Great Weather and an Awesome Crowd

The weather in Virginia was perfect all day and the warm temperatures had the great People of the Commonwealth of Virginia stoked for Freestyle Motocross.  Everywhere I went on the concourse before the show I saw people smiling and laughing and that amazing vibe carried on through the entire show.

 We kicked off the first set of qualifiers with the guy I had breakfast with in the morning and Jimmie McGuire was bangin’ right out of the gate.  Jimmie is always smiling and after his signature move the Christ Air and a well deserved round of applause from the crowd J-Mac thanked the judges and the crowd as he exited the stage with an 87.25.  The next man to the floor was Derek Burlew.  He did his customary chill roll out of the pits then pumped the crowd a little before nailing a fantastic Rock Solid that hung in the air for 3 full seconds.  The judges liked what they saw and rewarded him with a 91.75.  Drake McElroy spilled out of the tunnel next and the crowd heard him coming before they could see him since he is the only rider on board a 4-stroke.  DMC is still getting accustomed to the heavier bike in the tight confines of an arena but he looked sharp on his 9’Oclock Nac and put up an 86.75.  The last rider in the first stanza was the Canadian from Montreal, Benny Milot.  The Jet didn’t look comfortable tonight and went old school with a straight up Superman and an Indian Air combo and was only able to post a 73.0.

 As always the boys from the 5050BMX.com crew were a crowd favorite.  It was obvious from their first appearance on the floor that they were feeling it.  They traveled all the way from Utah this week and after a good nights’ rest they showed the folks at the Richmond Coliseum exactly why they belong on the big stage.  Dew Tour veteran Josh “The Incredible” Holt lead the team through their paces which included a Backflip train, side by side back flips and finished up with another incredible front flip.  They went crazy in the encore with a full on transition train from the BMX jump to the FMX landing ramp that all four guys landed with flair.

 After the break we invited the crowd to judge our Whip Contest and they were more than willing.  Banks, Milot and Villegas all had quality throws but the crowd really enjoyed the four stroke phenom, DMC and the massive turn by Derek Burlew.  When the dust settled DB took the win for a second night in a row.

 Jeff Banks led us into the finals with a solid run that had a trick sequence including a Backflip one hander and a Kiss of Death back to back.  “Brinks Truck” took his place in the Hot Seat with an 87.5 and watched as Derek Burlew roared out of the tunnel and went right to work.  DB launched a Rock Solid that he held until the last second before getting back on the bike safely.  He also rocked an awesome BASE jump that brought the crowd to their feet and moved him ahead of Banks with a 93.5.  Last nights’ winner took center stage next and he unleashed a series of flip combos that made it clear he wanted to sweep the weekend.  His 94.75 really put the pressure on our final rider of the night.  Gabriel Villegas took his time and warmed up the crowd before getting to work on his 80 second clock, and when “Mr. Salsa” hit the first ramp he was nailing everything.  He came to the stage with high hopes and it was very close but he came up a little short with his 94.0 and the California Kid swept the weekend, sparking a rivalry to watch all season.

 We got off to a great start here in Richmond and look forward to our next stop when the FMXonline.com tour invades Bridgeport, CT for two huge nights of competition January 20^th and 21^st.  Go to ticketmaster.com and get your tickets today for all the high flying action.  Don’t forget to visit us at Facebook.com/fmxonline and submit your entry for the Fan of the Week contest. 

David Knisley