Describing X Games 16's pro vert comp was tough. Riders went down, hard, and it was a tough contest to watch. Australia's Vince Byron went down stuck in turndown position and ko'd himself for a few minutes. Miraculously, he got up and walked away, but it was scary to watch. And then there was vert legend Kevin Robinson, who dislocated his shoulder a record three times during the finals. (He broke Hoffman's record of two dislocations in a vert finals.) "I hate shoulders," said Kevin. Robinson will be riding in a brace for the remainder of the season, and claims his shoulder dislocates every time he does a no-hander. After all was said and done, Kevin popped his shoulder back in and went straight into a 8-foot flair, which was amazing, on top of more dramatic crashes from DMC, Chad Kagy and Jimmy Walker.
At the end of the day, everyone was alive, and Jamie Bestwick won his fouth X Games Gold Medal in a row. Finishing in second after a tie breaker was Australia's Steve McCann, followed by the U.K.'s Simon Tabron in third. "Man, what a day. The four-peat is just crazy. But I'm happy to have won and made some BMX history," said Bestwick. Tonight marked the first ever four-peat in pro vert ever at X Games.
Other highlights, aside from the sheer toughness of every pro in the vert class, was Coco Zurita and his newfound affinity for high air. Don't get me wrong, Coco has been coming into his own with both tricks and style for the past four years in the pro vert ranks, but he's now the owner of a consistent 12-foot vert pump, and he was the only rider in the pro vert class to reach into the Bestwick stratosphere. Add his Ruben Alcantara-esque style and ability to toss double whips at random, and it's easy to say that Coco has a bright future ahead of him in vert.
In other news, Rob Darden has dropped out of park, moving Dennis Enarson into park finals for tomorrow, which starts at 12 noon, followed by Big Air finals at 6 p.m. Kevin Robinson, Chad Kagy and Steve McCann are pulling double duty, moving from pro vert finals today to big air finals tomorrow. Let's hope Kevin's shoulder can stay in place. To every vert gladiator, we say thanks for coming out swinging. Final results are here.
And for all things X Games 16, check here.
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