The course seemed badly built, flowed bad, riders were having a hard time clearing jumps, that gap/operating table jump before the drop had one of the worse landings I've ever seen. The riders did amazing considering what they had to work with. It's a shame these guys weren't given a course that allowed them to perform at the best of their abilities for x-games.
The course was built by Markus Hampl, who also built the Berg Line course, with Berrecloth on as a consultant. So it is very surprising that the course did not flow as well as it should have. Still not bad for a debut event. It just meant that the riders had to step up to the challenge the course presented. At least it wasn't 3 or 4 big jumps in a straight line!
@todd, hard to tell from the videos I've seen, but it did rain out on saturday, maybe the mud just slowed everyone down? It's strange that two of the best course builders would screw up the flow...
@suicidedownhiller maybe it's time to change, and more than adding jumps that are comfty they ad some technical jumps and sections that are making this sport to evolve more and more. I think the course was pretty damn right, despite the fact that all the riders gaved their soul in it... It's the survival of the finnest i guess.
The course is on point, or so it seemed watching the top 3 runs. Maybe it was the weather still playing a factor in their runs? I mean it makes sense seeing how they delayed the event hours in order to have the wind die down a bit. Personally I thought the course was really good compared to others but the size of the features would def. be plagued by winds. Also I don't think a bit of pedaling is bad for a slope course, just as long as the riders can easily gauge the speed needed for the hits.
truth is ....judged event sports have always been kinda weak. skateboarding contests, bmx contests, surf contests, gymnastics,figure skating, mtb slopestyle.....
its just all so objective.
the sports themselves are rad and full of self expression, but how the hell do ya judge it? whos the best artist?whos the best musician? the best band?
If you can throw a front flip off a jump that most people cant even clear, Id say thats judge-able. Style, or "expression" as you put it, is definitely judgable as well, you just need the right judges. Also, there are so many things you can judge a rider on; technicality, flow etc. . Id say they do a pretty good job for the most part. Mtb will only get better as it matures.
@VPPFREEDOM Easy bud, no need to be feisty. I'm saying every racer has a different style. Also it does effect "things", some styles of riding are slower. So before calling someone dumb maybe try to understand the statement first.
The line between Semenuk and Rheeder is so close, I would have given the gold the Brandon though. Backy off the first drop and a double whip? Rheeders only special thing was his bar-fronty...
semenuk had an oppo 3 in there, but rheeder had oppo 3 and oppo whip, and the fronty bar is defs trickier than a double whip. semenuks flip drop was really clean, brandon straight flipped where rheeder flip barred, but i think judges were right putting rheeder slightly ahead.
just a bar fronty!!!??? thats so much harder than a doublewhip! oppo 3 is on par with flat flip drop, everything else rheeder either matched or 1 upped such as the backflip bar....
@ScandiumRider: If you watch at the video again it looks like it almost killed Semenuk to congratulate Rheeder. I know Semenuk is super competitive but you don't have to be a total jerk when someone out rides you.
@ripitforlife He just lost a big comp. He has every right to be upset and he didnt even have to give congrats to Rheeder. He could have simply left. But he showed his sportsmanship and acknowledged Rheeder. This isnt just for funsies. This is their job and lively hood. Get upset, that way you come back stronger next time.
@a207Freerider: That may all be true if we were talking about Baseball or Football but part of the reason companies want to sponsor these riders and why we like to watch them is because they are good ambassadors for the sport and good idols. Just think Steve Peat; How often does he end up on the podium? But many times he is more excited than the rider that just came down and stole the hot seat from him. What we were pointing out was every other rider at the bottom of the course was super stoked for Rheeder with the exception of one rider...
@johnnyWaWa: how is a backflip better than an opo-three? judging by the looks of it, that's in the eye of the beholder... but technically the opo-three is def the better trick.
Semenuk showed good sportsmanship by congratulating Rheeder. He may not have been the first to mob him with praise, but it didnt take him long to recognize Rheeder's run was awesome and he immediately searched him out and gave him a hug. This is what Semenuk had to say, (quote on ESPN.com) "It's tough dropping in that second-to-last run knowing there's one rider behind you. You just do what you know you can do and hope it's enough. But Brett dropped in behind me and was just going for it. He's so dialed, and he definitely put down the best run today."
Now explain to us again why Semenuk is a total jerk whose actions were not cool? Smith Optics is proud to have these two guys on its roster and if it werent for them, this whole event would have been subpar. Well done boys!
@manuesi: I find the backflip off a flat drop in so good because I have only seen two people do it in competition. Semenuk and Pilgrim(2012 Claymore Challenge) I'm sure others probably have, but I haven't seen it.
Rheeder and Semenuk both had great runs. But I do think that Brett just edged him out (and I am a Semenuk fan). I think the reason Rheeder won was because he had the the final run. The runs were identical for half of the hits (not saying that Rheeder copied Semenuk's run necessarily) and the main differences balance out (Backflip on the flat drop slightly better than oppo 3 but barspin frontflip definitely better than double whip). The subtle differences like Rheeder's barspin on the backflip are what gave him the slight edge. I've never seen top qualifying spot make such a noticeable difference in a persons run. He could basically put down a similar run with a few nuances and knew it should win Rheeder is clearly very smart and knows exactly what he needs to do to pull off a win. Congratulations to both riders on throwing down incredible runs.
@p3jeenyus: you are totally right! Rheeder earned the win and had a better run. But if Semenuk had the last run, he would have probably won. Like you said, because Rheeder went after Semenuk he was able to add just small things. Either way, both riders did amazing
Front flips are the new pop sensation - judges went accordingly. It doesn't make Rheeder better and it doesn't make Semenuk worse. I personally preferred Semenuk's run but it lacked the passion of his usual style. I think he is too focused on winning instead of riding. I agree with Freeridedub though, the competition seemed rather tame. And what happened to Lacondeguy? Is he injured? That run was unbefitting of his abilities.
The whole event was a let down. The bmx announcer was talking trash the whole time. The course was awkward. No other way to put it. Then only 6 out of 16 riders were in the final and two of whom didnt make it to the bottem. ... doubt x games will have us next year and im glad.... they seem to be the uci equivalent
considering its an x games event i would have expected the course to be much better and have much more flow than what it did considering the amount of crashes that happened in the event.
Ha. X games consistently has tighter features for courses in every sport. Ski slopestyle always has complaints about features being too close and not allowing for flow. Premiere bike events where the focus is more on biking is where you will find your best courses. X Games tries to fit what they can into made for TV venues. What do you expect. All in all, I still think it was exciting and am glad that I got done with my mid-day ride in time to catch it live.
So true, it's only in the last couple of x-games that they have started to actually have bmx and skate "street"... that resembles street. In about 10 years time, they'll have a slopestyle course that matches crankworx or something similar. The course for this one was awful, barely any of the riders could show off their true potential and it didn't resemble any mountain bike slopestyle course I can remember.
Called a slope style course most of the guys on hard tails couldn't clear the big step up cuz they couldn't get enough speed on a hard tail i like the look of the course looked fun just need a slope style bike for slope style......
It was cool to actually see some type of representation of our sport on tv, shirt of the signature series NBC ran a while ago...but after DVR'ing 6 1/2 HOURS of the xgames over the weekend I fast forwarded through 6 HOURS AND 15 min in order to see ESPN/X-GAMES televise 15 f-ckin minutes of slopestyle, and on top of that is was the LAST run of TWO! Your telling me that we can sit there and watch 6 rounds of 3 heats of Rallycross for 3 mind numbing hours but you can't even show 2 runs of 6 slopestyle riders!!??? They better devote more attention to those that deserve it next time!!!!!
haters haters haters.. this course is what MTB needs if it wants to stay in the XGames. if it looks to much like BMX people are gonna get bored with or small tricks. go big or go home. and for the judging, good enough. Rheeder and Semenuk's run were unreal but Rheeder and more tricks. end of story. and for my opinion the judging was way better than the last Rampage. haters haters haters. start appreciating instead of hating. they spend millions to entertain us and we still hate.... idiots
Semenuk is a robot and never ceases to amaze me. Rheeder has the front flip dialed these days and with the bar spin thrown in on a not so good hit I gotta say he had the best run.
I think the biggest issue would be with the venue. Not enough vertical to get all the lines set the way they should be.
Speed is your friend and there was little room to gain any there.
Maybe next year
What a sad introduction to slopestyle for the X Games, so many riders dropped out and so many more crashed on the 2nd jump.Final jump sinking in the lake. I'm not sure what secret sauce was missing hopefully they find it for next year.
the course looked like the tops of the landings were too high along with the wind and the definitely need better comentators those guys were so bland i wish tippy would have done it
When it come down to it can we leave Mtb where it belongs in the backcountry and through the trees. espen, NBC any Tv network is never gonna understand what its really about. Building something epic that all your buds will be stoked on and wanna shred from sun-up to sun-down. I love events like claws where you here all the riders talking up the course and how gnarly but fun it is to shred. I think it was killer to have MTB slope in xgames, will we get another one who knows big money grubbing comps are always worried about events like that and the uncontrollable variables. looking forward to Joy Ride and Bearclaw Invitational and like Dane Searls said "keep it dirt, stay true to your roots and keep it real"
I think the riders did a great job with the course they were given. Would have liked to see it be a little longer though. Also, does anyone know what the material black material they used on some of the jumps was? It looked like it was really slippery and they were having some trouble keeping their wheels under them on the landings.
For all those saying the course had too much pedalling, watch Reeders run, he made all of two pedal strokes during his run and they were mainly to reposition his pedals, the wind also did not look too bad and the course seemed to flow just fine. The fact that Reeder and Semenuk are the only riders who made mentionable runs on the course really points towards them just having far more skill than the rest of the competitors and landing their tricks smoothly, the other guys simply weren't good enough, the standard in bmx and mx is just so high, especially at x-games, this event just showed up mtb riders more than anything.
Take for example when Chad Kagy competed in an mtb event, for his first time ever, on a borrowed bike... and won... there are much more and better bmx riders competing in bmx events and so the level is simply higher, we might not like to admit it but its true! Reeder and Semenuk are the only guys who stepped up to the skill level required of x-games competitors on this occasion.
Commentators were Jimmy Coleman and Dennis McCoy who normally commentate BMX. I've been big a big fan of McCoy for probably 20 years but I wasn't impressed the way he was basically saying BMX is so much better and MTB is a lesser sport
Next time they should just have a 50ft drop with a 4ft landing with hurricane speed winds and see who survives. Seriously what a terrible and dangerous contest that was.
No, Semenuk's run was amazing and if he had gone after Rheeder I bet he would have made an even more amazing run. However, Rheeder definitely won it with that step up. I love watching Semenuk ride and he is my favorite but I do believe the judges got this one right.
what a Bullshit Event ! I was there, trust me. 30 Minutes and only 6 Riders ? The Big Air Skaters had no Problem with the Wind. Now Slopestyle MTB looks like a bunch of Gays
Shity red bull player just for iShity products. If you think I will buy an iShityphone to wach this video you are crazy. And you should stop sucking aplle dick!
I'm kinda disappointed, lets see other runs, Sem shoulda got 1st as well, I think corporate x games kinda wanted it to be tame, Ive never seen those guys do such terrible or uninteresting then that. they're all so much better
yeah Rheeder won it fair and square... His run was killer. BS had a sick run too, but Rheeder's was more interesting IMO and the Front-Flips were something nobody else did. let alone how big a boost he had on that step-up on his 2nd run I think... that was insane. Well deserved win for BR
no way, Brett totally deserved the win. more oppo/regular variation, along with a front flip variation. Add in semenuk straight flipped the last double before the drop and Brett flip barred. Brett did those extra little things to get first. It was tight either way and the scoring definitely showed that
f*ckING HUGE!!!!?????
'The FALL"
skateboarding contests, bmx contests, surf contests, gymnastics,figure skating, mtb slopestyle.....
its just all so objective.
the sports themselves are rad and full of self expression, but how the hell do ya judge it?
whos the best artist?whos the best musician? the best band?
you can't judge self expression.
racing rules, all else drools.
what are ya talking about...........?
pretty plain and simple really.............
the clock does not lie......or have favorites.
i love the self expression sports, but there is no way to determine whos best. in racing, well, the winner is the best.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QqmyF3wDvM
and finals here....................
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1VwFXY1cQ0
peeps it.
www.canalplus.fr/c-sport/c-summer-x-games/pid5869-c-x-games-munich.html?vid=895291
What we were pointing out was every other rider at the bottom of the course was super stoked for Rheeder with the exception of one rider...
@cikudh: I've noticed that too
Semenuk showed good sportsmanship by congratulating Rheeder. He may not have been the first to mob him with praise, but it didnt take him long to recognize Rheeder's run was awesome and he immediately searched him out and gave him a hug. This is what Semenuk had to say, (quote on ESPN.com) "It's tough dropping in that second-to-last run knowing there's one rider behind you. You just do what you know you can do and hope it's enough. But Brett dropped in behind me and was just going for it. He's so dialed, and he definitely put down the best run today."
Now explain to us again why Semenuk is a total jerk whose actions were not cool? Smith Optics is proud to have these two guys on its roster and if it werent for them, this whole event would have been subpar. Well done boys!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1VwFXY1cQ0