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Too Strong – Catching Up With Jacko Strong

Written by Goba Thursday, 18 August 2011 19:18

Too Strong – Catching Up With Jacko Strong

By gobadirt.com

It all came together for Jacko Strong at this years X Games Moto-X Best Trick event after he stomped the first ever Front Flip in competition, a trick the X Games organisers pretty much had given up on leading up to the 17th edition of FMX’s Olympic games. Jacko proved to himself and to the world that one of, if not the hardest tricks in the sport, is possible under extreme pressure. And it was no fluke! Jacko signed off three months of his life to dial in the trick that took him to gold in an all-Aussie podium, just edging out Cam Sinclair’s Double Flip Nac and Josh Sheehan’s Double Flip. It was an epic moment for FMX Down Under, and according to Jacko one of the greatest achievements of his life. Now as he is starting to come down from the high Jacko’s focus is doing his home country proud at the first ever Red Bull X-Fighters event to hit our shores, but first he needs an invite, and 4 weeks out we caught up with the Mulisha protégé to talk about his X Games success and whether we’ll see the Front Flip in Sydney if he gets a start.

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Fresh from X Games at Red Bull X-Fighters Poland. Pic: gobadirt.com

So Jacko, how are you feeling now you have an X Games gold medal in your hands: Yeah I’m feeling really good, actually pumped, especially after putting my life on hold for the last three months preparing every single day before the event.

Run us through your preparation leading up to X Games: I built a big roll in the same as they use at X Games so I could make sure I had the I’s dotted and T’s crossed beforehand and knew I could pull off the Front Flip after rolling in from 10 metres high.

It must be a trip rolling down that ramp then having to adjust your speed to execute the trick perfectly: It’s not too bad. I wasn’t going to get into X Games best trick because they didn’t want to have anything to do with the Front Flip after what’s gone down at the last few events. But between Brian Deegan and myself nagging them saying it could be done they said OK, but you have to prove to us you can pull the Front Flip using the roll-in, which I did! The roll-in messes with the trick a little bit, but not a whole lot of difference really.

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Jacko with 2010 X Games gold medalist Cam Sinclair, who know's exactly how it feels to taste gold! Pic: Lachlan Russell

So didn’t X Games think the trick was possible after so many crashes in previous years: Yeah they didn’t think it was possible after coming down the roll-in. That’s why I dedicated three months beforehand to make sure I could get it right.

Coming into X17 there was a lot of hype around Mark Monea’s Carry On, did that play on your mind, like did you think it would beat the Front Flip: I wasn’t too worried, I just wanted to go there and land a safe Front Flip. I didn’t care where I finished, just pulling it off is a big enough achievement, especially after so many riders have failed trying it at previous X Games.

Do you think its easier to pull the rotation executing the Carry On: Yeah it’s definitely easier to get the rotation as the harder you spin sideways the easier it is to rotate, but on the other hand you’ve got to think about the landing. It might be twice as easy to rotate but twice as hard to land because of the axis of the bike coming around. At heart I’m a freestyle rider and my goal is too eventually be able to pull the Front clean in a freestyle run. I want to be able to pull off the Godzilla of all freestyle runs!

How did you feel in the moment when Moto X Best Trick was going down: Brian Deegan really helped me through the whole event as he’d obviously been there before and knew what was going through my mind. Having him there to tell me not to try the Front Flip in practice was a smart move as it kept a bit more hype around the trick come main event. I had a lot going through my head rolling in with the comp ramps being different to Oz and whether the rotation would be different, and all the things I needed to think about to make sure I’d get the spin needed to pull it off and hit the sweet spot on the landing. When I stuck it clean and rode away it was definitely one of the best feelings I’ve had in my life!

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Jacko's signature at Poland X-Fighters was in demand! Pic: gobadirt.com

At what point did you feel you had the gold medal: When I rode back up to the top of the ramp and saw my score of 95.4 I thought back to Cam Sinclair’s score last year he won gold and thought my chances were looking good. Then after Monz, Sincs and the others threw down their tricks it started to sink in that it could be mine and I felt pretty amped that’s for sure.

It was great to see three Aussies on the podium: Yeah hats off to Sincs, and to Sheeny for pulling out the Double with such short notice. I think us Aussies got our nut sacks out when it was needed most! (laughs).

Red Bull X-Fighters is not far away from Aussie shores, are you riding: I’m still not 100% sure if I will be riding at Sydney but maybe we can find out? I want to, and I'm really excited at the chance to be able to ride an event as big as X-Fighters in my favourite country, and home! The competition will be intense like every other stop, especially with 4 or 5 Aussies claiming Sydney as their stomping ground! I’m way out of shape for FMX at the moment as I have dedicated my last 5 months on stomping the Front Flip at best trick but hopefully I can sting it together before the event and place well!

What’s the chance of the Aussie FMX fans seeing a Front Flip go down if you are riding: If I'm in the finals you never know what could happen. It's my home crowd so the least I could do is try!

Thanks for your time Jacko, congrats on the gold, and best of luck for X-Fighters in Sydney if you get the call up: Yeah thanks guys, and I’m looking forward to the possibility of riding in front of a home crowd!