“Pushing the limits”

The 30-year-old Canadian Andy Bell has been an FMX-rider for as long as FMX has existed, and, as head judge of the Red Bull X-Fighters, he brings his many years of experience as an active athlete. In interview he reveals which jump he considers the toughest and what he thinks will be the future of the sport.

You are the head judge in Madrid. How are you preparing for the event?

For a judge it is almost better not to see the riders in any event before the Red Bull X-Fighters. That way, you don't have a preconceived idea of what they will be doing at the event, because many riders learn special tricks just for Red Bull X-Fighters.

FMX is developing at incredible speed. How can you tell how good or successful a new jump is?

New jumps are definitely judged on their difficulty and their creativity. To show a new flip – like the underflip – is going to score much better than just adding a trick to a normal backflip.

It’s your job as the judge to rate the difficulty of the trick. How has the rating of individual jumps developed in the past few years? A backflip, the ultimate jump only five years ago, now seems to be part of every kindergarten kid’s repertoire…

These days for sure just a backflip has become a stock trick that everyone must do in a run if they want to have any chances of scoring points. It is also pretty much mandatory to do multiple combos while upside down, thus pushing the limits every time a rider goes on the track.

Which jump is currently considered the most difficult?

I think the underflip is right now considered the hardest flip for most riders, as it is such an off-axis jump. But in freestyle, sometimes a jump that is very hard for one rider is easy for another rider.

Jumps only last a relatively short time and the interested amateur often has a tough time telling them apart. Have you ever mistaken one jump for another?

I have been a freestyle rider from the beginning of the sport and yes, even someone that has been around the sport for so long can mistake a jump sometimes. So many tricks are very similar, and even the same trick performed by different riders can look very different.

Pastrana’s double-backflip has opened a new dimension for the sport. Which developments are you expecting for the future?

I think as younger riders enter the sport, they grow up watching videos of the older riders, and to them, all the new top tricks seem just normal. So for them to push the limits way past where they are is very possible.

Obviously you can’t take sides. But do you have a favorite rider?

I like certain things about certain riders, of course. Travis Pastrana is a favorite because of the way he attacks the course like a race track. Ronnie Renner, because he is always so conscious of the fans in his runs. Andre Villa, for his ability to push the limits in all of his tricks. Those are just a few.