Matt Hoffman, the 1995 bicycle stunt vert gold medalist and sport organizer this year, breaks down what to watch for in the X Games V vert competition.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The halfpipe is pretty much the same as last year's vert ramp, which means we should be in for another great bicycle stunt vert competition. Last year's was just incredible. Everyone went big. This year should be no less spectacular.

The vert is 10½-foot transition with a foot and three inches of vert. I was riding it a couple of days ago and it's just perfect. It's one of he best ramps I've ridden. As long as the wind doesn't blow too much, there are no excuses for the vert contest to be nothing but the best one ever.

The wind was tough on the skateboarders in their vert final, but I actually think it affects a bike rider more. If you've ever taken a wheel while it's spinning and try to move it back and forth, you can see how it kind of pulls you to one side or another. That's what you feel when the wind tries to go through the spokes. The wind can really kick you around.

On a vert ramp, everything is so precise. You have to be within inches of that coping coming down, landing perfect so you can get the right pumps and generate enough speed for the other side of the halfpipe. So the wind is definitely going to play a factor.

As for what to watch for from the riders, Jay Miron has been really innovative this year. He pulled off a look-down 540 to win the X Trials in Richmond, Va., which was just awesome. He's pushing the limits of vert riding.

But at the X Games, everyone pulls everything out. Just look at last year's vert final, which saw Dave Mirra win his third straight gold. Dennis McCoy pushed Mirra to the brink and they both just went off.

McCoy landed that 900 on his last run, while Mirra hit every trick he tried in San Diego to win gold.

So the riders know they'll have to do at least as much as a year ago -- and a bag of chips this year -- if they want to take the gold.

Last year was one of the most intense vert contests I've ever seen. I would have never predicted that it would have gotten to that level we saw in San Diego. But riders were raising the bar, only to see another rider reach that level and take it even higher.

It's probably going to be that style again this year. The riders have been riding harder and practicing really hard for this contest. They've had a year since the last X Games to get ready for San Francisco. It's going to be big.