Twitch will not be attending the X Games this summer- doctor's orders. Be sure to keep up with him on his blog. © Getty Images
X Games Preview: FMX
Aug 02 2006 / Los Angeles, CAThe time in between each major FMX competition this year must be killing Kenny Bartram, Travis Pastrana, and Nate Adams. There are, of course, other people gunning for the top spots, but it seems like the three of these guys are having more fun with it than anyone else. Example: Pastrana & Bartram's doubles run in Denver. It seemed as though there were no audience, no competition, no death-defying feats, just two close friends riding on their motorcycles. It was amazing. With the three of them going back and forth over the past few comps between who's in first, second and third, the X Games will be the perfect next step in this progression.
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But don't count anyone else out. Guap, Renner, Jones, Faisst - it's up for anyone. Unfortunately Jeremy Stenberg will not be riding at X this year. The doctors have told him that if he cuts off his casts (from his injury in Louisville) and tries to ride through the pain at the X Games, his Talus bone in his right foot could "die from lack of circulation, then collapse", and they would have to fuse it. When your foot gets fused it can't move anymore…at all. So he's making an obviously smart decision to skip X this year so that he can do things like continue to ride his bike, and...you know...walk.
Best trick will be pretty intense. These guys fall a lot. Actually, when you consider what they're doing, they don't fall very often - but when they do, it hurts. Broken backs, legs, necks, heads, arms, feet, sternums and every other bone in the body, all of this in the name of doing what they love and progressing as riders. And there is no place better for the progression of a sport than a Best Trick contest. Look at what they've done just recently. Four new tricks & combos were thrown down last week in Denver, including Nate Adam's "Lazy Boy Back flip", and Bartram's "One-Handed Take Off to One Handed Flip" (they should come up with a name for that). The point is all of this has set a very high & frighteningly large stage for the X Games FMX Best Trick event. Who knows what will happen. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to guess, so my advice is to just sit back and enjoy the show.
Moto X Step Up is a deceivingly interesting activity. Tommy Clowers will be the returning champion this year and his previous height to beat is 32' even. The first interesting thing is that the previous year's record, set by Jeremy McGrath, was 33'6". That means that this might be the only aspect of Moto X that is actually regressing as time goes on. But maybe not. You see, Clowers' height from that same year was 29' even. So that means he pushed himself up three feet from the last year. And that shows you what this is all about. Personal accomplishment, progression, pride. It's about overcoming something that seems completely ridiculous. Impossible. "I'm going to take a very very heavy motorcycle and ride it straight up a ramp and go a good three stories in the air, before landing it gracefully down on the ground." It is insane and it is a personal accomplishment. Then when you look at how many tries it takes (17 tries for McGrath) and you think about how much falling from 30+ feet hurts, you realize how ridiculous this event is.
FMX is an X Games cornerstone. These guys are the ballsiest of all the athletes there (possibly tied with Mega Ramp) and they risk it everyday out there.
It's worth checking out, to say the least.
- Cody Allen
