Bigger, better, crazier, more

On July 1, Canada celebrated its national holiday; Whistler, its holding of the third Red Bull Elevation, and Ryan Nyquist, his second victory at arguably the toughest BMX contest worldwide.

Ryan Nyquist is Vans Triple Crown overall winner, eight-time X Games winner – and possibly Red Bull Elevation’s biggest fan. “There’s no better contest, no better setting, and no better field in any contest,” maintains the Californian, who’s been taking part in competitions on 20-inch-size wheels since 1991. His respectful love for the ultimate BMX contest already began in 2005 at the first of the Red Bull Elevation events. Back then he rolled across the finish line somewhat overawed by the crazy sequence of monster jumps – as the winner, but pale as a sheet. “That was no joke,” is all he could say.

Third time in Whistler – and each year the course gets harder

The crew surrounding Red Bull Elevation’s founder Jay Miron saw this assertion as an incentive to take, year for year, the limits of BMX bikes to the unbelievable. In 2007, at the third Red Bull Elevation, 36 riders had to negotiate the toughest course to date – with more transfers, more berms and even bigger sets. Nyquist won again, this time by only one-tenth of a point ahead of last year’s winner Corey Bohan, who was similarly as impressed as Nyquist: “It was the sickest course ever,” Bohan grinned.

Sickest course, wicked tricks

The “sickest course” was to be accordingly used by the best riders in the world: Nyquist’s show included a 720 over the step up as well as a double backflip. But not even this was enough to win the “Best Trick” session. The category was won by the overall third-place winner Brian Foster with a truck driver to 360 downside tailwhip. An amazing performance – but also a result made possible by the particularities of the Whistler course. Said Foster: “Those were the best jumps I’ve ever been to.”