ESPN

The competition in Moto X Step Up has become more serious. Bike set-up has become more specific. The amount of emphasis placed on this event by the riders, fans and promoters has increased. For years the Step Up course builders have made adjustments to the lip and landing, constantly searching for a better hit, reaching for bigger heights. For 2009, builder Dane Herron decided to pay more attention to accuracy in measurement.

Step Up is simple. It's a motorcycle high jump, or pole vaulting with a motorcycle instead of a pole. Riders hit a 12-foot vertical wall to catapult body and machine over a rod that loosely rests upon a set of uprights. The PVC pipe-based set-up that's been in use by XG for years wobbles and sways when a rider clips the bar. Adjustments are difficult and putting the bar back on the uprights has always been a clumsy—and sometimes comical—chore.

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The current field of BMX vert competitors is populated with a number of legendary riders, and Kevin Robinson has one of the most storied histories of them all. Coming up under the wing of the Condor (Mat Hoffman), K-Rob joined the Hoffman Bikes team way back in 1992, making 2009 his 17th year with the brand. That kind of loyalty isn't found too often in the world of action sports, and it's a good indication of Robinson's character. A fierce competitor and dedicated family man, Kevin is a fine example of what determination and perseverance can produce.

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The first SuperMoto gold medalist at X Games was dirt-tracker turned road racer Ben Bostrom. That was 2004, and every gold medalist since has been from a motocross background. JR Schnabel, a 15-year veteran of the AMA Grand National Dirt Track Championship, is coming to XG to prove that dirt track racers make the best Supermoto competitors. "The neatest thing is just being there [at XG], but I am coming to win."

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In the world of BMX street competition, Sean Sexton is a giant-killer. The giant in question? Garrett Reynolds, the 18-year-old ball of boundless energy from New Jersey who is the assumed victor in every street contest he enters. Prior to the introduction of the BMX Street event at X Games '08, Garrett had won three X Games-related events in international locales, including Mexico and Dubai in '07 and Brazil in '08. Sexton, who had earned silver in Brazil, came away from X Games '08 with a bronze behind Reynolds and silver medalist Van Homan. However, Sexton brought Reynolds' reign to an end the following month, at the '08 version of the Mexican event.

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The Park roster is extensive (20 athletes), but only a handful will be competitive for the podium. Of course, Rune Glifberg (DEN) is the clear favorite, but there are a few other competitors who could claim the title if they are skating their best.

Skating a bowl is all about style, and each skater has something different to offer. Defending gold medalist Glifberg, The Great Dane, has unique style. Tony Trujillo earned bronze in 2008 and skates the bowl fast, taking risks. Omar Hassan barely missed the podium in 2008 (finishing fourth) and has a natural, freestyle riding style around the bowl, doing whatever comes to him. Omar is always a top contender in bowl contests, but he's still looking for his first X Games medal: In fact, Omar's 16 XG competition starts (in 10 XG appearances) without a medal is an XG record; no other athlete has as many as comp starts without hardware. Andy Macdonald earned silver in 2008, and he's got the consistency, plus hard grinds and tricks, to make him a contender again in 2009, even though he's known more as a vert skater.

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Travis Pastrana speaks on the record (and on camera)! Pastrana is preparing for his first foray into X Games Best Trick since 2006, when he struck gold with the first double backflip thrown in competition. While he hasn't exactly been secretive about his plans, he hasn't talked about them on the record, either. Until now.

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Meet Karen Jonz, age 24, from Santo Andre, Brazil. She is sassy, spunky, talented and possibly the most motivated woman in skateboarding. The defending gold medalist in Women's Vert has come a long way since she was a ragtag grom skating the streets of Brazil; she recently moved to the skatepark-saturated streets of Southern California, has started her own company and spends her "downtime" competing against the boys. We caught up with Miz Jonz (who, FYI, is busy 24-7) for a quick one-on-one.

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Yet another X Games rookie to be discovered thanks to YouTube, Willy Watts, age 23, from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, turns wrenches Monday through Friday and moonlights as a motocross demo rider on weekends. When footage of Watts throwing a new body varial into the foam pit caught the attention of the right people, Watts earned an invitation to XG Best Trick.

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Three-time X Games Big Air gold medalist Danny Way (age 35) has dropped out of X Games Big Air in order to focus completely on the X Games debut of Big Air Rail Jam, though he'll remain involved in XG Big Air as an announcer. Danny sees the Rail Jam as the next step in the advancement of skateboarding and said his whole mission is the progression he can bring to that event. "I'm skating the Rail Jam, so obviously I'm not retired," Way said. "It's not about me, me, me. It's about everyone else getting the exposure; that's my role."

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"I want to get to 40 feet."

The bar is 35 feet above the cold, concrete floor but Matt Buyten doesn't see it. He can only see the 12-foot wall looming 25 feet ahead. Maybe a mathematician could figure out the best formula to launch a 230-pound motorcycle over that bar amidst the numbers and variables, but Buyten doesn't have time for a math lesson. He has two attempts to clear what is, to him, an imaginary line far above his head. There are thousands hovering over him in the stands and millions more watching on television, but Buyten is blind to it all. Welcome to Step Up, a game of height and fearlessness.

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