10.10.01
by: Paul T/LXD

(Oct. 9, 2001) Malibu, CA - The FreeRide Moto-X Championships, presented by THQ, once again proved itself the undisputed cutting edge stage for the most radical tricks and extreme performances in the sport of freestyle motocross.

The two-night event in Nashville, TN, Oct. 5 & 6, saw new dimensions of insanity overtaking the forces of gravity, with riders pushing the limits with X Games Big Air qualifying on the line.

On Friday night, Kris "The Rock" Rourke stunned the screaming crowd and sent shockwaves through the freestyle motocross world with a double win, taking the Big Air and FreeRide, both highlighted by the unveiling of a trick never seen before, a Superman Double Seat Grab to a Double Nothing. With his body extended behind the rear fender, Rourke takes off both hands and extends them out. On Friday night he had jaws dropping by reaching forward and grabbing the bars (not the fender!) to get back on, pulling himself to a clean, safe landing only by millimeters of skin on the very tips of his fingertips.

But the boundaries of the unknown were pushed even further back by Justin Homan on both nights of the competition. The mild-mannered CPA from Oregon (yeah, that's right an accountant, a bean counter), blew everyone's mind and perhaps opened the door to a whole new dimension of craziness on dirt bikes by hooking a bungee cord to his belt buckle and then attaching it to the gas tank. Then, while airborne, pushed himself entirely away from the bike and flew outstretched over the bike - and a new trick was born, The Holy Man. Saturday night he won the Big Air with this trick, adding a no handed lander to his airborne acrobatics.

Justin Homan displays his insane new trick the "Holy Man".

And there was more. "Sweet" Doug Parsons did a whipped out super nac that had eyeballs throbbing in both nights of Big Air competition.

However, all of these astounding one-trick fireworks should not overshadow the incredibly smooth and radical performance by the 17-year-old Nate Adams, now a committed member of the FreeRide Moto-X tour. Adams whipped out his always insane Tsunami, as well as following Rourke's lead by letting go with both hands while stretched out behind the bike for a FreeRide victory Saturday night and a second on Friday night, as well as two top five's in Big Air which will be sending the youngster to Big Air at X in Aspen this winter. A satisfying night indeed.

It took that level of riding to finally put an end to the amazing streak of the hard-charging Clifford Adoptante, fresh off a pair of Vans Triple Crown wins, with The Flyin' Hawaiian still looking slick, stylish and very radical (highlighted by his trademark "Fred Flintstone" - running no-handed by the bike in mid air) earning him a third place FreeRide finish on Friday, just being nudged out by Adams on Saturday night for a very hard-earned and more than respectable second.

The trademark Step Up also saw fierce competition. With reigning Gold Medal champ Clowers taking a powder, Friday night saw Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg eliminate the hard-charging new leaper, Ronnie Renner, of the East Coast Extreme Team. Saturday night, Renner turned the tables, taking the win.

With the event in the history books, here's how Big Air for Winter X shapes up:

Pre Qualified (Previous X Games Gold Medallists)
Travis Pastrana
Mike Jones
Tommy Clowers
Kenny Bartram
Qualified from Nashville (combined Big Air results from both nights)
Kris Rourke
Clifford Adoptante
Nate Adams
Doug Parsons
Brian Deegan

Three Wild Cards will be Awarded Shortly to fill out field of 12

Full results from both nights of competition on Freeridemotox.com.

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