X Games Wrap: Day 1

Day 1 of X Games 2011 has come and gone, some amazing new things were accomplished / attempted while some things just left us shaking our heads.

First off, congrats to Matt Buyten for winning Step Up, we are stoked that these guys get the opportunity to compete at X Games and keep Step Up alive, however we have to ask why on earth X Games would drop events such as BMX dirt and Supercross, yet leave Step Up in?

Next up of course was the fan-judged Best Whip contest. Before we talk about winners and losers I think special mention must got to Aussie Jarryd McNeil, Frenchman and Unit team rider Tom Pagès and former Best Whip winner Todd Potter. Those three guys are really taking whips to a new level, and getting their bikes turned inside-out to the point where Todd Potter even crashed out while trying to get one of his whips back.

In regards to the 'fan based' voting system, I think it is fair to say, and that everybody in the industry will agree, that it is an unfair and completely biased system. Twitch is a legend of the sport, and we totally respect him and what he still does on the bike, but to think he actually had the "best whip" in that contest is a little more than questionable; his legion of fans from the past decade really won him that gold medal. So in the end it was Twitch who took gold, Potter with silver and McNeil with bronze. Unit's Tom Pagès didn't rate a mention, which shows the obvious flaws in this popularity contest-style judging format.

PHOTO: Courtesy www.espn.com/action

Moto Best Trick is always the highlight at X Games, and makes for the biggest and most crazy tricks / crashes / attempts / accomplishments from the whole event. This year it was unfortunate that Maddo, Bilko and Kyle Loza all had to pull out due to injury, but that doesn't take anything away from the likes of Jackson Strong, Cam Sinclair and Josh Sheehan who all risked their lives to win medals. In the end Jacko took home the gold for his perfect Front-flip, ahead of Cam Sinclair's Double Backflip Nac and Sheehan's clean Double Backflip (the first he has ever landed).

Special mention must go to Taka Higashino for his One-Handed Seatgrab Backflip! This guy is insane, and definitely a step above anyone else when it comes to Seatgrab flip tricks. Adam Jones also landed his first Double Grab Backflip, which was great to see.

Travis Pastrana showed up with all the hype, it was public knowledge he would be attempting his 720 and had he landed it, was a sure bet for gold. In the end though, the crowd watched as Pastrana crashed in almost the exact same way as the last X Games where he attempted the trick.

Everyone was cheering him on, and it really was a rare sight to see Travis fail anything he put his mind to. He managed to hop back on the bike after the first crash, and obviously not too happy with his efforts, went for it again! The second time around, he landed even harder and ended up being carried off course. The end result for Pastrana was a broken foot/ankle, and an early finish to what was meant to be a massive weekend of competition.

Jed Mildon stares down the Megaramp. PHOTO: Kramer Patterson

Finally, the BMX Big Air went down. Heavy hitters Andy Buckworth, Morgan Wade and James Foster were all injured so it opened the door for the likes of Vince Byron and Unit's Jed Mildon to get a good shot to compete. Jed hasn't had the time and facilities to really get comfortable on the traditional megaramp setup, so the possibility of a Triple Backflip was very, very slim. He ended up attempting the Double Backflip Tailwhip, but again had a lot of trouble on the mellow megaramp setup. In the end it was Steve McCann who took the win with a Double Frontflip over the megaramp, and then a Double Tailwhip on the quarter pipe. Vince Byron took 2nd place with a Backflip Double Tailwhip and a 540 No-Hander on the quarter.

Heading into the rest  of the weekend, we still have BMX Park, Moto Speed & Style and Enduro X to come! Best of luck to Unit athlete Kyle Baldock, who has qualified through to the BMX Park finals.

Below is a few news articles from the first day of the event which feature some video and highlights from the action...

NEWS ARTICLE: Pastrana Breaks Foot / Ankle

NEWS ARTICLE: Jacko Wins Best Trick

NEWS ARTICLE: McCann Wins Big Air

Source: http://www.unitriders.com/united-states/news-and-culture/blog/2011/7/29/x-games-wrap-day-1/index.htm

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