SOMETHING SPECIAL – IS WHAT IT TOOK TO WIN A MEDAL IN THE FREESTLYE MOTOCROSS DIVISION AT THE 2003 SUMMER X GAMES, LOS ANGELES, U.S.A.
“The course was phenomenal, but it was scary. It was a gnarly, gnarly course. I think we were all a little scared in practice, but we’re at the X Games, it’s the coliseum and it’s built to size. Everything is bigger, steeper and harder with plenty of transfers, which is what freestyle’s all about. It’s not just about ramps!” These were the words that came out of Travis Pastrana’s mouth moments after winning the gold medal in freestyle at the L.A. Coliseum, and if this is how one of the greatest supercross, motocross and freestyle riders of our time felt after competing on a course that looked more suited to giants, imagine what some of the less experienced riders felt on their first glance at the massive L.A. Coliseum structure and the daunting jumps that layed below.
I say below, because where the riders pitted and started their run into the Coliseum was around 80 metres away, and above the course via a ramp that ran down past the stadium’s seats set on a 40-degree angle over 50 metres high. This was the only entry on to the course, which forced the riders straight into a double-double section, the first one off a kicker, 80 feet to dirt landing, the second 85 feet dirt to dirt. If you couldn’t get your head around this there was no other option except to sneak on to the course and use one of the eight jumps set up ranging from two 50-foot Super Kickers to dirt, 75 to 90-foot ramp to dirt and 90-foot dirt to dirt hits, plus transfers from downramp to downramp for the creative minded. Right before practice, and looking down at the course, I was standing next to Aussie wildcard Jake Bowen and thinking to myself, how does a 16-year-old kid from Coffs Harbour, who’s jumped the biggest jumps the Australian freestyle scene has thrown at him, prepare himself for an event of this size? X Games is for the elite, the best of the best, and the pressure put on the athletes to perform and win is something you or I could never quite comprehend.
Step Up – (Similar to high jump at school except these guys are on dirt-bikes and they launch off a vertical dirt kicker, 32 feet high in the air, over the bar to a dirt landing)
My first trip to the American X Games was all about moto and nothing else, because if you want to take in the three disciplines, being Step Up, Freestyle and Big Air, while lugging around a backpack of camera gear, which felt as heavy as a bag of cement after a few hours, plus nail the interviews required, that’s where your total focus and energy is needed. Kicking back to enjoy the action of skate or BMX just ain’t an option. So before I delve into the highlight of my first X Games experience, being the freestyle event at the L.A. Coliseum, the Step Up event was the first to get underway at the Staples Centre, which was an indoor venue a similar size to Australia’s Superdome in Sydney, and only a 15-minute drive from the Coliseum. All eyes and the pressure was on Tommy “Tomcat” Clowers, who’s regarded as the “King of Step Up”, and has won every X Games Step Up gold from the first event in 2000. After watching the riders jumping up and over a bar for an hour or so until the field narrowed down to the final few it was interesting to see some of the different techniques the riders used to master the Step Up. Starting from a fixed back gate so the riders couldn’t roll backwards, it was all about trying to roll on as much power in the short runup to the vertical dirt upramp without spinning the rear wheel. No traction, no drive, which meant not enough speed and acceleration to clear the bar. Body position on the bike looked critical, especially on takeoff and leaving the upramp. The technique of taping the rear brake to bring the front end down just at the right time to help the rear wheel clear the bar was used by most riders. Then there was guys like Twitch who used his Whip skills to lay the bike over, which definitely added some excitement to what was the least exciting of the three moto disciplines at X.
Battler Breaks Through
With the bar moved gradually up to 31 feet from the starting height of 24, only three riders remained – Tomcat, Ronnie Renner and Matt Buyten, and all were guaranteed a medal. Renner was the first to bow out by knocking the bar off at 31, then the newcomer to X Step Up, Matt Buyten, threw down the challenge to Tomcat and cleared 31.6, which meant all the pressure was on Tommy to keep his gold run at X perfect. It wasn’t meant to be though as the Buyten fans erupted when Tommy knocked the bar off on his second attempt. Matt Buyten was lifted high on to the shoulders of friends while TV cameras and photographer’s lenses zoomed in at the new 2003 X Step Up champion. I pushed my way through the thick crowd to get a few words off the champ. Congratulations Matt, how about a few words for Freerider mag in Oz! “Yeah, well I was pretty nervous before the event but I knew that I was all right at the Step Up so I just tried my hardest. It’s the kind of discipline where I really only got to practice at other contests, but right before X my mechanic, Cliff Campbell, had a few ideas to improve the bike setup so our buddy Dennis Conway dug us out a cliff and we did a bit of testing and got the bike dialled in real good. Once we got to X Cliff did some final adjustments and it all worked out perfect. The trick to Step Up is getting balanced on the bike right, and good drive off the line while hitting the throttle hard. I wasn’t going down without a fight, and when Tommy knocked the bar at 31.6-foot it was unfortunate for him but a dream come true for me, as I’d been working in construction up until a year ago to pay my way, and now all my hard work has paid off and riding my dirt-bike for a living is now a reality.” It’s always good to see the battler come out on top and Matt seemed like a great guy to go with it. Tommy didn’t seemed too pissed and is far from letting the gold slip away from his collection for too long saying, “I tried my best. I barely clipped the bar so I was right there, it’s not like I got blown away or anything. I still feel confident that I can come back next year and win the gold. Matt has been good at Step Up for a while, so for him to win was no surprise to me.”
Freestlye – (Where the riders get 90 seconds to execute as many of their best tricks around a course of jumps with no set direction)
With one gold down and two to go it was back to the Coliseum for the Freestyle event to see the ultimate showdown on a course that struck fear into even the gods of freestyle. Practice was a Flip fest with Adams throwing down Heelclicker Flips over the 75-footer. Deegan, Beau Bamberg and Bartram also made the standard Flip look easy, then Pastrana comes out like he’s riding an outdoor National and just about Flips off everything while holding it pinned in and out of corners. I’d previously heard that he gets more tricks in per run and now I know why. He also tried several transfers from downramp to downramp. I overheard Nate Adams talking about Pastrana’s practice session to a friend in the pits afterwards and he seemed a bit … “Blown away!” Our Aussie boys Hoppa, and Bowen, unfortunately didn’t make it past practice. Hoppa had one huge get-off and talked me through it afterwards, still in pain, “I was going for a Double McMetz and as I was putting my legs through the bars I accidentally kicked my bike out from under me. The jump was like 75 foot and I ejected about five foot into it, which means I travelled about 70 foot in the air without my bike, so I’m happy to have walked away from it with only a bruised tail bone, which I thought I’d broken at first. I’ve decided not to compete as I won’t be able to ride to my full potential being injured, and it would only make myself and my sponsors look stupid if I do.” I think Jake on the other hand found the course a little too overwhelming and it didn’t help he missed most of the first practice session. He was riding one of Metzger’s Honda CR 250s, which was good to go, but every bike’s different, and when you’re faced with a course the size of X, it’s not the best situation to be in, especially with a bike you’ve never ridden, and one that turns up late. Metz also pulled out at the last minute stating he didn’t feel 100 per cent after his big crash a week earlier going for the Heelclicker Flip at the Disney Land demos. I was so hoping to see him come out and pull his double Flip with a variation, or something freakish, which Metz is known for.
Flip Or Die
The hype was building around the pits that either Pastrana or Deegan would try and pull the 360 Flip or some sort of Barrel Roll at X. Every year since the first X Games there’s been a new trick or move that’s shut down the “Freestyle’s dead” punters, and I was watching every move from these guys to see FMX history unfold, and evolve to an even higher level. Both riders kept it low-key in the prelims, and did enough to ensure they advanced to the finals. The standard of riding was so high I would hate to be one of the dudes sitting in the judges’ box. The line-up of riders was incredible – Doug Parsons, Dustin Millar and newcomer Myles Richmond all kicked off with solid runs. Bamberg was the first to Flip and the American crowd showed their appreciation by roars of approval. Ronnie Renner threw down the sickest of Whips, but I think his little worm-dance routine at the end needs to go. Fresh off his Step Up gold Buyten showed he can handle the big hits as well by cruising straight into the double-double section with a Stripper then a Double Nac Indy. Bartram’s bike skills shone through with his timing spot-on, while McElroy was as smooth as ever, but like the other riders without the Flip, a podium position was way out of reach. Nate Adams was the most impressive, pulling out both Heelclicker and No Footer Flip variations, plus executing the Rock Solid, Jack Hammer and Double Hart with perfect style. Even Deegan comparing Adam’s run to Pastrana’s turned to me and said, “Nate schooled him!” Ronnie Faisst and Carey Hart were also standing close by so I stuck my recorder in their faces to get their take on prelim with Ronnie saying, “I think the judges did a pretty good job as Adams definitely had the sickest run, so I was stoked to see him being put first. It’s great to see everyone Backflipping the 80-footer, it’s out of hand and the sports just getting gnarlier all the time. I mean you just can’t do the Flip alone now, you gotta Flip the 80-footer with a variation. To take gold tonight you’re gonna have to Flip both ramps, with some kind of variation, plus you’re gonna have to have all the other tricks down, plus use as much of the course as possible, which is pretty much what Adams did. Travis’s run was also pretty sick but Adams had a better selection of tricks along with better execution. I’m glad that Adams got what he deserved in the prelim as sometimes Travis wins because he’s Travis ya know, which kinda sucks if you can beat him.” And Hart, “I’m really, really surprised and stoked for Adams as he’s really stepped it up out there. He’s usually a cautious rider, but he’s killing it man. Travis is Travis, he’s been riding at my house all week practising and looks solid. I’m psyched to see everyone riding so well and the level pushed so high. Last year it was all about just one Flip, like I did a completely stock Flip over 45 feet and got a silver medal, and tomorrow night in Big Air 10th place will be doing a Flip. I just think it’s great how much the sport is escalating, it’s getting hot man!”
The Mulisha Twist
Nate Adams was the name on most people’s lips as the favourite to take Freestyle gold, but it wasn’t on the judges, and being the first qualifier he was the last to have his final run. It was always going to take something special to win a medal and Deegan was the first of the finalists to come out and throw it down after a nervous run by throwing himself, with full commitment, into a 360 spin that he was real lucky to ride away from as he slightly over-rotated and landed to the left of the downramp in the soft dirt, which set the bike straight, and him straight into the history books as the first- ever rider to pull the move – which he later named “The Mulisha Twist” – on dirt and in competition. His score came through at 93 to set the benchmark, and the screams coming from the 50,000 strong crowd, who were now on their feet fisting the air, was deafening. Deegan had just thrown down the challenge to Pastrana and Nate to catch him, and this is where things got interesting. All eyes were glued to Pastrana during his final run. He entered the course with a Flip off the first double then followed it up with a huge Ruler off the second, which raised the energy level of the crowd in the Coliseum to maximum. After his strong finals start, Pastrana, with his injured knee, flew through a variety of Flip variations, but seemed to struggle with some of the standard tricks until he lined up the wide superkicker ramp at the end of his run and went for the 360. All looked sweet until he landed towards the bottom of the downramp really hard and bailed off the back. Unhurt he got back up and straight away lined up the kicker again, and this time held on for life to ride away. A magic 30 minutes of riding it was, two 360 Flips from two different riders, and it’s hard to find a word to describe the atmosphere in the Coliseum after Pastrana’s run. His score of 94.67 lit up on the big screen with a big first place, which was popular with the crowd, but Adams was still to follow.
Flawless – But Still Not Good Enough!
Nate Adams had just watched two riders before him ride away from the 360 Flip, which meant he had to pull out a flawless run for a shot at gold, and this he did. Just like his prelim run he executed his Flip variations, No Handed Cat, Rock Solid and Double Grabs to name a few, perfect. He didn’t make one mistake and by far had the most polished all-round run of the event. When his score came through at 93.33, which secured him the silver medal, many people questioned how the final outcome was judged, especially when the news came through that Deegan and Pastrana’s 360 Flips didn’t count, which meant Pastrana won gold with a crash in his run (remember when Hoppa was penalised at the 2001 Australian Summer X Games for dropping his bike over a berm, which relegated him from a possible gold to sixth place, and this was from an official X Games judge), and Deegan scored 93 for his run, which was similar to his prelim where he scored only 88.67. Pastrana is America’s moto wonder boy, and I’d hate to think this alone makes the difference over any other rider in him winning the gold, but I guess that close to Hollywood anything is possible. Talking to Nate afterwards he obviously was bummed on the deal, saying, “I feel OK but do think I should be up one more spot. I mean Travis wrecked in his run and then completed the 360 Flip afterwards, which I have the utmost respect for, but it wasn’t in his run, so I don’t understand how that works, as I know I could never have a run with a crash in it and beat Travis Pastrana. Oh well, maybe I’ll get it next time!”
Big Air – (A choice of two kickers to throw down your best trick from three attempts – highest score wins)
With Deegan clearly pisssed that his “Mulisha Twist” didn’t count at the Freestyle event, and Nate also dirty on the results, the showdown for the final Big Air gold medal at the Staples Centre was “off the hook!”. Pastrana and Hoppa chose to sit it out due to their injuries, as did Hart and Faisst after wrecking from Flips in practice, which sucked as Hart and Faisst were two of the guys I wanted to see do well. Twelve riders means a lot of tricks, so I’m just going to mention the standouts, starting with Mad Mike Jones and his crazy attempt at a Barrel Roll, which ended in disaster after he went at it in Mad Mike style and didn’t even look like pulling it off. I was hoping a foam pit would suddenly appear for the big fella, but instead he hit the dirt hard and slumped in a heap until he was stretchered off with the crowd cheering and he parked it for the night. Beau Bamberg also crashed hard on his second run while going for a Flip to Sterilizer, see what I mean about going hard. He was down for ages, and eventually got to his feet with the support of the crowd’s cheers to also park it for the night. Renner was back with his flat Whips, Buyten with a Rock Solid, DMC with his trademark Dead Body, Doug Parsons with a stretched Double Nac, Dave Demangos and Justin Homan with standard Flips, Cowboy Kenny kept it safe with a Heelclicker Flip, which secured him the bronze medal, while Chucky Corothers pushed hard with his One Handed Tsunamis. This leaves the two big guns, Adams and Deegan. Adams pulled out everything he had, which was a Backflip Heelclicker to a No Handed Landing. Like can you believe that only 12 months earlier a normal Backflip was considered insane! And this still wasn’t good enough as Deegan’s first run at the kicker saw him nail the Mulisha Twist perfect to ride away clean for the gold medal in what was a fairytale ending for the Metal Mulisha frontman (He did have a crack at the same trick with a variation on his second attempt, but it went a bit pear shaped and his head met with the downramp hard, and luckily suffered no injury). Deegan was fuelled with adrenalin after what was his most successful X Games ever, and he ended with “You know what? It’s good to see evil win once in a while as the good can’t always win. I was just stoked to represent the dark side tonight and come here and dominate, and when I say I’m here to win I pretty much mean it.” So that’s it, the word from the man himself and X Games over for another year, and putting the judging aside for a minute, the 2003 American X Games goes down as one of the most amazing moto experiences of my life, but you really need to experience it yourself to understand just how incredible these dirt-bike riders are when they’re pushed for the ultimate freestyle reward … X Games gold!
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