who claimed his third consecutive Gold medal in the BMX Vert by producing what the legendary Mat Hoffman called Vince’s “best ride ever”.
Scoring an impressive 87.33 in his first of three runs, he was flying solo with the rest of the impressive lineup left in his wake to contest silver and bronze. Simon Tabron of the UK was the rider to scoop bronze, much to his delight. He said, “I was hoping I would podium, I was a little bit disappointed with the way I rode but it was the first contest of the year for me so to get podium was amazing. I have never seen Vince ride like he did today. His first run was complete, it had everything, it was a done deal. I love this event, that’s why I keep coming back. I always have so much fun in Shanghai. I have seen Shanghai and China evolve every year. They engage more and I have more fun every time.”
Star rider and now triple gold medallist on the Vert in Shanghai, Byron of Australia summed up his performance by saying, “I felt really great on my bike. I put together a run that I wanted in my mind and it went perfectly. I am so stoked on the way I rode, I couldn’t be happier. Three times in a row, I never would have dreamt that.” Veteran of the sport Dennis McCoy of the United States showed that age is no barrier to immense skill and creativity as he performed multiple ‘900s’ (a two and a half spin in mid air) to take silver.
Over his 29 year professional career, there have been a few standout events, and for McCoy, aged 47, today’s competition just got added to that list. He explained, “I could list a handful of epic competitions on the Vert and today was one of those. To end up with a silver medal after seeing Vince’s first run, I am very happy.”
Event ambassador Mat Hoffman, one of the best BMX Vert ramp riders in history, was on site catching the action. He commented on the BMX action today saying “They were throwing down everything they had and I have never seen Vince ride at that level. I think that might have been his best performance ever. Then you had Dennis doing a ‘900’. You’ve got so many different styles and flavours that it really showcases what our sport is all about.”
Elsewhere in the action-packed arena there was lots of intense skateboard energy with the Street and Mini-Mega qualifiers ahead of tomorrow’s finals; and the Motocross team were revving their engines in round two of their contest which reaches its climax on Saturday.
With another hot and sunny day expected tomorrow, fans can look forward to thrills and spills on everything with wheels!
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.