While major sports leagues that closed their doors in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic are tentatively returning to the NHL, NBA, MLB, PGA and NASCAR, action sports now join them.
In his own vision of the “bubble” competition, motocross king Travis Pastrana, in collaboration with Nitro Circus, developed the Pastranaland Pit Bike Championship for motocross riders to combine for an in-person championship, held in their own field.
After months of more frequently halted competitive races, Pastrana and Nitro Circus saw the opportunity to organize a high-octane racing occasion in a style for action sports.
On the occasion, 11 groups of two racers compete on pitbikes on a circuit specially designed by skilled Nitro Circus mechanic Hubert Rowland and located in Pastranaland, the legendary 65-acre hotel in Pastrana, Maryland.
“The last few months have been tough for athletes and for the action sports industry, without a doubt. We are all looking to ride and we missed the excitement of the race,” Pastrana said.
“With the Pit Bike Challenge, we want to revive this festival fireplace while making it fun and exciting for enthusiasts to see at home like hitting us with bars on the track. Being able to do everything on my lawn makes it even more enjoyable!
Among the 11 is an all-female team made up of three-time mountain bike champion Anneke Beerten, who together with Tarah Gieger, the top female athlete decorated in the history of the X Games, make up the cbdTM team.
Why pitbikes? Bicycles for young beginners would possibly look tiny next to the 450cc motocross monsters seen in professional competitions, but according to the spirit of Nitro Circus events, they presented a laughing challenge for racing veterans.
“Pitbikes are just fun,” says Gieger, who was the first woman to compete in Nations motocross and won the inaugural women’s motocross tour at the X Games in 2008.
“You can’t take yourself seriously when you’re riding a motorcycle designed for a child who’s learning to drive,” Gieger adds.”This leads to some pretty crazy races, because speeds are slower than motocross racing in general.If you go through and nail as hard as you can, you know you won’t hurt yourself.No one’s going to hold back for any reason, and that leads to races on the edge of your seat.
Adding even more firewood to the fireplace for Gieger in the championship, she had to face her husband, nitro Circus favorite and qualified ATV driver Dustin “Dusty” Wygle.There are very few motocross occasions where men and women compete in the same field.some other detail of the Pastranaland Pit Bike Championship that will make television a must.
“The competition opposed to Dusty in pitbikes is not something I’ve seen happen.He comes from half the pit bike, but I’m the driving force of the family.So it’s a smart combo for a lot of jokes between us.””Says Gieger.” All you have to do is log in and see who left with the right to show off.
For her part, Gieger was delighted to team up with the only other woman in the 11-team field, and is even sweeter than three-time world champion Beerten.
“Having a women’s team worried about this race was fun,” Gieger said.”We knew we weren’t going to be the fastest, but being competitive was definitely a purpose for either of us.”
“It was an honor to be part of the team with Tarah,” Beerten says.”Tarah is a tough guy in everything, especially on an off-road motorcycle, and he’s been a wonderful inspiration to me.
More than just orchestrating the race, Pastrana himself participated in the action, reuniting with his Motocross of Nations teammate Ryan Sipes as Team Red Bull.
After so many months of inactivity, all drivers, regardless of their progress in the championship, were satisfied with a track in a competitive context.
“I started climbing the walls of my space after staying home for so long.So when I won the invitation, I was so excited to go to Pastranaland and put my helmet back on for the race,” Beerten says.year, I usually live in a suitcase, but everything stopped because of the pandemic.Running in a controlled environment with everyone following Covid’s latest social estating regulations worked great, and everyone was super excited to have the adrenaline pumping and hitting their elbows!
The most productive way to describe the race is chaotic, and Gieger attributes this in component to speed demons who nevertheless have the ability to get back on a motorcycle, even a Kawasaki, in a competitive environment after the total.pandemic has been having touch races.
“Even if it’s a laughing event, it’s like freeing up a wild dog pen,” Gieger says.”We were all very excited to return to racing and I think that will show how much we enjoy locating some form of normalcy in our lives.
As for who wins, all you have to do is log out.
The Pastranaland Pit Bike Championship will air at 12:00 p.m.ET on Saturday, August 15 on ESPN2 and will be broadcast Sunday at thirteen h.ET.
I’ve been writing about action sports and the Olympics for almost a decade, having the X Games summer and winter, the Summer and Winter Olympics, Dew Tour,
I have been writing about action sports and the Olympic Games for almost a decade, having held the X Summer and Winter Games, the Summer and Winter Olympics, the Dew Tour, the World Championships, etc.However, my favorite writing pieces are the profiles of athletes who make those sports so fascinating.I am originally from New Hampshire, where I brushed my teeth as a snowboarder (and cut my knees and elbows …many), and now I live in Chicago, a town that holds a gold medal in my center despite its lack of elevation.Follow me on Twitter @MichelleBruton.