4th of July Backflip Update
07.08.02
by: Alex Thompson
EXPN.com
Over the 4th of July weekend, Mike Metzger was working hard to prove that landing his multiple backflips over a 48ft. gap was no streak of incredible luck. With a host of professional riders visiting Mike's "Paradise Ranch" including Mike Jones, Clifford Adoptante, Ronnie Renner, Myles Richmond, Chuck Carothers, Trevor Vines, Nate Adams and Caleb Wyatt, the stakes going into the Summer X Games increased by an immeasurable factor. "Unbelievable" were the words spoken by Trevor Vines as Metzger successfully completed 21 backflips in a row with no crashes. Caleb Wyatt, the first rider to ever successfully execute a backflip and ride away was equally impressed. "The technique of backflipping off a ramp is much different than doing it off a step-up dirt lip like when I did it" said Wyatt. "As soon as my bike gets here, I am going to Dumont to try this into sand, and then I'll go for the 48ft. gap. I am confident I can do it this way too."
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| The Backflip...broken down. |
Mike's genuine love of the sport and his fellow riders kept him busy as he graciously performed the trick and explained the many hours of practice required to develop the technique that has allowed him to sail 48ft. and land the back flip over 30 times in a row. On Sunday as WFA Freestyle and Big Air World Champion Nate Adams was preparing to try the flip news came in that Travis Pastrana had successfully executed the backflip over 30 times on a dirt step-up lip at his home in Maryland. Apparently his cousin Greg Powell also successfully completed the flip and rode away, making him the youngest rider to ever complete the flip. Nate Adams under-rotated in his first attempt and fractured his collar bone, but will be ready for the X Games and has his eyes squarely fixed on the gold medal.
Part of this past weekend's backflip festivities included two trains featuring Myles Richmond, Nate Adams, Ronnie Renner and Trevor Vines all pulling monsterous tricks followed by Metzger finishing up with a back flip. Metzger and Travis have both successfully pulled backflip one-handers and backflip no-footers. With all of these developments in one week, who knows what will go down come the X Games in August. One week has proved that just the backflip won't win you the gold, you will need a backflip combo. Now that some of the top ranks have seen the flip, there is not doubt that Philadelphia will host the most incredible battle of Freestyle Moto-X in history. With a 360 still on the "yet to be executed" list, will that up-stage the flip if successfully pulled in competition? Possibly a body varial? In 6 short weeks the truth will be known, in the meantime keep it tuned here for all the developments.
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