X Games 17 took place in Los Angeles last weekend, and like many of you, we elected to follow the action on ESPN. Why didn't we attend the event, you ask? To put it bluntly, just like the racers, mechanics and industry personnel who attend every round of the Lucas Oil MX Nationals, we were burned out and welcomed the break in the series. That, coupled with the fact that media access at the X Games is always extremely limited for everyone but ESPN's own magazine and TV staff, we figured that we could catch just as much - of not more - of the action at home, in front of our televisions!
Ronnie Renner had a great run going during the Step-Up competition. Compared to the other competitors, Renner was using a much different line, carving up the face of the jump and laying his KTM 350SX-F completely flat. He went up against Matt Buyten for the tallest height and unfortunately couldn’t make it over in both his attempts.
Before this year, Tommy Clowers had held the Step-Up record, but unfortunately he was knocked out early after having a mishap heading up the face of the jump. The mistake caused him to not even make it over the bar. Hmmm...maybe we'll see Limbo X next summer!
Brian Deegan had a great run in Step-Up—the only two-wheeled event that he competed in. Though Deegan regularly rides FMX on his trusty Honda CR250R two-stroke at the Mulisha Compound, he elected to use his four-stroke CRF450R motocross bike for Step-Up.
Buyten was wearing a very cool looking O'Neal helmet, complete with a custom Arma Energy paint job. We hung out with Buyten earlier this year at the Hangtown MX National, and he's one of the coolest FMXers around.
Buyten made the final height of 37 feet look very easy, jumping well over the bar. His technique was more traditional than Renner’s style, but proved to just as effective. Once again, a DRD exhaust helped propel Buyten skyward.
TAGS: dirt bike, FMX, freestyle, kickstart, los angeles, Monday Kickstart, motocross, mx, Staples Center, x games
