By Leigh Ramsdell, sports marketing manager
It’s crazy to think that the X Games have been around since 1995! That’s just one year after Mongoose Pro Kevin Peraza was born! We’ve seen the event go through different stages, but at the end of the day it’s a celebration of some of the best bike riders in the world. For X Games 2022, Mongoose was fortunate enough to have four of our athletes representing the brand and BMX on the big stage!
The first event this year was something new– MegaPark. Take a little bit of Park and sprinkle a lot of Mega and you get an event that’s sure to challenge the athletes and wow the crowd. MegaPark consisted of dropping into a massive roll-in to a big 35’ jump with a gap. Next, you hit a 20’ quarter pipe and after landing you go into a 27’ big table and finally another quarter pipe to finish your run. We had veteran mega ramp rider Mykel Larrin, and first-timer Pat Casey to ride in this new, exciting event.
Mykel did his thing and made bike riding look good! His super smooth riding with massive lookbacks and double-downside tailwhips on the quarter mixed in with stylish supermans on the box landed him an impressive 4th place. Right before the event I asked Pat how he was feeling and he said he was a little nervous about the quarters, and rightfully so. But after a slam in his first run, Pat got up and showed the course who was boss.
In his next run he pulled a perfect tailwhip cashroll on the big jump into a barspin to tuck no-hander on the 20’ quarter, right into 360 double-whip on the table and finishing off with a barspin to tailwhip on the last quarter. This incredible run gave Pat the Silver Medal in the first ever MegaPark event!
Next up was BMX Dirt. These trails were newly made by BMX legends, Adam Aloise and Cory Nastazio, so you knew they would be dialed! The riders were all throwing down for one of the most classic events in BMX. Mongoose had both Pat Casey and Ben Wallace in the event. Ben was first up and put down some timeless moves like the 360 lookback, nac-nac seat grab, and a big 720, but it wasn’t enough to crack the top five.
Pat was coming in with a silver medal from MegaPark, so he had the confidence to do what he had to do. He dropped in with flow and put down an impressive run with a 360 doublewhip, dipped toboggan 360, and a tailwhip cashroll. Pat’s run landed him a solid 5th place finish.
It was time to get out of the heat and move indoors for the Park contest. For this event Mongoose riders Ben Wallace and Kevin Peraza were taking the stage! Pat was supposed to be in this as well, but a fall during the Moto 110 event kept him out. People forget how much of a tech rider Ben is, but he showed the fans he is more than just a dirt jumper. Ben dropped in and ripped around the bowl doing his classic moves like 720s and big lookbacks. He also did a downside footplant on AA support pole and ended his run with some tech moves like an over-toothpick on the weird spine wedge ramps. Now it was time for Kevin Peraza to show his stuff. Kevin was riding the bowl fast and stylish as ever! He threw down the best can-can tire grabs, a big tailwhip out of a wallride, a 180 flair onto the box to whip out, and so much more that earned him 4th place!
The last event for BMX was the Dave Mirra Best Trick in Park. The riders got 30 minutes to take turns and throw down some of the craziest moves they could think up! Kevin did more than one! He did a perfect 180 flair on to the box to downside tailwhip into the landing. He also did an incredibly smooth 180 flair over the entire box jump! But what gave Kevin a silver medal was the 180 flair tailwhip over the spine. It was done with flawlessly!
This year’s X Games was another great one filled with over-the-top riding, pushing the limits of what is possible on a BMX bike. I cannot wait to see what the athletes do next year!
