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2010 X-Fighters Champ Crowned

Written by Goba Sunday, 03 October 2010 17:03

Adam Jones sprays X-Fighters series champ Nate Adams while event winner Dany Torres also celebrates his win. Photo courtesy of www.redbull.com

Spaniard Dany Torres wins the final round of Red Bull X-Fighters in Rome, Italy, but it was American Nate Adams who won the championship on a count-back after both he and rival for the title, Andre Villa, were knocked out in the semi.

On a dirt course that set like concrete the monster tricks pulled were greeted with hard landings on a surface that was slippery, and a layout that forced riders to be innovative to get the most jumps out of their runs.

Three riders in qualifying felt just how tough the dirt surface was when they came crashing down hard in their runs. First was Libor Podmol, who raced down the side of the course on entry, grabbed a handful of front brake at warp speed to pull a stoppie and was sent flying up high over the bars when his front wheel hit a small rock and sketched out. He flew through the air then bounced along the ground coming to a stop 15 odd metres later and breaking his collarbone in the process.

Then Remi Bizouard had an unfortunate accident after time in his first run. He pulled a massive Cliffhanger Flip and didn't get the rotation he needed and crunched into the lander tumbling to the bottom. Luckily he was only bruised and battered, and recovered by round one to join the main event.   

Cam "Sincs" Sinclair was the third rider to taste the hard packed dirt. Going for the Double Flip straight out of the gate everyone was on the edge of their seats biting finger nails and nervous as hell hoping Sincs would ride away clean from the trick that nearly claimed his life in competition at Madrid X-Fighters one year earlier. Once again the set-up wasn't quite perfect as it needed to be for this gnarly trick. Sincs worked with the course builders to try and get it right, but the truth is the lander really wasn't quite high enough and the angle of the lander not steep enough, something Sincs knows well now as he made the double rotation but the impact with the lander was so heavy, and his weight was slightly forwards when landing, and the front end of his Yami 250 couldn't handle the pressure and washed out throwing Sincs straight to the ground. He got straight back up to ride on, but his shoulder wasn't up to it ending his final appearance at X-Fighters in 2010. He is a very lucky man, could have been a lot worse!

View of the Rome X-Fighters course inside the Flaminio Stadium. Photo courtesy of www.redbull.com

Back to the title contenders Villa and Adams. Adams sat highest on the points table after two qualifying runs, then Villa, sitting in third after his first run, decided not to do his second run as he thought it would be better to face Adam Jones in the semi over Dany Torres, a choice he now regrets as when the semis played out both Torres and Jones produced killer runs that knocked both contenders out so the overall was decided off the qualifying results. Villa's idea nearly paid off, but towards the end of his semi run he faltered on two Flip tricks producing what at this level is considered two Dead Sailor Flips. He gambled, but end of the night it didn't roll his way, and giving credit where credit is due, Adams didn't miss a beat all competition and deservedly took the overall win. He narrowly lost out to Torres in that semi, who was riding the best we'd seen him all season.

It was to be Nate Adams night in Rome taking the overall series win. Photo courtesy of www.redbull.com

Torres produced some killer runs throwing down massive Grab Flip tricks, and tech combos that took him all the way through to the final showdown against Jones. The two minute final was a hard fought battle, both riders throwing down amazing tricks, and to split hairs at the end it was Jones fluffing his last trick that gave Torres the edge and winning his first Red Bull X-Fighters round of the year.

Tricks like this Db Grab Indy Flip from Torres wowed the crowd and the judges. Photo courtesy of www.redbull.com

It was an emotional end to the championship, the highs for Adams and Torres, and the low for Villa, who led the championship race all the way from the first round to the last. Villa was gracious in defeat, taking his loss like a true gentleman and champion that he is, it's just a pity that there can only be one champion though, and for 2010 it's Nate Adams for the second year in a row.

Congrats to you mate, you have proved once again you're one of the greatest FMX riders in the modern era of the sport.

Bring on 2011, it's going to be incredible!

Highlights

More photos

The moment that ended Villa's dream of winning the 2010 X-Fighters crown. Photo courtesy of www.redbull.com

Aussie Josh Sheehan excelled in his fist X-fighters appearance making the final eight and showing a lot of maturity and huge tricks like this Ruler Flip along the way. He'll be back in 2011 we're sure! Photo courtesy of www.redbull.com

Without doubt Adam Jones has some of the biggest Bar Tricks on the planet. He deserved to finish second with tricks like this insane Highlighter. Photo courtesy of www.redbull.com

Rome was a tough one for the judges from left Alvaro Dal Fara, Goba, Jason Moriarty, Morgan Carlson, Regis Harrington and Drake McElroy. Oh and thanks for the kind Tweets Mike Mason, true pro! Pic: Gobadirt.com

Everyone was happy to see Sincs walking around with minimal injuries end of the night. Pic: Gobadirt.com

Aussie Aussie Aussie, the boys were proud of their West Oz mate Josh Sheehan! Pic: Gobadirt.com