Related Photos: Moto X Freestyle Finals

It's the year of the backflip in Motocross and Mike Metzger is king. Normally in the Freestyle finals, things get pretty crazy and everyone goes for it, but the possiblity of injury can sometimes hold guys back. Out on the dirt on Friday though, was the full-on gnarliest Freestyle competition in history.

With a mix of older riders and up and comers who were looking for some respect in the finals, the question was who else was going to throw the flip. Everyone knew that Metzger had the backflip dialed in after the prelims yesterday, but when Kenny Bartram landed the flip from a step-up jump in practice, even Metz realized that he might need something else to take home all the glory. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

All of the riders put it out there but we'll focus on the top three because that is who goes home with the money and the women in this competition.

Drake McElroy takes the bronze with crazy extension and style like in this Cliffhanger.

Young gun Drake McElroy came out with both barrels blazing. Showing off some of the best style in the event and super extension on every trick, the kid was going big. You know you are going to score well when you go from a Corpse to a Double Seatgrab over the double set. Switching from the bars to the seat on back-to-back jumps and throwing your body fully out there requires some serious cajones. The judges definitely agreed that when you go big in this contest you will go home with a medal. Drake took third in his first X Games but was ready for more. "This is great, I'm stoked. I got the bronze, next year it's going to have to be gold," he said with a laugh.

Following McElroy was The Cowboy, Kenny Bartram, who knew it was going to take a flip or something brand new to win it all. Kenny launched into a massive Kiss of Death off the super kicker for his opener. Combo after combo came out with a Cliffhanger to no handed landing and Sidewinder to Saran Wrap topping the list. Kenny wasn't done though and ripped back around and lined up the step-up jump. Bartram threw himself for the gold, looking like he had the right speed and height as he got into the rotation, but the whole thing was off-axis and he had to bail, fracturing his right ankle in the process.

Second place finisher Kenny Bartram with a full bore backflip attempt. He pulled it around but was a bit off axis and ended up fracturing his right ankle

With only Metzger left to go, all The Godfather had to do was stick a solid run, complete the flip and then cruise to the bank to cash the first place check. Like I said though, this competition was a throwdown and Mike had other things on his mind. Metz came out to a roar from the crowd and kept it big with a Rock Solid and a Hart Attack then lined up for the Backflip ramp.

Now a few words are needed here about the technical middle section of the course. There was a jump over a 46-foot gap then 30 feet straight into a dirt jump to cover an 80 foot gap. It added a great new element to the course but know one knew how it would change the sport of Freestyle.

Metzger got things in order and nailed down the flip over the 46-footer as the crowd exploded. He accelerated for the headed to the second jump, throwing another Backflip across the 80-foot gap! Let's take a second to think about that. Back-to-back flips over a 46-footer and then an 80-footer. I didn't take a poll, but I'm pretty sure everyone in the place lost their minds at that point, because I know I did and the other riders did as well.

The winner, Mike Metzger, Backfliping his way to the top spot on the podium.

For those that don't follow Motocross, imagine trying a Backflip on your Huffy 10-speed at home over ONE QUARTER of a football field. Scary huh? Now add about 250 lbs. and a barking 250cc engine to that Huffy and tell me that isn't the burliest thing you have ever heard of. Oh yeah, and if you have to bail, you are falling from about 40 feet up. Ouch.

Metzger was mobbed as he threw his bike down and was psyched to have completed the trick now known as the Double Fritz. "I finished practice yesterday and I knew I was going to do it. I talked it over with my wife Mandi and I decided to throw it today. I figured that I just had to go for it and raise the bar," he said.

Now that things have changed in the world of Freestyle Moto, one can only guess what the next level will be. Metzger had some insight into that as well, saying: "I want to work on a 360 flip, a straight 360 and maybe a double backflip to set a record."

After watching Carey Hart's injury last year in Big Air, the backflip was seemingly on the back burner, after today it is here to stay. The new holy grail for Moto has to now be the 360 and it is only a matter of time until someone is able to dial that one in.

Related Photos:
Moto X Freestyle Finals