Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, who has been a dominant force in the world of freestyle motocross for the past year, was crowned as the king of the X Games freestyle motocross Best Trick competition just outside Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, last night, during X Games 11.
The 23-year-old Stenberg earned his first-ever X Games gold in Moto X Best Trick. Since the beginning of 2004, Stenberg has finished first or second in a freestyle competition 17 out of his past 20 events.
With leader Brian Deegan forced to sit out the event while still recovering from the effects of a crash eight weeks ago, Stenberg took the weight of the Metal Mulisha on his shoulders by nailing a no-footed backflip to one-handed lander on his first run for a score of 92.20, which held up for the win.
“I was surprised the jump went well,” Stenberg said of the 90-foot flip that was the longest in X Games history. “The judges are looking for harder tricks all of the time, so I was definitely pumped.”
Travis Pastrana pulled off a Saran Wrap backlflip to no-handed lander and earned second place, with a score of 91.20. On Pastrana’s first run he attempted the first-ever Backflip to Barspin, but the front wheel of his specially engineered 360-degree front-ended motorcycle fell off upon landing, leaving Pastrana in dead last after round one.
“I thought it was cool,” Pastrana said of the first bike. “A lot of money and a lot of engineering went into that bike. But we just had fun out there. Even though I crashed, my creativity took over, and we went from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C, and D won it for me.”
Nate Adams finished with the bronze after landing a clean, off-axis 360 for his sixth X Games medal.
“I’ve only been on my bike for five weeks,” Adams said of his recovery from a previous injury, “so it’s all good.”
Last year’s winner, Chuck Carothers, attempted his Carolla on the final run of the night but was unable to get the landing correct. Carothers slammed into the top of the bike and fell to the ground. He was checked out by medical personnel before walking off under his own power.
