BMX Flatland: FULL COMPETITION | X Games Japan 2023

thank you third and final day of competition here X Games Japan 2023 as we get set to kick off the return of BMX flatland welcome everyone Jimmy Coleman here in the booth sitting alongside Scotty Kramer and you can see that they're out there with the leaf blowers weather was a factor yesterday so uh the sky's Mother Nature's played nice out here today the Skies of uh the clouds have parted we've got sunny skies and we are going to have a condensed schedule out here today and we kick it off with BMX flatland and a couple of our stop our top stories coming into this one Scotty it is your defending gold medalist Keel hayakawa he came into this event last year he was an alternate and walked out of here with a gold what a story he is such a technical rider his style it's just so cool it's so intricate I mean just flatland in general it's just the most technical most difficult form of BMX and seeing him rise up and take the gold after being an alternate unbelievable you've also got you kataguri who was an X Games rookie or lone rookie in the field and the youngest competitor as well and then Matthias dandwa who has been extremely dominant and flatland competitions he had to settle for one spot outside of the podium the last go-around had to settle for fourth looking for Redemption here in 2023 taking a look at the matchups here flatland is a little bit different this one is a head-to-head competition so you're gonna get 90 seconds for your run you don't have to use all of that time in one shot you can break it up but each Rider is going to get one 90 second run and uh you move on into the next round you don't make it out of that first round you're eliminated and uh we'll little our way down to the podium matchups here so in our first quarter final here we're gonna see Yohe uchino more commonly known as Uchi going up against Alex jumlin here to get it started and uh with this format Scotty it's really awesome I mean it's a lot different from how flatland used to be run here at the X Games you used to have a couple of runs and they were pretty long they were like two to three minutes in length last year we tried out this head-to-head format with the return of flat land of the X Games now I I thought it worked out really well and I thought we got better riding absolutely this battle round it just completely changed the vibe of flatland and what's so cool about flatland is every one of these Riders They Ride differently than every other competitor that's out there today so when you're gonna have eight different guys going against and you're gonna judge it like you would a regular BMX competition getting uh you know between 100 and and zero it just really doesn't work that well this way because things are just so unique so having the fact that they can go head-to-head against each other and the judges only have to decide between each Rider it's it's so much better this way so taking a look right there at Alex Joomla and that was your silver medalist from this event last year the oldest competitor in the field he actually has been here doing this long enough that he goes back to when we used to have flatland at The X teams he started uh in 1998 which was our second year in San Diego competed in the San Francisco years uh in one of the Philadelphia years as well and he got his first medal I believe his best finished prior to that was Seventh Place back in Philadelphia he walked out here with a silver last year and Flatlands return to the X game oh it was amazing to watch I mean I've been a fan of X Games since I was a kid so I saw him at the X Games and seeing him finally get the medal last year was just absolutely it's just the coolest thing so again 90 second runs you don't have to use all that time at once you can go out and use it all in one shot if you want to or you can go out you can put together 20 seconds you can tap out then your competitor goes and again as you mentioned before we're not working off of points we're not working off of it you're not going to see that 100 point scale it's basically overall impression of what you do in that 90 seconds and here we go uchi's gonna start it off Uchi is such an amazing Rider he has such an effortless natural style looking going for a technical trick right there to be able to flip the bike and keep that momentum going especially backwards wow so hard to do he's gonna tap out Alex joomlin is going to step in for his first attempt here if you're watching this and this is your first time you're like okay so how does this work flatland it's it's an art form uh to put it in lack of a better term I mean you're going out you're doing all these insane tricks but you're trying to combine them style is a big part of meter but obviously no matter where you end up on that bike you want to get back to the pedals and ride away cleanly as you just saw Alex do right there yeah so if you take a look at the clock you can see that they are both have a minute and 19 seconds left so they they use the time the same but you know Alex he did land his tricks so hopefully Uchi can get this one right here sort things off with a backward Circle manual seven seconds came off the clock with that one so he should have some time left to be able to get that one but that's awful what a crazy trick I mean me being a BMX rider BMX park right has been been my life me watching this right here it just blows my mind that these guys are that talented on two wheels and possess this kind of control strength and balance it's it's it's amazing so Alex starting off this link right here with a front tire combo and again the strategy I mean you saw how quickly he put his hits together and then tapped out there that last go round I mean he put on a clinic with clock management here last year yeah you know he's a true professional he's he knows what he's doing I mean just think about how long he's been around I mean he's had he has a timeless style it's adapted and evolved with the sport itself and it's really cool to see starting things off that Circle manual backwards look at that transition the phone there you go gets it third time was the charm for Uchi here ironically that was the same trick that he got stuck on last year and he Nails it on the third try here in 2023. oh it's so good to see now what's he gonna do out of it oh wow see how he's transitions the bike flips it back out and then he's going back into a regular backwards video which is crazy and also to point out for those of you that may be new to flatland both of these Riders are doing this brakeless this is all bike control and Pure Balance here yeah it's amazing to see how brakeless BMX took over pretty much every aspect of riding at this point because back in the day you know there used to be two brakes on the bike during flatland but both these guys are just all about balance now you see Alex right there he had to put a foot down but he's had a really good run he's not a really good challenge so far actually as you mentioned putting the foot down we should talk about that judges are looking for the overall impression of what you do in that 90 seconds now as I mentioned earlier yes you don't want to dab a foot down you want to get back to the pedals however they're not looking at that making deductions for every time they're looking at the overall scope of the difficulty of the tricks how you flow and how you combine the tricks that you do make versus touches to the ground wow and look at this on both pegs holding with one hand that kind of strength and balance you have to do and that's blind as well like you're not even watching what you're doing you're looking on the circle that you just left behind you crazy Gucci looked a little frustrated after that one right there also looked confused he didn't know if he could go on right there but he Taps out and points to Alex so you see uchi's got 33 seconds left overall Alex has 46 seconds but that goes back to that clock management I was talking about earlier all going in for the nose transitioning back to it oh man so right there you can see how his foot came off you know to try to keep balance to stay on the bike he had to do that one oh nice yeah he's got he got to be able to do a g-turn like that and to get your momentum to carry forward again like the amount of upper body strength and control you have to have to pull that off is really impressive all right back to oh it came out early right there Wade's off but he still has some time on the clock okay still got 27 seconds right there again it's head-to-head format this is our first matchup we're gonna have four total matchups here in the quarterfinal and it's one and done if you don't get out of your first matchup that is it so you've really got to put it all together in 90 seconds if you're hoping to walk out of here with some X Games Japan hardware and Alex with another big front tire combo wow stepping over the bike I mean he's Landing in fake you'll see him he'll do a lot of fakies in his runs you know starting it off putting in the middle or even ending fake use he's got a lot of tricks that he will pack into a relatively short time that was his plan all along and he executed it to uh almost Perfection last year walking out with his first ever X Games medal we turned it back over to Uchi here looks like he's gonna go for the same line that he was just doing before you should watch this transfers that momentum wow the bike spins all the way around him but once again you know it dropped down a little bit right there he's got about six 16 seconds left having a tough time right there Alex has got 11 seconds left so this will probably be the last time we see Mr joomlin here in this opening quarterfinal matchup see what he's going to finish with here stay curious to see you when you know you have 11 seconds left right there it's like you got to get something that goes straight to the point there's a lot of flatland tricks that take a little while to get going oh look at that spinning over back onto the peg pumping around and that's time right there as I mentioned earlier Alex's first X Games you got to go back to the last year in San Diego 1998. so of the X Games Japan 2023 athletes the only other person that can claim being here earlier than that is Tony Hawk who will spit the first X Games so Tony serious skate first met skate vert best trick by the way Tony just uh had his 55th birthday yesterday by the way happy birthday let's just go out to think about it Tony Hawk was in X Games before I I feel like I'm old at 36 you know it was my first competition was 2003 but man he's still skating at such a high level too okay so 16 seconds left here so this will be the final time that we see Uchi here in this quarterfinal matchup just hoping that he can get this one [Music] probably switch things up this time around he didn't go for that trick you heard the buzzer sound I believe you get to finish out the link once the time runs out oh wow that's that's very important to know because that's going to make a huge difference right there assuming and there you go I mean he ends that one you know that yeah that's how you want to end especially when you're you're in Japan you're around your your home crowd all your friends are there you want to end riding away and that's awesome that he was able to do that as I mentioned earlier I mean that trick was giving him trouble wow last rated there in the middle of this opening matchup so again at no scores it's just a big reveal the judge is talking over and that's key as we go through this like judges are looking at the overall the scope the difficulty of the tricks that you do how you combine them versus how many times you actually touch down on the ground or how many slip-ups you may have and I think that's key absolutely uh I can only imagine the mindset going into it for these guys they want to bring their best stuff but like if your best stuff is going to have you put your foot down you know you gotta you gotta do your risk and reward but look at that that's it blows my mind as a BMX rider sitting here watching this and knowing that this is possible on a BMX bike like I'll go out there and say it these these Riders these flatland BMX riders they could be they're probably the most talented bicycle riders in the world when it comes to balance when it comes to control it's it's it's amazing it really is look at that transitioning with that weight on the front wheel like that I could there's so much strength and control I mean Alex joomlin is picking up where he left off a year ago absolutely exact same event Alex moves on into the semi-final round so the Frenchman's put in the work for the first part of the equation yeah you can see how happy he is for that one so he's gonna get another shot of uh potentially getting a medal he's just gonna work his way up this bracket system you know and that's something to talk about with this field the camaraderie and the sport as a whole I mean everybody's friends and all the different disciplines but these guys they're a whole different breed I mean they hang out together they ride together but it's so very different like you'll see these guys in a parking garage or just any flat open space and they're all hanging out but a lot of them just call them getting the earbuds in or whatnot and they're just hanging out and they're riding I mean they're together but they're not so to speak and it's like they'll go out and they'll do their own thing and then they'll talk for a little bit it's such a dedicated group of riders [Applause] going up against you defending gold medalist Keo hayakawa as we mentioned at the top of the show he was an alternate last year he got in and ended up walking out with the top prize here well he was an alternate because one of the Riders didn't make it and we're about to see him on the X Games course for the first time he uh last year he tested Kobe he's tested positive for covet he didn't get a chance to ride and because of that KIA was able to get into the competition and he walked away with the gold medal so it's unbelievable that these two are going to be battling it out right now but John Williams oh my goodness his style it's just so fast and aggressive and Powerful it's so fun to watch and I said it earlier these they all have different styles they all have different tricks the intensity and he wasted no time he got into it super quick and here comes Kia started things off he does a lot of back wheel tricks a lot of technical spinning tricks on the back wheel he transitions a lot in between you know the fighting right up and the bike with the bike being uh upside down he does a lot of crossfitted tricks so I'm really curious to see what he's going to bring in his time right there just think about it these two Riders they both had to step off the bike so that that definitely you know it's going to give each of the ride of confidence all right okay we both did it now let's clean it up together clock management they both still have a minute Plus on the clock here yeah so what I love about Delta erotic style too you know he does a lot of spin tricks but he covers so much ground he Glides across the whole course and look at that he walks away from that link that was the one that he was looking for there you can see by the reaction he's pumped about that run so we turned it back over to your defending gold medalist for attempt number two here with Keo you can see him pumping in the circle setting up the bike wow that transition it's not spinning the bike around and chilling on both backpacks like that I said before he does a lot of back wheel spins [Music] whoa and then you see how we transition right there to the back thing like that was like a complete switch up of where he just was on the bike that was so smooth and so dialed in okay so it's heating up here between these two as you mentioned before they both had flip ups at first attempt now now they're getting the Jitters out and they're putting it down here on attempt two wow so you say he was able to transition that bike completely underneath him without letting go of it and that's because he's a taller Rider so he uses his reach to his advantage of coming up with these tricks finishing that one up cross footed right there nicely done by the French Canadian hailing from Montreal back in start going around oh look at that he steps up over oh he's so smooth the way he transitions up there look at that no hands his leg was just backwards yeah he completely it was twisted around straddling the head tube and to get back around in the pedals like that it said they're all different from each other we're going to see different tricks from every Rider that rods today and their approach oh look at that but it's similar you can see how John Wayne he's got his feet on the pegs you know because he's a taller Rider he's able to reach that over the top of the head cheek like that to find that balance keep it in the circle yeah but he's standing up on the pedals right now wow it's final two when they get into some of these positions like the body movement like how they pump through to keep the momentum going to keep the spins going and sometimes stop I'm going in opposite or alternate direction that was a rough crash right there for Kia oh man yeah that one's tough too because that was right at the top but that's that so that's gonna stop the clock for him and that's going to bring back up John Wayne just synced up with right there he just had a really good link and now he was hoping he's gonna take some time off because Keo fell straight away now he has to get straight back into it so you definitely want to breather you want to you know digest the last line and think about what you're doing this might run out the time clock here for jean look at that spinning on his side [Music] let's see if you can end this one on a big one I love how he posts and I did get clarification with the judging if you roll into a trick or a combo prior to the buzzer I got a uh he's got 20 seconds on the clock right now you know that's that's uh at that point where he could have some time left on this one but it could be awkward time oh he's got it he's at that point now though he's gonna finish out on this link [Music] [Applause] yeah I'll step it out right there as well wow I do have to say with that clarification about the buzzer I did have help I gotta give a shout out to Vince Castellanos for Mex games research imagine where we would be without him I know thank you wow that was a that was a fun battle right there both Riders had their highs both Riders you know had their lows right there but man just seeing John William be able to come and ride at the X Games finally especially after having such a rough time last year yeah he had to spend 10 days in quarantine so the question I have for you is there was a couple there were different approaches there what do you think is hard you know and I I agree we're gonna put it out there we have the best flatland judges out there that are going to be able to break down these tricks so well that understand the balance and understand the difficulty Now understand where the mess-ups were so I'm really curious to see who's going to step out of this one I'm just glad we were able to enjoy the show I mean it's a tough seat to be in I mean you're breaking down the minutia and there you go it's Sean Williams Moving on your defending gold medalist he's out but I talked about Redemption I mean he came in last year tested positive for Cove it had to sit in a hotel room for 10 days before he could go back to him and he comes out here and puts a stamp on it in 2023 and he moves on into the semi-final round absolutely and you can see the energy as soon as they announce his name he was so grateful for that opportunity to be able to move forward but it's only going to get harder and harder as it goes I think he may end up squaring off against Alex jimlin in that next round we will have to wait and see there you go bracket number three you've got Moto Sasaki he was on the podium last year he was from this event last year going up against you katakiri youngest BMX competitor here at X Games Japan at 2023 only 18 years old for those of you that may just be joining us you get 90 seconds per Rider you don't have to use it all at once you can go out there and put together a couple of Tricks tap out let your your opponent go when you get 90 seconds overall to try to impress the judges and we started off with your bronze medalist from last year mono Sasaki on straight into what he does best his front wheel tricks are so good he's got such a fluent Style with it as well the way he's able to transition into his spins out of out of the big cars really really cool Moto actually a cheap local built a new house here's uh just last year but he'll tap out we'll turn it over to you yeah you also has a very fluent style everything he does is so like effortlessly Smooth look at that oh my God you just flip the bike all the way around and was able to recover look at this look at this movement though it's just it's so it's just fluency oh my goodness did you see how fast he flipped it around it's just crazy just seeing like you guys there's so much happening with the bike but like his body movements are just so subtle and so controlled look at the confidence coming out of that with the fist bump [Music] man that looks so difficult to do to keep momentum in Balance there Moto is a 16 time Japan championships winner also runs a flatland School here in the chief of prefecture and what's really cool about this this is our first Japanese battle we have two Japanese Riders right here today going head to head so they they know each other's riding they know what to expect good see just how smooth he transitions between having his hands oh my goodness my facing the wrong direction right now and look at it look at the momentum he's able to carry okay look at how he kicks off that right leg to propel himself with the flow through the motion he's having a perfect day so far oh my goodness man he picked a good day to show up wow so one thing to talk about too we talk about how this hasn't been contested at the X Games in a long time up until last year it doesn't mean that flatland went away this has been alive and well these guys have never gone anywhere it's just we took a long break I mean they have flatland schools all over Japan it's I mean they have these jams like this all over Europe and he's got it Moto got what he what was getting him the last two links right there [Music] man he's had such a good showing so far in this first round oh look at that man that was so technical right there oh he's still got 10 seconds so he's gonna get one more shot at it but he's got time to come out here and put together another link to try to impress the judges for Moto Sasaki with 34 seconds left on the clock so it looks like time is still going right now for him both feet on the front pegs oh I love when we transitions across the feet look at one foot in his face [Music] see we can finish this one right here [Music] over his body while he's able to keep that momentum in the circle so the time has exfoli and cross footed on the front wheel time is expired so when he gets back to the pedals that'll be it what a finish nice these guys are loving this bronze medalist Moto Sasaki all right well you've got 10 seconds on the clock well you just got to get into a link and then he can finish it out so again as long as you get into it before the buzzer sounds and you can continue on it will count all right let's see what he can do right here I wonder if he's gonna go back you better hurry oh Eddie does it and the buzzer goes I don't know what he was looking at oh no I don't know if there was some moisture on the stage or what but he doesn't get into it that's unfortunate that oh my goodness that's that's kind of crazy to think about you could see he was looking oh he was pointing at the clock yeah maybe maybe the clock wasn't running or something I mean this is just speculation I know he was confused because time did run before he got into a trick I don't I don't know if that threw him off but wow the area that he was pointing at looking at a different angle that was the time clock so he's gonna go anyway yeah we'll have to wait and see if this counts yeah because he was just speaking to somebody on the sidelines so he just got some kind of confirmation to be able to go so maybe the clock wasn't working on that side or something but oh my goodness can you imagine this right here because your weight is so far far above the bike and now you're the surface area like the balance point in the bike it's nothing it's so minimal to be able to pull that off it blows my mind always maximizing this link right here and there you go so a big finish the question now becomes what happened there was he talking to someone from Sports and comp and is this one going to count yeah that's a really good question but both Riders you know they I think they're both happy with how they ruined I mean I think it's safe to say I mean both of them got what they wanted to do I know uh you know might suit him a couple tries but hey they both got it here's Moto look at foot on The Handlebar right there and then he transfers the other foot back to the pedal so now only holding himself up you know he's got the weight on his seat The Handlebar and his foot on top of the handlebar look at the feet cross and then he's unwinding himself right there look at look at the emotion you know that means a lot to be able to get your own right there especially in front of everybody that's the important part whatever the issue was with the clock for you it obviously didn't throw him off on that last run the question now becomes is that actually going to count wow but look at that look at the beauty of this look at and you can really appreciate it in the slow-mo because it happened so fast look at that spinning the bike around and somehow catching that point right on your foot on the peg catching the handlebars in the right spot so we're being told that that last run did actually count so whatever happened there maybe the clock started prematurely they are going to count to Geary is moving on final round so two of our medalists from last year have been eliminated in this opening round of competition your bronze medalist and your gold medalists are out and your silver medalist from last year has already earned his spot in the semis wow this is gonna be a crazy next round just thinking about the guys that move forward and how honored they are today I am like so excited to see how this plays out but next we have a killer killer matchup right here yeah you got Matthias dandwong going up against Pizza van Burkle it's from the Netherlands and Matthias another competitor from France games rookie so the seats has got such a cool style he's so confident on the bike and you can just tell when he's riding like it's very well thought out exactly what it's gonna do he's always focusing on what's happening right there so he tapped out pretty quick good news is he only took five seconds off the clock right there Matthias trying to bump up the crowd right there he had to settle for one spot on the outside of the podium looking in last year he finished out in fourth year so another Rider who was looking for some Redemption here as he starts off his first set yeah I've spent so much time with Matthias over the years both of us being sponsored by fans we've we've gone and done shows together and we've done shows together on flat ground and they expect me to show up and do flat ground shows with them oh it was yeah I really didn't do much I kind of sat back and watched and this is exactly what he was doing for everyone he's so consistent with his riding all of his tricks are so original as soon as you see a trick if you saw the silhouette you know right away that's Matthias oh look at that transition I'm spinning over and getting that leg over the handlebars look at the style look at the flow look how calculated he is this is a long set of Tricks too he's burned through quite a bit of time here yeah and and that's the thing his the way that his uh links work out you know they build up and there's a he could do a full he can get this whole 90 seconds out in one hit with his style of riding so I'm really curious to see could he might only have two left when all said and done right here I mean he just went through two-thirds of his entire time wow wow amazing as usual as expected though yeah he is just so he's so solid foreign a lot of front wheel combos for him he's very smooth has an original Style [Music] yeah he might just be sitting back just watching seats to finish this one off but one thing I want to bring up about this you can see his style of his place it's very modern looking street style you know and I think that was a really big thing for him because uh when he started doing flatland and people were seeing his videos you know he started doing also some Street stuff at the same time so it was like he was using the same bike because you'll you'll know this flatland over the years it was always having like the smallest bike with the smallest handlebars and a Matthias came with a normal looking BMX bike and he's able to do these insane links he still had a second left at the end of that and then you just decided you know what I'm just gonna keep going wow so if he was able to notice that clock and realize that that's that's a true professional right there yeah no essentially in this quarter final round he's got it done in two sets of runs that's crazy to think about but he is [Music] so he had a very good run the last time around so I'm hoping he can carry that momentum into this it on the backpack but it's another front trick all right look at the spin all right let's see if he's gonna transition into a very intricate foot placement again confining that foot on the outside pedal oh so many like subtle little movements in the spins and it's crazy to think about when these guys are spinning like that not only you know you have to worry about getting dizzy but you have to find those little key moments of stepping on your points when you're getting the trick done he said 24 seconds on the clock wow oh something came down right there it's all right you've still got time give yourself a little bit of a reset right there he sees it yeah he's looking over his right shoulder he realizes I've got 10 plus seconds [Music] [Music] he was one second away from being able to continue that one on he's always had his own bmx Shield company back in the Netherlands after Cove and he said he quit his day job to focus on BMX full-time he also hosts workshops uh for schools and riding at events and shows yeah so Chan wears a lot of hats look at that he's got his foot on the handlebar foot on the other pedal facing the other direction he's able to take his hands off during that spin insane tonight here's Matthias doing what he feels best look at that I love when he starts pumping in those spins to gain that speed right there so cool so again no scores the judges talk it over and it's just the reveal of the name who is moving on and it is on into the semifinals earns that last spot into the semifinals here yeah the next game's Japan 2023 BMX flatland yeah so he could potentially you know get that Redemption from last year or just one spot off that Podium but he's gonna have to bring his A-game because we have something serious Heavy Hitters so it's Alex jimlin from heat one John William Provo from heat two you cut to Geary from E3 and Matthias dandwa rounds out the order so still plenty more flatland to come here from X Games Japan 2023 but the big story thus far Scotty two of our uh Podium finishers from last year get eliminated in this opening round s pull out the semis when we return to X Games Japan foreign welcome back everyone to Zozo Marine Stadium here X Games Japan 2023 before the break we had BMX flatland quarterfinals taking a look at some of the highlights for Scotty we had a couple of Epic Battles here oh so many different styles here and just seeing these guys be able to show up and bring their such difficult and intricate tricks to life and uh man it was so much fun to watch look at Keo up on top of the bike right there wow and look at he spins his body out and his foot was facing the other direction when he landed like they don't write a manual for these tricks like these guys are coming up with it and learning them in the parking lots and it's just crazy to see how they're pushing their body to the limits but man it's been an amazing day so far and I'm so excited to see how this next round plays out yeah that was a huge battle there between you go to Gary and modos asaki and then in the end on that fourth and final match up there it was Matthias dandwa going up against seats of van burkel yeah let's see so spinning on the front wheel you know he does that so good and you he's got to be they all got to be proud of their performance do you know they're able to show up in front of all the other best riders in the world and put on a clinic so four Riders eliminated four move on as we get set to kick off the BMX flatland semi-final two brackets here winners will move on into the gold medal round losers you're not out this round if you don't make it out of your matchup you do get to go to the bronze medal round it's Alex chumlin from bracket number one in the corner finals who's going to go up against John William Prevo your winner of bracket number two and then our second heat here in the semis it's Matthias dandwa going up against you katagiri so again just to recap you get 90 seconds that is the length of the run you can use all that time in one shot you can break it up into increments the choice is yours we saw different styles our opening couple of brackets you saw guys going in 15 20 second jumps then we took a look at Matthias dandua he went out there and he only took two runs that first one was a little over 60 seconds long for a second I thought he was going to finish the whole thing in one link which he's fully capable of I think he could do that but it's all about strategy you want to be able to use that 90 seconds the best way you can to be able to show off your riding okay semi-final number one it's Joomla versus Prevo and again to recap the story John Williams you saw X Games rookie he was here last year he arrived he got tested for coven he tested positive and ended up in a hotel room for 10 days in quarantine and missed the contest that is not the case here in 2023. okay but he's gonna have to get through Alex gymling to get out into the metal matchup here and this gentleman right here uh no stranger to flatland in the history of the X Games but he earned his first medal last year and it was a silver yeah so Alex joomla's style like I said it earlier you know the way he was been able to adapt and evolve you know his style grew flatland over the years you know we're talking 20 plus years of just X Games time that he's been riding Wow and his style now like he looks like he's like doing something completely you know unique to himself which is really cool so again there's that clock management he took that was 12 seconds that he used it was it's methodical he's got a plan he executes it but look at the speed right here look at the spins look at the combos of the jean-william Prevo yeah just look he's using the whole course you know you have to clear out of the way when he's on it because the way that his style of riding is he's able to spin and make up he's travels so much uh you know across the course at the same time and just so much power in his ride very similar there with the clock management both of these guys use glitch using little chunks of time but both of them having a great opening link oh look at that when he was able to hold the seat up there with his arm as he was spinning around on the front end once again still laying it there for a second that's really cool and I mentioned prior to last year for Alex his best flatland finished with seven he finished seventh twice it was the last year in San Francisco that was X Games 2000 and then in Philadelphia 2002. look how fast those spins are those transitions in between it's just like a flash it's so crazy that you can do that and still be in control of the box he had the bike upside down and it was there for maybe a millisecond and then he pops right back out of it and into another variation the speed at which he executes in between things is absolutely epic it really is see what Alex is going to bring here you know after watching you know John Williams on the course I wonder like what goes to your mind here you're seeing him he's bringing this a game so it's like all right so now it's time to turn off because you want to get into that final round so really the first time we've seen Alex have uh trouble in this competition there and they both of these guys still have a lot of time left I mean they both have similar approaches to how they're working that clock so I'm starting off CrossFit right here oh I love how he spins like completely around him and then carries the momentum into the spin earlier the way he's able to stand on both the pegs top of the bike you know because he's so tall he's able to pull this one off and it makes it a very original style for himself how quickly he steps out of that and right back to the back pay again just moves on that's that little people that transition the speed and that transition between tricks and look at that the bike's flipping upside down like being behind them look at that standing up top over there oh that was a close one take him down to the 15 second Mark so he'll have one more crack out of there Alex still has a good chunk of time we just called him in that backwards nose manual right there he's so good on that front wheel he's got so much like upper body strength and control to be able to do it look at lock it in going into it again okay it's so difficult to do right there you know what's really cool about John Williams I actually bought some high quality titanium parts from him uh this this is past winter and uh yeah it's just so cool to see you know be able to get these bike parts you know these amazing bike parts too super light and super high quality and then these are higher at the same time that is his next level look at that on the pedal you know facing opposite direction humping around getting that speed and I said this earlier you know when the bike's in that form right there that balance point it's literally it's just it's a straight line going down there is not much room for error at all and he got into this combo before that buzzer so even though the time has stopped or it would run out this will count no there you go huge finish going back to what you were saying about the bike parts he actually works from home where he designs and sells bike parts he also went to Shenzhen University for three semesters learning how to speak Mandarin as well unbelievable which is one of the most difficult languages to try to learn I don't know how he finds time to be able to learn these tricks really don't but look at Alex on that front wheel getting that momentum going again with his foot spinning around yeah I just want to point this out Alex is pretty much the coolest dad you can ever possibly get you know he rides with his sons I mean it's definitely it's I always say you know it's between Corey nastagio and Alex who's the coolest dad out there yeah both these guys it's too old this Gavin and Nathan they both ride flatland and uh the youngest Jude he's for already riding a bike and uh getting out there and learning tricks from Dad and look at his skill would probably be his last time getting this link started foreign [Music] and there but again we talked about this in the quarterfinals we have to reiterate this it's not about how many times you dab a footer touchdown the judges are looking for the overall scope and intensity how you link tricks together for the stuff that you actually do makeup and again no scores it's just the name reveal at the end as we take a look at some highlights here from this semi-final matchups yeah and like I was saying earlier each of these Riders rides so different like just watching the slow motions right here seeing how Alex rides seen the way he's spinning on the front wheel he's got those tight spins he's able to you know step on over the bike keep it going look at John on the back wheel spinning around on top of the bike it's just two different styles for sure and what's so cool is these guys ride Head to Head and the judges are able to decipher you know they know what's difficult what's difficult for each Rider too so we're definitely gonna see uh the right Rider move forward rookie finds himself going on to the gold medal matchup however Alex is not out completely he does get to go into another matchup uh whoever doesn't get out of this next round they will battle it out to the bronze medal so Alex could potentially meddle again he's down but not out as we get set to take a look at our next matchup here with you katakiri and Matthias if these guys can bring the same energy that they did in the first round so of course we are about to see fireworks right here both of these Riders were riding so good both of their Styles so unique oh they're their tricks so unique this is going to be evidently before we get into I'm gonna go down a little bit of a rabbit hole here 2003 was the last time prior to last year here in Japan that this was contested at X Games and it was a different animal you got like a two to three minute run you got a couple of them there but you went out there and it was just one person riding for the entire time like to me personally I think you get better riding this way with being able to go out there and do things in quick bursts and different links and whatnot I think the Riders get into a better flow I prefer this head-to-head match-up format personally I wish that they could incorporate this in everything because the head-to-head is freaking out the best of these Riders even if they mess up they're feeding off of each other's energy they get another shot to answer back you're building that momentum and then you know what it's very similar to the sessions that these guys will have in parking garages uh parking lots when they go out and they ride as a group there's no doubt about it but tea is starting things off like we said earlier he almost used up you know it was two-thirds of of his time seconds on that first run which is wild so curious to see if his strategy is going to change at all but like I said his style of riding though he does a lot of uh tricks that that bridge off of the last one so look I'm scuffing right there yeah getting that momentum swinging the bike around he's coming up on a 50-second mark so he's definitely uh it was shorter than the first time but he used up a ton of time it's just this smooth calculated style though it just gets out there everything is just perfect it flows so he'll tap out we'll take a look for the first time here in the semis and you cut to Geary [Music] so if you starting things off on the back Peg again like we said earlier he does a lot of interesting stuff on the back we owe a lot of stuff with like flips and look at that that was fully around I mean all the way around and landed on it and kept the momentum oh my goodness how cool how quickly he did that is my boat it's just it's just so fat oh look at that floating up on top right there and another perfect link wow picking up where he left off [Music] with 52 seconds left overall again you get 90 seconds in total per Rider overall impression no scores oh look at this both hands off holding that bike up with the side of his leg he's able to hold that bike up during that spin which is crazy and it was such a slow rotate rotation he almost slowed it down a little bit when he opens up with the hands it definitely slows it down okay transition both feet on the pedals I couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to do that that was crazy wow we're seeing some high level flat lamps today this is so cool to watch it looks like he's just having the best time out there I mean he's having fun with everybody in the crowd he always is you know that's why it's the guns he's here for a good time and he's going to bring you top-notch riding back to you on the course again transitioning again with that blank foot he was able to carry that momentum and get that going backwards and incorporate that into that spin crazy and he Taps out there so again different styles here in that clock management he's still got 49 seconds is down to the final 23 here yeah this could be the last time on the course for Matthias as long as you get into it before that buzzer which he did so he can keep this going yeah you know what's really interesting about that too is like when he went into that link that tight spin look at both hands off but like when you went into that link you know you transitioned in a lot of you know the links both Wheels touch down so I was curious in my head like what the judges would think about that like because when both Wheels touching the ground before it goes I don't know exactly how that works but still though it's really really cool to watch so an epic finish right there for riding BMX bike all my life and seeing how he can do that consistency it just seems unreal it just doesn't seem possible but he's just such a solid Rider back to him being the youngest Rider you know just look at the style if it's right you know it's different to everybody else how is he able to yeah and make this it's such a short span it doesn't blows my mind crazy to think about so he's like looking over like all right I'm done but like nope you're the only one left you're the only one with any time left hey I think he's just noticed that right now wait but what a performance by both of these guys the energy from both of these Riders were so cool tears look at that signature you know he's always got that float flowing spinning tricks and he's able to tighten it up and getting these tight spins too hands off right there and keeping it going like we said he's just he can do these links into other links Non-Stop but you just want so much just such a clean style and just so many original tricks especially with all these crazy bike flips this is the trick that he ended with right there yeah he was running out of room he was getting dangerously close to the edge of that stage so what do you think with this one here well oh you got the gear he takes down but Tia standoff oh my goodness the youngest BMX athlete here in X Games Japan 2023 finds himself going to the gold medal matchups this that final round is going to be insane so the guy that missed the event last year because he tested positive for Kobe they're the youngest athlete 2023 in the BMX side of things are gonna duke it out next round for a potential gold medal here Scotty oh my goodness the other two guys they're gonna have to go at it in the bronze medal matchup we've got two more brackets to go when we return to X Games Japan [Music] foreign and final day of competition here in X Games Japan 2023 welcome everyone inside the Zozo Marine Stadium we are in the metal matchups here in BMX flatland two brackets left to go to determine who's walking at it we're with flatland Hardware in 2023. Jimmy Coleman here alongside Scotty Cramer we have the Battle of Alex joomlen going up against Matthias dandwa it is the Battle of France going on here these two guys were eliminated from the gold medal matchup Alex joomlin walked out of here with a silver medal last year Matthias had to settle for fourth place last year so does Mr jumlin walk out with another medal or does Mr Dan dwa put himself on the podium battle right here these two are so close but just thinking about it one of them is going to get a medal one of them isn't Matthias wants the next game's medal so bad we're gonna see right now Alex start things off oh Alex with a rare slip up there to start it off the Elder Statesman in the group at 45 years old Matthias Dan dwell 34 years old oh look at that transition spinning on that front end right there he's got that 720 rotation Alex residing in Montpelier and Mr Dan hailing from Paris I love how he does that spin right there he's able to straighten out his legs and get that back wheel spin I can't read that momentum around pedal right there we did this one in the last bracket both feet on the pedals you know you can see how he's underneath the front wheel spinning around so much all right so if you're just joining us to recap how it works each one of these Riders gets 90 seconds overall impression you don't have to use it all at once you can break it up into increments if you want to use it all at once so you have that option you're trying to put together a combination of Tricks no scores it's overall impression with our judging panel oh that was nice he was able to get this one spin it all the way around going on the front leg nice glad he recovered after that first one right there nice finish there for Alex what's at stake here in this matchup the winner stands on the podium and takes home a bronze medal it's rare to see him have so much time left on the clock the way he's been going about it today the first round or the first matchup of the quarterfinals he did his first run he took up 61 seconds off and then he took about 48 seconds off in the semi-finals and back to the pedals with 16 seconds left on the clock so he'll get one more go at it Alex two pass 56 seconds left yeah like I was saying earlier these two are so close they ride with each other they've known each other forever Matthias has looked up to Alex like so you know as as much as it's bittersweet they're just happy to be riding with each other on the biggest stage for flatland right here this is an awesome opportunity for both of them and they're both going to appreciate it and be happy for whoever is able to uh get onto that Podium but look at that technical riding from Alex like that Julian still has a lot of time you want to call that one in 36 seconds so we'll take another look yeah this could be the last last one from Matthias so it's the big question is what does he bring does he bring his hard tricks does he try to play it safe you know it's approach you know I'm sure he's gone over in his head he had some time of it oh I love this one right there hands coming off being able to spin right there and keep it it only has his foot on the Peg and he's able to keep that bike upright and in that space okay see here's the buzzer time is up however this counts he got into this before time started so he gets to continue this link out [Music] yeah he's got a ton of time especially with his style of variety so he could definitely do almost like three separate links here you know depending on what he decides to do 24 seconds left on the clock going into the nose coming around trying to hold it up right there [Music] he's transition it into a different trick [Applause] [Music] doesn't matter who's gonna get on the box they're both going to be happy for each other yeah but look at the replays I love that we're able to watch this in the slow-mo so we could really appreciate it just look at his transitioning you know from Peg to Peg you know on that foot Matthias you know walking his way up this is when he puts his foot spinning there on this on the on the outside of the bike but what an awesome showing from the two Frenchmen oh look at that crazy how he's able to spin and step over going into the cross but taking his hands off cross-footed and no-handed oh it's it's a thing of beauty it really is because he has had a great show yes which one's it going to be and it's going to be Matthias he settled for fourth last year Alex walked out of here with a silver so Alex is going to settle for fourth this year and Matthias Daniel is gonna earn his first X Games medal that is so cool I'm so happy for him I could tell last year you know he right before that last round he was ready for it he wanted to get that medal you know X Games medal you know especially growing up and looking at BMX Like You know you're dreaming about if it's a possibility when you have the opportunity to do it and you miss out on it by one step on the podium man that's tough just to throw this out there as we celebrate Matthias in that battle I gotta give a shout out again to Alex I mean going back to 1998 and then coming back in last year after that long break with Flatline at the X Games they're walking out over the silver medal glad to see you in the semi-finals again sir here we go it's down to the gold medal matchup you katagiri Japan air 2023 going up against Jean William Prevost 18 years old for you katagiri he finds himself in this gold medal matchup against the gentleman who had to watch this one unfold from a hotel room quarantined here last year now they are about to battle it out for the Ultimate Prize overall impression with the judges it's a name revealed at the end and it's the man from Montreal Canada who gets it started John Williams oh my goodness just look at this line right here we spoke about it earlier it was just so much power but he's able to ride so fast and aggressive stay good it was pretty crazy is that John Wayne Provo and you category they went against each other in the circle of balance in the final round this is not new for them they've looked across the stage from each other before they've seen they've seen the best come out so this is gonna be pretty wild to see how it plays out time starts once you get into your first completely around the back all right so both Riders just had to step off on their tricks you know but we were talking about this earlier this battle around like this you have the opportunity to answer back and you was doing it right now of getting the Redemption on the trick that he just didn't land on the first one once again [Applause] [Music] it says look how much faster he goes on every one of those pumps stepping up to the pedalia oh man that was was brilliant right there so it's right at the end of it this is the finishing sequence that he was stepping off down at the final 27 seconds you still have it 62 seconds to go here look at that stopping the tires oh look at that transition oh my goodness see how he's pumping to get that momentum up top right there but it's so crazy you know being on the side of the bike right there just imagine how much force is on that pedal and it is like I said earlier that though you only have a surface area that's straight down underneath the bike and looking he did that bike club again and gets it okay so after that early slip up he's now finding the groove here with about a third of his overall time still left so this is a a tough time meaning that he only has 27 seconds left because he does like doing long uh links right here so this is his last time on the course you know to be able to get this one so we're gonna see what he does there you go clock starts momentum [Music] in the right spot taking the hands off right there floating the bike look at that balance cross foot hands off crossfits tuck the bars into your hip it's insane it's so impressive it's so hard the balance point that you have to find to get into some of these positions not just that but the way that they combine these different crazy positions together and how they transition in between them yeah and all of these tricks that these guys are doing these are their tricks that they've been learning in the parking lot during trial and error and it's just amazing that we get to see the finished product here at the X Games get that he stepped over so many times right there I just can't believe like you can you can do that just stepping over finding the pet finding the peg oh look at that momentum spinning around [Music] wow look at speed is he gonna hang on to this wow what a final show that was easy finish there's the buzzer so that is going to do it what a performance here in the gold medal matchups [Music] like I said the mutual respect for the Riders right here you know they're battled up against each other both of them want to go for that gold medal but you know they respect each other's riding oh just look at these slow-mos you can truly appreciate John Williams riding right here watch this look at the little subtle movements with the hands on the handlebars transition the bike around but it just spins the bars tucks it into the left hip and then takes the hands off fluid perfect yeah and and you as well this one right here watch what he does oh he's floating up there look he's got nothing on there besides his hands on The Handlebar and the peg for a second and then at the end of the last run there and look at that emotion right there ending with an exclamation point so now here comes the bank reveal either way it's a brand new Podium compared to what it was last year and oh the 18 gold [Applause] that's a pretty cool celebration right there I mean you know it's epic for both these guys you're the youngest BMX competitor out here at X Games Japan 2023. you're in the you're leaving with a metal you're leaving with the shiniest of all the medals and a guy that watched all this unfold unfold in a hotel room in quarantine last year comes out and finds himself in the final match up and walks out of here with X absolutely you know there can't be any you know down feelings about the performance for any of these riders today they all showed up and brought their A-game and we were just lucky enough to be able to experience it but man that was epic yeah we watched this last year it was absolutely amazing to have flatland back at the X Games and you and I talked about it a couple of times here in this competition I mean I love the head-to-head format and I think we get the best riding and I love that we have flatland back at the X Games well that is a wrap for us for now still plenty more to come congratulations to you katakiri walking out with X Games gold

Channel: X Games

Views: 1,842,025

Keywords: yt:quality=high, X Games, XGames, X-Games, x games japan, x games japan 2023, bmx flatland, watch x games, watch x games japan, japan x games, how to watch x games japan, watch x games bmx, bmx flatland x games 2023, bmx flatland japan, bmx, bmx 2023 x games japan, Matthias Dandois, Kio Hayakawa, Alex Jumelin, Yu Katagiri, Jean William Prevost, Moto Sasaki, Yohei Uchino, Sietse Van Berkel, bike flip, backwheel coasting, forklift, antrider, no handed backwheel spinning

Id: koFRMwF26Zk

Length: 69min 3sec (4143 seconds)

Published: Sun May 14 2023