Sitting at the laptop here at Suite Shredquarters, it's too wet to skate, it finally has gotten cold enough to snowboard and my bike is buried in the garage. Now that the holidays are over and a new year has just begun, it's a good time to reflect on the past year. Let's usher in a new year of shredding on two wheels by looking at the extreme best of 2011 in BMX, a year full of incredible accomplishments and milestones in BMX freestyle dirt, street, park, vert and flat. There were important firsts and historic repeat wins. Here's my countdown for 2011 in BMX:
Best of BMX 2011 – The Top Ten
- Number 10 – Red Bull Dream Line. Anthony Napolitan's super gnarly dirt contest that had Luke Parslow being judged the winner by his BMX peers in a contest that was the culmination of a dream and a long time in the making.
- Number 9 – BMX Masters where Pierre Hinze won the rail jam, Matthias Dandois won the Flatland, Daniel Dhers won Park and Spine Ramp, James Foster in Dirt, and Monika Hinz won Ladies Flat, Camila Harambour took the Ladies Park title
- Number 8 –Simpel Session – one of the best contests – period. Drew Bezanson won for a repeat, Chad Kerley won Best Trick and Ty Morrow won the Bunny Hop contest. Brett Banasiewicz landed the first no-handed cashroll in a comp and Ondra Slez landed the first double decade in a contest. An entirely epic event in Estonia.
- Number 7 – Matthias Dandois winning King of Ground title and the World Flatland Circuit title as well
- Number 6 – Dennis Enarson winning his first Dew Cup in BMX Dirt and winning the Pantech crossover award for killin it in both dirt and park
- Number 5 – Garrett Reynolds winning his fourth X Games gold in BMX Street
- Number 4 – Daniel Dhers winning X Games gold in BMX Park for the fourth time.
- Number 3 – Jamie Bestwick fifth straight X Games gold in BMX vert – his eighth X Games gold medal in and tenth medal in BMX Vert overall. An impressive accomplishent, but considering he suffered skull fractures in a crash six months previously, his achievement is all the more remarkable.
- Number 2 – Scotty Cranmer winning the Dew Cup in BMX Park after an unbelievably tough performance in the Championships in Las Vegas
- Number 1 – Jamie Bestwick winning his seventh Dew Cup in BMX Vert, making him the only BMX Vert Dew Cup winner – ever.
"You can either advance boldly in the direction of your dreams, or retreat fearfully into the safety of the habitual" – Mario Cortes
BMX Riders to Watch Out For
- Kyle Baldock
- Vince Byron
- Chad Kerley
- Zack Warden
- Ondra Slez
- Anthony Napolitan
- Angie Marino
- Nina Buitrago
Honorable Mentions Best of BMX 2011
- Mark Webb tearing up the BMX Park course in Vegas and also with Andy Buckworth's double backflip in Vegas were outrageously memorable.
- Red Bull Dream Line. Anthony Napolitan's super gnarly dirt contest that had Luke Parslow being judged the winner by his BMX peers in a contest that was the culmination of a dream and a long time in the making.
- Go coastal! Nike 6.0 BMX Pro at Huntington Beach Coastal Carnage winners were Team Kachinsky: Brian Kachinsky; Captain, Corey Martinez; Sean Sexton; and Will Stroud, Filmer
- Toronto BMX Jam, Vans Rebel Jam and Red Bull Trick or Treat all need to be mentioned, as they were tough contests that spread BMX power worldwide.
- Steve Mc Cann's no-handed 900 at the X Games (second in BMX comp history ) which he repeated at the Dew Tour Vegas Championships was incredible
- ASA Air in the Square that made for one incredible afternoon of BMX in the canyons of the Big Apple.
- Not to forget: the amazing courses for the Dew Tour designed by TJ Lavin (dirt), Dennis Enarson park in Portland,and Ryan Nyquist park in OC, MD.
"Ride a bike, not a bandwagon." – Chris Doyle, BMX rider (Ride BMX, July 2010).
The BMX action will grind on. Make sure you get out and ride!
Leigh Roche - Leigh began skateboarding in the 70s and brings years of knowledge to writing shreditorial on Sk8boarding & BMX.
Join the Conversation