He was still holding water from yesterday’s 14-hour flight, but Jay Cutler was clearly better defined than Ronnie Coleman in Friday’s Austrian Grand Prix, and for the second time in six days (the first being the Mr. Olympia), Iron Jay relegated eight-time Mr. O Coleman to the runnerup spot. At times during the fast-paced contest, it seemed Coleman lacked the old confidence while Cutler now has the aura of reigning bodybuilding king. The crowd initially poured its love on the owner of eight Sandow’s, but the owner of one Sandow won them over. The battle for third place was crucial because it meant the first 2007 Olympia qualification for someone who didn’t earn one by placing in the top six at last weekend’s O, and it meant the most to Dennis James, because he’s forgoing the rest of the Euro Tour to guest-pose in Hungary. Alas, it was crowd-favorite Markus Ruhl who nabbed the three spot. Neither James nor Ruhl were at their best, but both were slightly tighter than at the O. Germany’s Ronnie Rockel and England’s Eddie Abbew were the best-conditioned men in the show. Rockel lacks the back and Abbew is missing the wheels to out-muscle the big cats in this lineup, but both were very happy to be in the posedown against the winners of the past nine Mr. O’s.
EURO NOTES
Italy’s Daniele Seccarecci, fresh off his fifth place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix, has a classical physique reminiscent of a bigger John Terilli (there’s an ’80s flashback). With a bit more mass and a lot more cuts, he’ll be back in more posedowns.
In addition to Rockel, his slightly smaller doppelganger, Lee Powell, also could’ve finished higher if the judges had looked for more cuts with less mass. His spinal erectors and lower lats were as feathered as anyone’s this side of David Henry‘s.
The show was a rousing success with over 1700 tickets sold (many hundred since the Olympia) and a very vocal crowd.
The total prize purse was $20,500, with Cutler taking away $10,000.
Tomorrow (very, very early!) the tour moves to Timisoara, Romania for the Romanian Grand Prix. Nobody seems to know anything about what awaits us, but you can count on Team FLEX to be there behind the scenes and front row center. Watch FLEXOnline on Saturday for early updates and a full report. Rematch No.2, and, possibly, Ronnie’s revenge, is only a day away. And you won’t want to miss the complete madness, dueling egos and full behind-the-scenes story in a future issue of FLEX. For starters, a Mr. Olympia winner nearly burned the Austrian hotel down!
For the second time in two days, reigning Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler defeated eight-time Mr. O Ronnie Coleman. Both men were slightly sharper Saturday evening in Timisoara at the Romanian Grand Prix, and Big Ron got the small crowd behind him at the end, as they chanted “Ronn-ie!” His back and middle were too soft to regain the top position this time, but, if he continues to sharpen and Cutler doesn’t, tomorrow could be his day. The surprise of the show and one of the biggest jaw-droppers of the year was Sergey Shelstov. Despite his mud-bath of Dream Tan, he has most everything but clavicle width. His wheels are especially impressive, and they held their own in side-by-side comparisons against the two Mr. O’s. Easily the best Russian in this year’s Euro Tour (Fedorov was a fat 10th last night), Sergey is now 2007 Olympia-bound after only one pro contest. Just missing an O invite was the hardest competitor in the contest, “Nice Guy” Eddie Abbew. He’ll have a final chance (for this year) tomorrow. Rounding out the top five of an otherwise weak lineup was Italy’s 26-year-old Danielle Seccarecci, who, with two trips to posedowns in his first three pro shows, is, like Shelstov, having a remarkable rookie year. Watch out for him on American stages (and magazine covers) next year.
Tomorrow (ridiculously early again) Team FLEX, Coleman, Cutler and company fly to The Netherlands for the anything-goes-party known as the Amsterdam Grand Prix. It’s a fitting conclusion to the 2006 IFBB pro schedule. Will Ronnie end the year on a high note or will Jay continue his remarkable run? Will there be another Sergey-sized surprise? We’re certain one more competitor will qualify for the O-but who will it be? Of course, FLEXOnline will be there for the exclusive behind-the-scenes and front-row-center coverage that only we provide. And for the full story (soap opera, slapstick comedy, and crime thriller), with events, quotes and emotions too explosive for this space you won’t want to miss my complete Euro Tour diary in a future issue of FLEX. For now, we’re off to Amsterdam for rematch No. 3 and guaranteed madness in the world’s ultimate Sin City!
IFBB ROMANIAN GRAND PRIX FINAL RESULTS
1. Jay Cutler 2. Ronnie Coleman 3. Sergey Shelstov 4. Eddie Abbew 5. Danielle Seccarecci 6. Yamagishi Hidetada 7. Thomas Bengali 8. Ricky Welling 9. Migger Milazzo 10. Nicolae Gurgi 11. Cristian Mihailescu 12. Zoran Vejic
Jay Cutler completed the gauntlet, winning three shows in Europe over the course of three days, relegating eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman to second each time.
The victories cement Cutler’s status as the world’s new number-one bodybuilder, proving his stunning Mr. Olympia victory September 30 was no fluke.
On Sunday, October 8, Cutler added the Dutch Grand Prix title to the Austrian and Romanian Grand Prix trophies he won on Friday and Saturday,respectively. Over the three days, both Coleman and Cutler improved their condition, damaged with the long flights over from the U.S. earlier in the week – now, with the contest season over, both can head back to their respective camps and plan their attack for next year. Cutler plans to defend his O title, while at this point, it seems Coleman is planning to return as well. Retirement rumors swirled before this year’s O – but Colemanvehemently denied them in the weeks leading up to the Olympia, and hasn’t indicated otherwise since.
Meanwhile, third place in Austria went to a very deserving Ronny Rockel, who now has punched his ticket to the 2007 Olympia.
