SAN FRANCISCO -- Over 9,500 cheering fans lined the street luge course at San Francisco's Seal Rock Run on Saturday afternoon to witness what culminated into one of the most exciting races in X Games history.

Hometown favorite, Dennis Derammelaere hit the pavement side-by-side with outspoken Lee Dansie and the two were "attached at the hip" -- sometimes literally -- throughout the duration of the race.

Dansie crossed the finish line a fraction ahead of Derammelaere. But Dansie made contact with Derammelaere during the race and officials ultimately dropped him to second place behind an emotional Derammelaere. "Everything I know about luge I learned from watching Lee Dansie and Shawn Goulart, and I had both there today," said Derammelaere, who competed with six screws in his ankle and a titanium plate in his leg after a practice accident prior to the '98 X Games. "One was next to me and one was inside me. I'm just so overwhelmed. I'm going to start crying. It's the best moment of my life."

Upon approaching the historic Cliff House turn, disaster seemed eminent as Dansie tried to make his move for the lead. While attempting to pass Derammelaere in the narrow gage between the luger and the hay bale, Dansie swerved to the right, making contact with Derammelaere's board. The pair knocked twice before finding themselves locked and headed toward a would-be catastrophic collision with the outside barrels.

Quick thinking and professionalism prevailed when the pair was freed by what initially appeared to be a dirty move by Dansie. He put his hand on Derammelaere's plate and pushed Derammelaere out of the way. A confused Derammelaere raised his arms in question as the crowd roared in protest, but the action did separate the pair and the race continued.

Once free, the finalists screamed down the serpentine and crossed the finish line toe-to-toe in an exhilarating photo finish, topped only by what had transpired earlier in the race.

The Jumbotron flashed that Derammelaere was victorious and the celebration began. Replays later revealed that Danise had, in fact, crossed the finish line first, but judges conferred and determined that Derammelaere was the winner due to the contact before the Cliff House turn.

"It was so close to being clean," Dansie said. "If I had another inch of room, I could've made it. I saw Dennis put his hand up and I was like, 'Sorry man, I didn't mean to do it on purpose.' But it was still cool."

The gold was Derammelaere's first in X Games competition. He won silver in dual and mass in 1997 and bronze in both events in 1996.

Following the controversial win, Derammelaere, who also takes to the streets auto racing, announced that he is considering taking some time off from the sport and possibly even retiring.