With the X Games about two weeks away from hitting Austin, Texas for the final time, we’re getting the first look at just what to expect from the courses that the BMX guys will be going to work on. As some of you may have heard, the X Games have decided to switch back to a more traditional style park contest versus the bowl style contest they have held over the past few years. Along with that, they have also brought BMX street back, to go along with dirt, vert and big air. Above is a look at the park course that still has a pretty flowy bowl feel. Personally, I was thinking they would go even more “park” like they did back in the day with the big box jumps and spines, but I think this one should allow for a little more flow and speed that we got out of the previous bowl versions. It will be interesting to see if the contest will transition to more progressive tricks since it will be less reliant on quarter tricks and transfer lines to throw down, since there appears to be a spine, box, hitching post and a few other features that could lead to some wild riding we haven’t seen in years past.
With the return of BMX to the street contest, we’re sure a bunch of you are excited to see what can be cooked up here. The X Games have changed up the street courses quite a bit over the years from that course they designed to make look like it was actual street obstacles, to the weird multi-teared course two years back that I personally felt lead to riders going down the course, then having to make their way back up just to go back down again. This course appears to be flat with transitions on both sides to keep the momentum. It’s a little hard to gauge off the photo, but it almost feels like there’s a bit of dead space in the middle that could utilize a few ledges or something, but that’s just personal opinion once again.
It’s always good to see the dirt course since that’s always been something I get especially stoked on. This years layout looks to be pretty straight forward with a less hips and berms than we’ve seen in the past courses. I’d imagine this will lead to some crazier tricks since it will be less reliant on making sure you are going to be able to do a trick that will set you up for a right or left hip, or a berm that you will need to hit just right to hold your speed going into the next jump. It will be interesting to see how this one pans out.
The X Games kept the vert ramp pretty standard for this year. Over the years we’ve seen a few different variations with hips, gaps and some other features to make things a little more interesting. I’d imagine since this is a pretty standard ramp we will see more consistency, which is always a good thing since it’s always a bummer seeing a run get destroyed in the 2nd or 3rd wall.
As always, the Big Air ramp is looking massive. This is one of those ramps that you really have to see in person to really understand the magnitude of how gnarly this ramp really is, and why only a few guys are actually willing to ride it. Let’s just hope there is no wind this year.
That’s the preview of the X-Games course. This year the contest runs from June 3rd – June 5th and should be an interesting one, especially considering it’s the final run in Austin, Texas, so we would imagine they will go all out to make it a good one.
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