Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128391
"Best Sequence Shot" of Mike Mason by Steve Densmore. Miller says. "I could have a lot more fun, so it was kind of cool:' But does that mean there are no big tricks? Far from it. While freeride venues don't lend themselves to the most difficult tricks, Overall, Miller's runs proved to be the most consistently outstanding in the eyes of like backflip combos, don't think the athletes are content to throw simple whips as his peers when all the riders gathered and watched footage of each run in the four their most radical moves. stages. Like the rest of the group, he applauded letting the riders be the judges. "I think it worked out a lot better because you have the guys that were there, and "That's kind of what I [expected from] this whole contest - it's just about being they know what would be tough for each section," he points out. smooth," Renner confesses. "But you get guys like [Dustin] Miller "You could go to a [regular] contest, and a judge could watch you. out there, and, I guess, myself: I'm throwing Rulers over jumps, Say there's an 80-foot dirt jump with a really messed-up lip or and Miller's throwing Rock Solid combos on fourth-gear, widesomething, they can't see that because they're not riding it. But open jumps. I guess they're not big tricks to our standards, but, [here] everyone's riding the jumps and judging, so they know what yeah... There are no 360s, none of the next big thing; you're not tricks would be tough on that kind of jump." going to see that out there." Though he could certainly be accused of having a bit of bias, The winner of the Red Bull X-Fighters freestyle event in Mexico Miller believes "contests like [Red Bull Ride to the Hills] should City the week before, Southern California's Renner adapted well pretty much be the wave of the freestyle future. There's always to the freeride terrain of Red Bull Ride to the Hills, finishing third. going to be arena tours and stuff like that, but I think if they had X As Mike Mason of Nevada pointed out, "It's all big jumps. Games at a place like this Dackpot Ranch], you'd see a lot of new There are a lot of people who probably couldn't do a lot of the talent coming out. tricks that most of us did out there." "I think that's where [freestyle] needs to go more, because we And like the other competitors, Mason fed off the energy of his have these bikes that have all this power and all this suspension, fellow competitors, using that to boost his own performance. and when we ride around in little arenas, we hardly get to use any Mason demonstrated that in the very first section of the contest. of it:' Miller adds. "[At Jackpot], you're using third and fourth gear "I'd have to say probably the first section - I think it was the and pinning it over stuff!" Red Bull section with the big tabletop into a kind of left-hand whip Just as freestyle has evolved into its niche in motorsports, so jump:' he recalls of what he felt was his best run. "I did a Rock have the photographers who capture images of it. The Red Bull Solid my first jump off the tabletop, then I did a Super Can over Mike Jones in miCIaIr. Ride to the Hills not only featured 10 amazing freestyle athletes the next one. The next round I did a no-handed Superman [off competing on their bikes, but it also gathered some of the top phothe tabletop). tographers who've made names for themselves shooting them. And like the riders "The no-handed Superman is one of the tricks I kind of set a goal to do [here], judging one another's tricks to determine a winner, the photographers would vote on because I've only done it over ramps in contests:' he continues. "So, I was pretty the top images produced, with the best one earning its shooter a trip to Madrid, Spain, pumped to be able to do that. That's what I did [at Ride to the Hills]. I just set goals to cover a future Red Bull X-Fighters freestyle event. Results of the photocross for myself - what tricks I wanted to do off what jumps. I was pretty pumped I got all shootout, six category winners were: Best Tight Shot, Adam Campbell; Best Wide of them." Shot, Adam Campbell; Best 5equence Shot, Steve Densmore; Best Lifestyle Shot, Klee And doing so got him the runner-up spot behind eventual winner Dustin Miller and van Hamersveld; Best Scenic Shot, Nick Ciotti; Best Creative Shot, Adam Campbell. his Suzuki RM250. As last year's runner-up, Miller claims his experience then made this year's Ride to the Hills much more comfortable. Final Standings: I. Dustin Miller; 2. Mike Mason; 3. Ronnie Renner; 4. Doug Parsons; 5. Myles Richmond; "It just seems like this year, I didn't have the nervousness of everything being new," 6. Brian Foster; 7. Sean Nielson; 8. Drake McElroy; 9. Mike Jones; 10. Dan Pastor. To cast your vote, log on to WEb Online poll results from last week Who will win the X Games Moto X SuperMoto Race? INSiTE Cyclenews.com reader poll question of the week ~ What is your opinion on the pit stops during the X Games Moto X Supermoto race? A. It made it more exciting, by adding drama and strategy. B. It made keeping track of the leaders confusing and did little for the racing. C. They should run the race as a sprint race like last year. D. Who cares? It was cool either way. A. Eric Bostrom B. Doug Henry C. Jeremy McGrath D. Gary Trachy E. Travis Pastrana F. Chad Reed G. Johnny Murphree H. EddySeel I. Kurt Nicoll J. JelfWard 425 2100 202 16 98 86 50 120 42 355 (11.30%) (55,82%) (5.37%) (0.43%) (2.60%) (2.29%) (1.33%) (3.19%) (1.12%) (9.44%) K. Mark Burkhart L. Benny Carlson M. Steve Drew N. Chris Fillmore O. Jurgen Kunzel P. Ivan Lazzarini Q. Kevin Windham R. David Balfeleuf S. Darryl Atkins 13 25 8 6 70 II 112 5 18 (0.35%) (0.66%) (0.21%) (0.16%) (1.86%) (0.290/0) (2.98%) (0.13%) (0.48%) Total Replies: 3762 CYCLE NEWS • AUGUST 17, 2005 81