Scotty Cranmer and Super-Powered Morgan Wade Prove BMX Park is Alive and Well

Aug 05 2006 / Los Angeles, CA

Scotty Cranmer lit up the BMX Park contest, starting off his first run with a tail whip drop from the giant roll-in, boosting a huge air over the first hip, and stirring amazing tricks throughout.

PHOTO GALLERY Check out Scotty Cranmer in the X Games BMX Park Finals gallery.  VIEW GALLERY >

His first run featured an enormous double whip 360 and a turn-down front flip on the step-up jumps, and his score of 91.66 stood strong: by the time Cranmer's second run came around, he was already golden, leaving him time for an impressive victory lap. He repeated the tail whip drop from the roll-in, boosted even higher off the hip for a double whip, then had a bit of fun before waving to the fans.

The BMX Park drama at X Games 12 started before today's first rider even dropped in: Dave Mirra's slam in practice earlier in the week sent him to the hospital for a lacerated rib, forcing him to miss the X Games for the first time ever. Ryan Nyquist – another favorite to win coming in to this contest – sprained his knee in park practice yesterday coming over the big hip with an alley-oop 270.

That left the field wide open and gave young rider Chase Hawk cause to celebrate in his hotel last night when he learned he was in as first alternate. Hawk did it up in style for his first X Games, throwing a big 270 over the hip, pulling a big opposite 360, and just barely pulling off a 180 to fakie. He finished in 10 place, but you can expect to hear his name again.

Morgan Wade is basically a superhero and can do just about anything he wants to on a bike. The single biggest moment in today's contest was a gargantuan gap transfer in the beginning of his first run: heading into a bowled section of the course, he launched off a small quarter-pipe and soared across nearly the entire bowl to land high in the vert on the roundwall section. From up in the stands, it looked as if he was carving an arc around the bowl… only his wheels weren't
touching anything but the void. He took home the Silver for his efforts; even Wade knew enough to give it up for Cranmer.

Venezuelan rider Daniel Dhers took the Bronze with a smooth, fast run featuring a double-whip flair.

Perhaps the real story here is that today's contest proves BMX Park is alive and well, good news considering the dwindling options for these riders. Though the rise in free, public, concrete skateparks is incredibly good news for skateboarders, it hasn't played out so well for BMX riders: many of the new public parks are either unfriendly towards bikes or forbid them completely. Meanwhile, many of the good private parks that previously allowed bikes have shut down because they couldn't compete with all the free skateparks. That conundrum is a shame, and the brilliant course design for today's contest suggests a future for bike-friendly wood parks… if anybody can get them built outside of the X Games.

– Colin Bane