Taddy Blazusiak and Maria Forsberg triumphant in inaugural Moto X Enduro X – X Games 17 Update
Moto X Enduro X made a debut at X Games this year, with the final taking place at the STAPLES Centre in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday, July 31.
In the men’s field, Poland’s Taddy Blazusiak prevailed in the final to take home the gold medal. Tennessee-native Mike Brown finished second to secure silver, while California’s Justin Soule rounded out the podium to clinch bronze.
In the women’s field, Maria Forsberg secured the highest spot on the podium, while Tara Geiger finished in second place to clinch silver medal. Kacy Martinez finished in third place to take home the bronze.
The day had not started off great for the 28-year-old Blazusiak, as he ended up crashing during the opening heat of the contest to get relegated to the Last Chance Qualifiers round. However, he managed to bounce back from his initial disappointment and guaranteed
a shot at the gold.
Aside from the Pole, the line-up for the 10-man final comprised of Brown, Soule, Joakim Ljunggren, Geoff Aaron, Destry Abbott, Kurt Caselli, Cody Webb, Taylor Robert and Kevin Rookstool.
As the final kicked off, Rookstool, Aaron Brown got off to an excellent start, with Blazusiak trailing close behind in fourth place.
Almost halfway through the race, Blazusiak managed to overtake Brown. He soon availed the opportunity to move to first position after both Aaron and Rookstool became victims to the obstacle-laden course. Once into the lead, the 28-year-old Polish rode flawlessly
from there and managed to hold on to his position till the end, eventually riding to victory and becoming the first-ever Moto X Enduro X Men’s champion.
Talking to a reporter after the final, Blazusiak said, “Endurocross is always full of energy and the guys race their heart out. To be honest, I don't think the difference was X Games or not. The difference was that the track was really cool to ride because
it was more like a supercross. Everybody had so much speed. All the top guys were within two seconds and that's really great.”
39-year-old Brown, from Tennessee, moved into second place after Aaron and Rookstool were gobbled up by the obstacles. Riding cautiously from there on, he managed to finish in second place to take silver medal. California’s Soule finished in third place
to collect bronze.
The 24-year-old Forsberg dominated the Women’s field to become the first ever X Games Women’s champion. While the other riders found themselves crashing numerous times, Forsberg made it through with only one crash, eventually lapping her competitors.
During her post-final interview, Forsberg said, “The key to winning is consistency and the less you crash the better you do. You just have obstacle after obstacle; it's a cardio and strength workout. You have to hold on for dear life.”
Geiger and Martinez took silver and bronze medal respectively to round out the podium.
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