Metal Mulisha fans around the world are celebrating tonight now that
Brian Deegan has captured his first X Games gold medal, winning the Big Air competition on Saturday.
It was a day for the old-schoolers as Deegan took the gold, Mad Mike grabbed the silver and
Tommy Clowers brought home the bronze. The three joked about the age factor on the podium as the hardware was handed out.
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| The men who got it done. |
"That's what separates us old-school guys from the new kids," said Deegan. "Us old-school guys have it in us to pull it out when it gets gnarly. It's inside us."
Going into the competition, the word was that Deegan had a new trick which no one, not even his team manager knew about. He calls it the Mandatory Suicide, named after the Slayer song. It's a double can can, right hand off the bike, landing with both legs on the right side of the bike (sidesaddle). He hit the trick perfectly, jumping off his bike at the end of the runway and getting the crowd roaring.
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| Deegan throws the Mandatory Suicide. |
"I just want to say thanks to everyone who supports the Mulisha, I did that for all of them," he said with a grin after the competition. "It's been way too many years for this to happen, I'm just down for the Mulisha, you know."
Going into the final round of the event, no one was able to get near Deegan, with many of the guys throwing the Rock Solid with some personal tweaks. Mulisha member
Justin Homan came with his guns loaded, bringing out the Holy Man and even landing it no-handed during his second run.
The final round was when they all let it go and the combinations really began.
Jeff Kargola led things off with the Oxecutioner. Several riders later it was Clowers with a no look cat nac that vaulted him into third place.
Nate Adams gave it his best shot with a Rock Solid to no-hander lander, but by then it seemed like the judges had seen the Rock Solid too many times during the day, so it was only good for fourth place.
Mike Jones, after two solid opening runs, knew he had to step things up. He went for the Mandatory Suicide with a bit more of an Indian Air flavor, but it was just not enough to overtake Deegan.
"I had never landed sidesaddle before, but I had to. I didn't have any other choice," Jones said of his final trick.
The night before the competition, at the request of
Kris Rourke, the course builders carved a backflip jump out of the landing ramp. This was no step-up jump. This was a burly, straight vertical kicker that was at least 15 feet high, definitely larger than the one in Philly. For all the work, the ramp was never used.
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| Got Backfilp? Not today... |
When Rourke showed up to Aspen the only bike he brought was a modified 167. After inspecting the icy wall of a jump, Rourke decided against using his bike and borrowed
Dan Pastor's, who was out with a shoulder injury. A few revs on Pastor's bike and Rourke decided that he was over it all and he withdrew from the competition.
So no backflip this time kiddies, but after Deegan set the record straight and brought the Mulisha back to the top, who cares?
Related Photos:
MotoX Sequence Gallery
Moto X Big Air II
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