 |
 Jamie Bestwick Wins |
|
 Jamie Bestwick in action. |
Jamie Bestwick wins his fifth LG Action Sports Championships
There's no arguing it: Jamie Bestwick is the best BMX Vert rider in the world. His win here in Seattle marks his fifth LG Action Sports Championship title, capping off a huge year that also included a gold medal X Games 14 and the Dew Cup championship.
Bestwick edged out his closest competitor and 2006 champion Chad Kagy for the win on the huge ASA vert ramp tonight at the 2008 LG Action Sports Championships, with Simon Tabron taking the bronze medal.
So what's driving the man who is nearly impossible to beat?
"The main thing for me is that is that I actually enjoy riding bikes," says Bestwick, clutching the gold medal hanging at his chest. "Not that nobody else does, because we all do, it's just that I gave up everything to ride my bike. I gave up my job, my family, and the country I lived in all my life to come over here and ride my bike, and that's what drives me forward: Just to enjoy riding ramps like this, hang out with the best vert riders in the world, and put on a great show for fans who come to see us."
Bestwick's been having a hell of a year living out his dream life. Between contests he lives and rides in State College, PA, training at the Woodward Camp, but he's at his best when the pressures is on. He says he's proud of all of his accomplishments in 2008, but that the LG Action Sports championship and ASA hold a special place in his heart for one very important reason.
"This ramp is probably the best ramp I've ever ridden in my life," says Bestwick. "It's 14.2 feet tall and it just works. It's effortless: You don't need to pump super hard but when you do you get massive rewards and just boost to the moon. It's that feeling that I love, to never be restricted on a ramp and get maximum results. If you want to go high, this ramp will let you go high."
Bestwick boosts higher than anyone else in BMX Vert competition, and when he's on he's awfully hard to beat - even when his competition has huge tricks like Kagy's flare whips and Tabron's 900 spins. Bestwick admits to being hugely competitive, but says there's more to it than that. When close friends like Kagy and Tabron are on the ramp, Bestwick is their biggest fan, cheering them on as hard as anyone in the stands.
"There was a time when there was such a cutthroat attitude on top of the ramp, you know, everyone for ourselves, but I think we all figured out that to have a great contest that doesn't necessarily work," says Bestwick.
"In our sport we're so driven by the new talent and fresh ideas coming in that everybody lightened up a bit and we all started to have more fun. Look at the results: we put out great contests and you see some of the best tricks thrown down every time. It's stressful enough what we're doing, riding this huge ramp and trying to beat 9 of the best guys in the world. If everybody's at each others' throats mentally and verbally it just doesn't help the cause out. For us to all be great friends and to hang out and do our thing and cheer each other on at these contests, it's a huge positive and it really shows that we're a different breed of athletes."
