Vince Byron retains BMX Vert gold at KIA X Games Asia
Australia’s Vince Byron walked away with a Kia X Games Asia gold medal for the second year in a row after putting on a couple of superb runs in BMX Vert Final that went down in Shanghai, China, on Sunday, April 29.
Steve McCann, also from Australia, finished just behind his compatriot in second place to take home a silver medal, while America’s Chad Kagy highlighted his return to vert with a gold medal performance.
The 21-year-old Byron has been establishing himself as one of the biggest threat in vert competitions and his latest trip to China proved to be another steps towards the superstar status. He had given his Chinese fans plenty of reason to cheer their lungs
out during the previous edition of the Chinese version of X Games and managed to steal the show once again.
There were plenty of seemingly effortless double tail-whips somewhere in the nine-foot range, as well as regular flair tail-whips, 540 tail-whips and double tail-whips to be seen in his runs. His air-time was also spectacular, while his landings were perfect.
A 40 off his third run and 39 off his third, Byron finished with a combined-total of 79 points. The score held up until the end to seal the fate of the Final in his favour and thus allowed him to retain the top spot on the podium.
“I’m really stoked to be doing what I’m doing and I love all the guys that I ride with,” said
Byron. “It did the job and I came away with the gold. Hopefully BMX will get bigger and bigger in China.”
The 29-year-old McCann was nothing short of impressive during Sunday’s Final either. The Melbourne-based vert rider landed his version of various tricks, which included 540 tail-whips and double tail-whips. He eventually finished with a two-run total of
73.00 points to settle for runner-up place.
Kagy made his first appearance at X Games since his crash at X Games 17 in Los Angeles last July that resulted in a broken femur. His run in BMX Vert Final was smooth and exquisite. Landing stretched superman seat-grab Indian airs, one-handed x-up flairs
and flair double tail-whips, Kagy earned a two-run total of 73.00 points to find himself tied with McCann. However, his single-run score was not as high as his rivals, thus forcing him to take home a bronze medal.
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