The second annual Vans BMX Pro Cup series kicked off in Five Dock, Australia yesterday as 47 of the world’s leading men and women BMX park terrain riders rallied for the series’ first Pro Tour event of the season. Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on two wheels, 2017’s Vans BMX Pro Cup World Champion Larry Edgar’s speed defying runs granted him the Australia Pro Cup victory, taking first place for carrying out colossal trick combinations that awed the crowd at the historical Five Dock Skatepark.
“I’m stoked to be back, this event is such a good time,” proclaims first place winner, Larry Edgar. “Riding with all my friends and watching everyone push the limits of their riding is so fun.”
What an intense day! The first stop of the 2018 edition of the Vans BMX Pro Cup brought us a lot of emotions. Sydney was not as sunny as the legend says and after rescheduling the women competition because of the rain we've been scared the weather would not let the event go until the end. Fortunately Mother Nature was on the ride side and we've been able to go through a great women competition, the men semi-finals and finals regrouping some of the best riders of the world.
Ryan Saville who arrived first during the Regional Qualifier yesterday was the favorite of the crowd and offered a great show. He's not the only one, the Australian audience enjoyed a show of great quality, the riders were in an amazing shape and always surprised the crowd. The biggest surprise was probably when Sergio Layos' bike landed in the audience... Oopsie!
Kevin Peraza's superman left everyone speechless, we've been really impressed by the resistance of Brandon Loupos after his massive crash at the end of the Best Trick contest. The australian Alex Hiam was in a great shape, he managed to arrive 2nd for the best trick and 3rd for the Pro Cup. At the end of the day Nina Buitrago won the best trick and Teresa Azcoaga won the first stop of the Pro Cup. For the men the local Jason Watts won the best trick and the winner of the 2017 edition, Larry Edgar won the very first stop of this 2018 edition.
Vans BMX Pro Cup, the world’s leading platform for elite BMX park terrain competition, kicks off the 2018 World Tour this weekend as the series’ first Pro Tour stop welcomes the globe’s best park terrain BMX men and women riders to Five Dock, Australia on April 27 – 28. 2017 Australia event winner Sergio Layos will defend his title against 2017’s Vans BMX Pro Cup World Champion Larry Edgar and Australian locals Jason Watts and Alex Hiam during the series’ inaugural event for the season.
One of Australia’s oldest standing skateparks, Five Dock Skatepark sits in a quiet suburb just west of the city of Sydney. Home to the “Deathbowl”, the iconic Five Dock Skatepark holds rich BMX and
We started the day off by taking a trip to the famous Sydney Opera house at Sydney Harbour after that we met up with our new friend Cameron picked us up and brought us over to the indoor skatepark called Warehouse 11! Everyone was excited to ride their BMX bikes on these awesome ramps and we met up with Australian BMX pro and also an Australian Silver medalist Snowboarder!
My 2017: Brandon Loupos
Hometown: Engadine, Australia
Sponsors: Rockstar Energy, Hyper Bikes, Snafu Bmx, Vans Shoes, Precision Athletica & Bmx Mafia Shop.
Do you remember the first BMX event you went to this year and how did it go?
Brandon Loupos: Yes, it was the first stop of the Toyota Bmx Triple Challenge in Anaheim, CA. Went pretty good, Qualified 1st on the first day, then second in the semis and finished 4th in finals but I had fun! Can’t wait to do it all again in a couple of weeks!
My 2017: Logan Martin
Hometown: Gold Coast, Australia
Sponsors: Rockstar Energy, Hyper Bmx, Snafu Bmx, Worm App, Kali Protectives!
Do you remember the first BMX event you went to this year and how did it go?
Logan Martin: The first event of 2017 was a dirt event in California which I ended up in 6th place.
How many weekends/days were you away from home and at a BMX jam/contest or on tour?
ESPN, the leading action sports content provider and creator of the X Games, in collaboration with Seven West Media, Australia’s number one audience company, will bring X Games Sydney to Australia next year, October 19-21, 2018. X Games Sydney will feature Skateboard, BMX and Moto X competitions at Sydney Olympic Park. For the first time in the event’s more than 20 year history, an X Games event will take place in Australia, home to some of the world’s best action sports athletes. Australian athletes hold 138 medals, 45 of which are gold from X Games summer and winter events.
Seven West Media will air the competitions in Australia, while in the U.S. ESPN’s coverage will be
Australia's BMX Freestylers set to contest the inaugural UCI Urban World Championships in China in November, their first stop on their journey towards the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. In June 2017, the IOC announced that BMX Freestyle Park would be added to the Programme of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
BMX Freestyle Park is an exhilarating discipline of cycling which takes place in parks full of ramps with big transitions and large obstacles. Competitors are judged (scored between 0-100pts over two one-minute runs) on tricks performed throughout the course, with points awarded based on difficulty, originality, style and execution.
Australia boasts two of the world's best, both considered to be serious medal contenders in Tokyo 2020. Logan Martin, the 2016 UCI World Cup Series champion who sits fourth in 2017 after winning Stop 1 in the Series, and Brandon Loupos who is second overall in 2017 after taking out Stop 2.
In their first jump towards Tokyo, riders will contest the 2017 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships this November 8-12 in Chengdu, China. The Championships will see the world’s best will battle for the iconic rainbow jersey and the title of UCI World Champion in BMX Freestyle Park.
Some of the Australia riders who will participate in Chengdu 8 - 12 November are: