Well everyone, it's a wrap. X Games 14 has come to an end and another history breaking year of Moto is in the books.
August 4, 2008, 12:28 AM
Well everyone, it's a wrap. X Games 14 has come to an end and another history breaking year of Moto is in the books. I'll be following up with post-event interviews, updates and photo galleries, which can be found at EXPN's permanent moto blog titled The Brap Haps. Speaking of The Brap Haps, have you checked it out since X Games has started? If not, I highly suggest you check out this blog post if you want to see exclusive video of Ryan Capes setting a new distance world at a crazy 390' 4".
That's it for now—I'm off to Canada to go find a cave in the forest to hide in for a month or two. I'll leave you with this super radical X Games 14 wrap up video. Till next time...Seacrest out.
If you weren't able to catch the Men's and Women's Moto X Racing action from today's events at Home Depot Center, I gotcha covered. Dim the lights, butter up the popcorn and prepare to be brapified!
Wanna see Jeremy Lusk's gold medal winning run from tonight's Moto X Freestyle final? Too bad beeeyatch! Just playin' playa—keep on keepin' on and stuff. Man, it's been a long week.
It's only fair if we're going to talk with the ladies we give the same treatment to the men. Quotes from the track and post-final press conference for Moto X Men's racing, where Gold went to Josh Hansen, silver to Jeremy McGrath, bronze to Josh Grant.
Jeremy McGrath
ESPN: Given the amount of laps you had to run today, did you feel all of 36?
McGrath: Sort of, at the end. Well, with the back to back races, I did, but I've been putting in the time so it wasn't so bad. But it's hot, and it's a lot of riding.
ESPN: When you fell and had to run in the last chance qualifier, were you worried about having to turn around and race again?
McGrath: I was totally worried. You get a bad pick on the gate, but thankfully my starts are still there. It sure takes the pressure off if you make it through the qualifier, but it didn't happen.
ESPN: When Josh Hill passed you for second, then fell, was that due completely to the power of your aura and legend?
McGrath: I don't know. It was a little mojo, maybe. He passed me on the inside. I went back under and bumped him a little, pushed him outside and kind of knocked him off his rhythm, and then he made a mistake. It was really just a defensive move on my part. I got kind of lucky.
ESPN: So it wasn't a Jedi mind thing?
McGrath: No, I didn't put a hex on him or anything.
At the Press Conference
Hansen: I really didn't make any mistakes. You just have to be consistent and carry good fluid momentum through each obstacle. I really lucked out on my start, since (Grant) actually got the start, but the slick pushed him out wide and he gave it up.
ESPN: Did you surprise yourself to see that you were so alone looking around after the start?
Hansen: You know what, I knew I had to get a start. I've always been pretty good at starts, but definitely. I had a good spot on the line, but with a pretty big bump in it. I made it happen, but kind of lucked out, too. That definitely made everything a lot easier.
McGrath: The track was pretty hard to ride. It was really slick, and like Josh said, easy to over ride. But I'm glad they didn't water. It was really slick and dusty, but had they watered, it would have been a disaster. As slick as it was, the guys did a good job on the track.
ESPN: Jeremy, did you try to prove to the younger guys that you still have it?
McGrath: You know, I don't know if I still have it or not. It's nice, and we got a few gifts out there with Hill crashing and Josh Summey came inside me, and I just kind of played it smart. I think my experienced helped me, and obviously my starts were great. It was a bummer that I collided with Grant in the first heat, because it takes the pressure off for sure to qualify out of the heat, but it didn't happen. I ended up running 23 laps right in a row. I'm pretty worked right now.
ESPN: Josh (Grant), were you happy with your result?
Grant: Just to get a medal, it was an awesome for me, and a good experience. The track was a little tough, and I'm just excited to be up here. I had a good jump and got out of the gate really good and came into the first turn in first, but it was so slick I slid to the outside, and four or five guys got around me. I just stayed where I was at, really, and Summey and the other guys made a mistake, and I luckily got around him, then I made a mistake and went down and fell off in the step up/step down, so to come back and get third was good.
I had a chance to talk with some hardware hauling Moto X riders after Saturday's women's final. Here's the verbiage, from the top of the podium.
Tarah Geiger, Gold, Women's Moto X
EXPN: The first Women's Moto X gold is yours. Geiger: It's a lot of stress off me. I don't have to worry about it at all for next year, because I got the first one. It's just going to be a fun event for years to come. Everyone else has to worry about it and try to get it done. Luckly, I did it.
EXPN: Did you see Jessica Patterson go down? Geiger: Yeah, she was right in front of me. Luckily, I was just far enough behind that I could change my line and avoid her. She was definitely going fast, and it was a little bit of a relief she went down because I would have had to make a pretty gnarly pass to get by her—it was pretty slick out there. It was nice I didn't have to do that. But I do wish we could have raced a little longer.
EXPN: Nobody else was near you, so was it just a question of being careful not to screw up? Geiger: Yeah. I was a little disappointed because on the last few laps I didn't look as good as I did in the first few, but I just wanted to make sure I finished and didn't crash. I've done that a lot, crashing in the lead. I just wanted to make sure I finished and won the gold.
EXPN: Not everyone was hitting the kicker and some of the obstacles on the course. Was it important for you to show people you could handle that sort of thing? Geiger: Yeah. I was stressing this morning because there were a few triples I wanted to do out there. I knew I could do them, and I didn't want to go out and not give my best, so I got them in practice and was able to do a few laps out there. I was really excited about how I rode.
Sherri Cruise, Silver, Women's Moto X
EXPN: You got bumped pretty hard right at the beginning, how close were you to going down? Cruise: Not very. As soon as she hit me, I gassed it. I knew I wasn't going down.
EXPN: So you were in the top three the whole time. It looked like you were having a pretty good run. Cruise:I was in third the whole time, then Jessica Patterson fell and I moved into second. I came around and saw the yellow flags and thought it was a lapper, then I got close enough to see, and was like, "Oh my god, that's Patterson." You can't jump on the waving yellow, so I was like singling it and pinning it, singling it and pinning it. Hurry, hurry, hurry. She got her bike running right when I was passing, and I knew if she got up she'd pass me again, but I guess she crashed again.
I didn't think Tatum was going to catch me, so I knew if I didn't go down I'd stay in second.
EXPN: Where do you put the medal? Cruise: I haven't decided yet. Probably in my room for now. Maybe give it to my mom and dad.
