The Free Agent team recently got together for a session on the S.S Post Office ramps out in California. Here’s a look at all the action that went down from flips and whips to spins and more! If you’re looking for some dialed ramp riding, this will do the job or you.
Backyard Jam with Free Agent
The skateparks might be closed down, but luckily for some guys they still have access to ramps to ride. The Free Agent team decided to get some riding time in on Pat Casey’s backyard ramp setup. Hit play to check out what Ricky Moseley, Jared Eberwein, Daniel Sandoval and Jeremy Malott threw down during their session!
“With parks closed and being filled in with sand, where is a person going to ride? How about your friend’s backyard? Well, we thought it was a great idea.”
Chimera A-Side BMX Park Finals Highlights
It’s pretty wild how the Chimera A-Side contest had $90,000 up for first place for park AND flatland, and there really hasn’t been a ton of footage from the contest popping up, yet. Here’s a highlight video from finals that shows all the bangers that went down in park finals. Brandon Loupos ended up taking the win and all that cash, so we would imagine he’ll be sitting nice all year.
“Hammers from the final day of Chimera A-Side in Nagoya, Japan featuring Brandon Loupos, Daniel Sandoval, Logan Martin, Boyd Hilder, Pat Casey, Rim Nakamura, Marin Rantes, and Ben Wallace!” – Vital BMX
Chimera A-Side – First Impressions
We’ve seen some pretty wild BMX contests over the years, but what we haven’t seen is prize money that would definitely make an impact. The Chimera A-Side contest going down in Japan this weekend has a first place prize of $90,000. Prize money amounts can be kind of secretive for big events like X Games, but we’re pretty sure this is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, payouts for a 1st place in a BMX contest, which is awesome to see. Here’s a raw cut of some first impressions and a bit of riding footage that Vital BMX put together. It’s interesting to see the reaction these guys get when they contemplate what they would do if they won. We’ll see if the money is going to push people to go bigger than ever before to win. Either way, there’s going to be a park rider and a flatland rider with a real nice chunk of change in their bank account to start off 2020.
“We’re in Nagoya, Japan and the riders are about ready to compete for the $90,000 first place prize at the Chimera A-Side! Watch them get familiar with the course and hear how they’d spend the giant cash prize. Riders include Boyd Hilder, Logan Martin, Brandon Loupos, Daniel Sandoval, Justin Dowell, Ben Wallace, Rim Nakamura, and more!” – Vital BMX
Team USA Freestyle BMX Team Announced
The Team USA Freestyle BMX team has been announced…
If you were wondering who would be the first riders to represent team USA in the Olympics for Freestyle BMX… You now have your answer. Vital BMX just dropped a video and a whole bunch of information about who was selected for Team USA and what that means for these guys. After you check out the video, you can find out more on Vital BMX
“The United States of America officially has a freestyle BMX team.
Yesterday in Colorado Springs at The Olympic Training Center, USA Cycling named the following riders as members of their national team –
Nick Bruce
Colton Walker
Daniel Sandoval
Pat Casey
Justin Dowell
Hannah Roberts
Angie Marino
Cory Coffey
Along with naming the team, the athletes (and I, for some reason) got to explore the amenities The Olympic Training Center had to offer. From nutritionists to psychologists to masseuses – and much, much more – the riders have access to countless tools to maximize their abilities.
Is it weird? Yeah. Well, I take that back. No. It’s just new. New to us, that is. US Olympians have been using these tools for many years and have a whole lot of medals to show for it. With freestyle BMX officially becoming an Olympic sport, it only makes sense that – if they so choose – these riders will have access to all of the same things.
In addition to access to The Olympic Training Center, USA Cycling is also supporting the athletes financially. Pending their placings throughout the year, the athletes will land in one of three tiers. The top-tier athletes will receive benefits like fully-covered travel and even paychecks (a little over $2,000-per-month). All of the riders can receive monetary bonuses with good performances at major events.
To put it lightly, all of the riders were stoked at the opportunity to receive more much-needed support.
While this sounds great – and it is – the USA Cycling National Team is reevaluated quarterly. If a rider continues delivering favorable results, they have potential to grow with the team. If their results are less than stellar, they may fall to a lower tier of benefits or even be removed from the team entirely. There’s a good chance that the team in December of 2018 will look drastically different than this recently-announced team. Also, on the flip side, if riders not currently included from The United States are able to make a big impact, they can earn their way onto the team throughout the year. Competition is brutal!
While freestyle is young at USA Cycling and the majority of the people within the office walls are just starting to get familiar with it, I found my experience there enjoyable and promising. They don’t know much and they know they don’t know much. They’re open and they listen. That’s huge. If these guys came in thinking they knew how to run things, the entire US program would surely suffer. The higher-ups admit it’s a work in progress and, as time moves forward, I think we’ll be seeing more positive things coming from the crew.
Also, before you ask, I did discuss a freestyle training facility with USA Cycling. There aren’t currently any solid plans in place, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw something before The Olympics in 2020.
The future is bright. Thanks to USA Cycling for having me out and congratulations to all of the riders on taking their next formal steps in this new direction.” – Vital BMX
FISE Chengdu 2017 – Semi-Finals Highlights
FISE is in Chengdu, China this weekend and some of the wildest ramp riders in the world are dropping in and throwing down!
Whenever FISE rolls through Chengdu, China, you know you can count on seeing a bunch of familiar faces making the trip to drop in and throw down some heavy moves. Here’s a short but sweet highlight reel from Semi-Finals with 20 of the biggest tricks that went down! Expect to see plenty more from finals here soon!
“Bangers upon bangers from FISE: Chengdu semi-finals courtesy of Kyle Baldock, Logan Martin, Daniel Dhers, Daniel Sandoval, Pat Casey, Nick Bruce, and many more.” – Vital BMX
FISE Budapest 2017 – BMX Park Finals Highlights
This past weekend was FISE in Budapest, Hungary where some of the best BMX riders in the world made the trip. Below you can check out a full highlight reel from the finals where everyone was throwing down huge spins, tailwhip and barspin combos and more. It doesn’t look like the crazy wind slowed these guys down too much.
“All of the wind in Hungary couldn’t stop the twelve finalists at FISE: Budapest from throwing down banger-after-banger. Watch highlights and see how it all unfolded. Riders include Daniel Dhers, Kenneth Tencio, Daniel Sandoval, Colton Walker, Brandon Loupos, Jeremy Malott, Kostya Andreev, Irek Rizaev, Jake Leiva, and Alex Nikulin!” – Vital BMX
