Chad Kagy Wins BMX Big Air at X Games 14

Last year, Chad Kagy broke his shoulder when practicing on the Megaramp for the Big Air contest and never had a chance to show off his skills.  This year, nothing was going to stop him from giving two-time defending champ Kevin Robinson a fight.  But in the end, it was Dave Mirra who Kagy had to topple in an impressive back-and-forth battle Friday night at Staples Center during the X Games 14 BMX Big Air final.

Robinson had the edge through the first two of the scheduled four runs but then Dave Mirra came through with a huge 93.33 score after landing a 360 no-handed backflip over the 50-foot gap followed by a high flair.  Moments later, Kagy pulled ahead with a 94.33 thanks to a flipwhip over the 70-footer and a flatspin 540 tailwhip on the quarterpipe.  Similar to the battle between Danny Way and Bob Burnquist the night before, it came down to the final run.

Mirra went first, pulling another no-handed 360 backflip over the 70 foot gap followed by a flair whip on the quarterpipe.  The 94.66 looked strong until Kagy uncorked a back flip tail whip followed by a boosted flat whip on the quarterpipe.  The 96.00 set Staples on fire and when Kevin Robinson tried his final run a few minutes later, the end was already set.

Check out the official release below as well as all the results (there were four more riders, after all).

Chad Kagy and Dave Mirra Battle for the BMX Big Air Gold

Kagy Goes Deep into his Bag of Tricks to Take First
LOS ANGELES- There was no holding back from the competitors in tonight’s BMX Big Air final as the riders progressively stepped up the difficulty and height after each run and pushed each other’s limits.

It all came down to the wire during the final of four runs. Mirra was holding the top position with a score of 94.66 from a no-handed 360 backflip over the 70 foot gap to a lofty, flair whip on the quarterpipe, but was knocked down to second place when Kagy dropped into the ramp for his final run just moments later.

All eyes in the stadium turned to Kagy as he launched off the gap jump into a back flip tail whip and then layed out a boosted flat whip on the quarterpipe, earning a score of 96.00 and clenching the gold medal.

Kagy may have won the gold, but his respect went to Mirra. “Mirra surprised the heck out of me. Good job, Dave. He was motivated to do this the right way and it pushed me.”

Trailing in third place behind Kagy and Mirra was former two-time BMX Big Air Champion Kevin Robinson who put up a good fight with a solid no-handed 360 into a no-handed 540 on the quarterpipe.

“I can go home happy with a bronze because I landed my new tricks in my second run,” said previous champion, Robinson. “The double flair in my last run didn’t work, but I’m so happy for Chad for his well deserved win tonight.”

Catch more BMX excitement tomorrow during the BMX Freestyle SuperPark and Vert starting tomorrow at 1 p.m. PT.

BMX FREESTYLE BIG AIR FINAL RESULTS
Results from ESPN X GAMES 14 at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calf. on Friday, August 1, 2008. (Final Standings)

Rank  – Name  – Run 1  – Run 2  – Run 3  – Run 4  – Best Run
1. Chad Kagy  – 83.00  – 83.00 – 94.33 – 96.00: 96.00
2. Dave Mirra  – 80.66 – 90.33 – 93.33 – 94.66: 94.66
3. Kevin Robinson  – 84.33 – 91.00 – 83.66 – 83.00: 91.00
4. Steve McCann  – 83.33 – 82.33 – 90.00 – 81.00: 90.00
5. Allan Cooke  – 85.33 – 87.33 – 80.66 – 89.00: 89.00
6. Morgan Wade  – 83.66  – 83.00 – 82.66 – 86.66: 86.66
7. Anthony Napolitan  – 85.00 – 83.33 – 80.66 – 83.33: 85.00