raised the bar of action sports
contests.Andtheridersthemselves
are all stoked with the World Games
too,whichisatestamenttotheempire
that Pastrana and Porra are building.
ADBtrackeddownfiveofthe
ANZACfreestyleriderswhocompeted
atthisyear’sNitroWorldGamestoget
their thoughts on what went down.
LEVI SHERWOOD (NZ)
2016and2017FMXChampion
TheWorldGamesisbecomingoneof
my favourite events. The level of
competition was stiffer this year; last
year it seemed everyone was chasing
theirtailsabitmorewiththealtitude,
theramps...andhalfthefieldrode
both FMX and Best Trick. This year
everyone had their shit sorted, and
eventhoughIfeltlikethecheater
rampsgotscoredhigher,onlytwo
riders used them in the FMX contest.
Overall I’m stoked on it all though,
andit’snicetorideacompthatdidn’t
penalisemefornothittingthe
front-flip ramps; if it had been Red
EVENT I NITRO WORLD GAMES
82 | JULY 2017 http://www.adbmag.com.auLevi doesn’t like hitting the
“cheater” ramps instead
likes the pure form of FMXBull X-Fighters, I would’ve been
docked “use-of-course” points.
My ultimate goal was to go back and
win again, but also to have fun. I
think last year I took it too lightly and
wasn’t phased by the competition, and
I rode better as a result. This year I
tried to get back into that mindset, but
it was a balancing act as I had to be a
lot more serious about my riding,
seeing as I had the Double Flip and I
didn’t want to take it lightly.
I’d done bugger-all Double Flip Nacs
and I think I’d only landed one to dirt,
but I decided to change my Double
Flip to the Nac combo just before my
run, because I wanted to make sure I
had an advantage. We’re allowed to
make last-minute changes, as long as
we let the judges know in advance.
Landing that trick after a good,
solid run was a big rush, for
sure. I nearly under-rotated
it – I think I relaxed too
much during the rotation- but as soon as I rode it
out I had a pretty good idea that
I’d done enough to defend the title. I
probably could’ve done better overall
with more extension and flaunting it a
bit more, but it’s good to know I’ve
still got more in the tank for next year.
HARRY BINK (AUS)
FMX Best Trick Champion,
Rock Solid Front Flip
Right now I’m feeling really sore. I’ve
got fluid on the elbow, I whacked my
groin and my shoulder took a beating,
but it feels amazing to win my first
major contest with the world’s first
Rock Solid Front Flip.
Me and R-Willy (BMXer Ryan
Williams) came up with the trick back
in April while we were drunk at a
Nitro Live afterparty, but I went home
and practiced it into the foam-pit for a
month until I had it pretty
consistently. Then during the US tour
I crashed a Rock Solid Flip and pulled
a muscle off my hip, which put me on
the sidelines, and it came good just
before the Nitro World Games.
I practiced heaps into the
airbag in the week leading up
to the event and got really
beat up. I was so sore I sat
out the final practice
session and just went out in
the finals.
In the Best Trick comp I crashed my
first attempt at the Rocky Front Flip
and hit my head pretty hard,
smashing my visor, and it took me a
bit to realise what’d happened and
why I crashed. The officials said if I
wanted another go I had to hurry, so I
smashed my bike wheel against a
ramp to straighten it, then went for my
second attempt.
It feels amazing to put that trick to
bed; I would’ve been mad at myself if I
hadn’t landed it, and the boys back