking," he recalled. "I didn't know what to expect. I had the feeling that I could have won, but I wasn't sure. When the overall standings appeared on the screen my parents went crazy. And so did the other riders. They gave me a shower with champagne, beer, a fire extinguisher and I don't know what else. I was completely soaked."
McDermott is planning to spend his 40,000 euros in prize money on his house and a new car. The rest will go into savings.
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