All eyes were on Mike Metzger heading into Saturday's Moto X Big Air Final at Winter X Games VII. This past August, Metzger set the freestyle MotoX bar at an all-time high by nailing back-to-back backflips at the X Games. Here in Aspen, Metzger was just one of three riders to have pulled a backflip.
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| The mighty Metz throwing the no footed backflip that won him gold. |
All three riders - Metzger, Caleb Wyatt and Nate Adams - broke out their money trick.
In practice, Metzger was landing his backflips so cleanly that some began wondering if he would attempt the trick over the 90-foot gap, instead of the steep 50-foot kicker built just for the backflip. Turns out he didn't need the big kicker.
On his second run, Metzger nailed a no-footed backflip, pulling his feet off the pegs as he was upside down in the air, earning a score of 93.33 and the gold medal. It was a nice addition to the gold medals he won in Freestyle and Big Air at last year's X Games.
"There had been a lot of talk going around about someone doing a 90-foot back flip," said Metzger after accepting his gold medal from NASCAR driver Robbie Gordon. "At summer X Games, I stepped up and did an 80-foot backflip, and maybe in the near future I'll be doing bigger backflips than 80 feet. But I felt really comfortable with sticking to the 50-foot and showing everyone what's new on the 90-foot."
What's new in Metzger's arsenal was the McFritz, which he created and only started practicing a week earlier. "It's a nac-nac, one-hander foot-grab, whipped," said Metzger. He landed it cleanly on his third and final run, though he had already clinched the gold medal.
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| Metzger may appear to own the backflip now but Caleb was the innovator. Caleb was the first person to ride away from a backflip on a motorcycle (250cc). Here he gets his due scoring a bronze with backflips on all three of his jumps. |
"Last night before I went to bed, I put my three jumps in order in my head," said Metzger. "I wanted to come out and do a smooth backflip, do a variation backflip no-footer, and the McFritz."
Metzger was the only rider to throw both the backflip and a combination trick. Wyatt threw three flips, jabbing his toe on the first and crashing on the second. He tried a no-footer on his third run but landed heavily, but still claimed the bronze medal. Adams continually came up short on all three attempts and just missed the podium, finishing fourth.
The big surprise of the day was Dayne Kinnaird who swiped the silver medal, without attempting a backflip. It was a clear sign from the judges that combinations and difficulty will still be scored higher than backflips that are not executed perfectly.
"The variation tricks that Dayne Kinnaird was doing are pretty technical," said Metzger. "Some guys are doing flips and some guys are doing the combinations, but the judges were really fair."
Kinnaird's highest-scoring trick was actually a botched trick, a turntable (a barhop, taking one hand off the bike, swinging both legs like a double can) capped off with a heel clicker. He threw it on his third and final run, earning a score of 92. However, according to the Australian, it was his second run, a McMetz to seat grab, that should have done the deed.
"Which run was the winning run?" asked Kinnaird. "It was the last one? I was doing a turntable and was going to let go but my hands stuck on. I had to do something so I did a heel clicker and it worked."
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| After his last jump Metzger no longer needs his bike ... here he is throwing it away. |
Wyatt actually tied for second place with a backflip on his final run, but he had to settle for third because a tie is broken by the riders' second highest score. He was the first rider to land a backflip on a 250cc bike and ride away clean, and he was the first competitor to try the backflip in Saturday's competition.
"(Going first) wasn't scaring me. I did it a few times in practice and knew I had it," said Wyatt. "But I had never really done it off a big rut like this. I was more scared for that last one. I did have some various combinations to go with them but that wasn't going to happen. Landing a clean backflip was tough today."
The insanely large crowd that gathered to watch the Moto X finals was greeted with a blaring sun and 50 degree temperatures that softened the snow and made for risky landings. Is this summer X or Winter X?
It may have felt more like summer X but that didn't stop an injured Brian Deegan, last year's Big Air gold medalist, from hurling snowballs at Metal Mulisha teammate Ronnie Renner after his runs.
No one knows what to expect at Summer X IX in Los Angeles … but we can count on Mike Metzger to give us something to talk about.
"I don't have any goals. I live day by day," said Metzger. "When Summer X Games come back, hopefully I will have all my practice in and be able to back myself up."
Related Photos:
Moto X Big Air Gallery
