Although it’s been years since Travis Pastrana competed in FMX full time, he clearly hasn’t lost any of the skills that propelled him to the top of the sport.
The Nitro Circus Live show kicked off its North American tour at Copps
Coliseum in Hamilton on Friday, January 4th.
10 years ago a standard backflip would win you a gold medal in any competition. Fast forward to 2014; a three-man flip is the norm.
This looks a lot worse than it actually is. The landing ramp has a layer of resin on top to cushion the fall. Numerous riders bailed off mid-air and showed no sign of injury.
No snow? No problem! Skis and snowboards worked fine off the ramps. If you look closely, you can see small skateboard wheels installed on the board and skis.
I was surprised to see a few four-strokes in the night’s show. Although 250cc two-strokes are dinosaurs in moto, they still reign supreme in freestyle. Obviously, he has no problem with the extra weight.
Two of the sports’ OGs from the 2000s getting lazy on the job; Cowboy Kenny Bartram and Pastrana execute a synced up lazy boy.
I’ve never been a big fan of any pedal power two wheel bikes but the riders on The Nitro Circus Tour opened my eyes. These guys go just as big as the moto boys and they have no suspension!
One of the most shocking things of the evening was watching paraplegic wheel chair athlete Aaron Fotheringham hit the same ramps all the able bodied riders were using. What a badass dude!
Hometown hero Jolene Van Vugt had a solid performance including a ramp-to-ramp backflip on a purple chromed out RMZ 250.
Jolene went one for two on successful landings. Fortunately, the one she didn’t make was in the toy car on the resin ramp. Still looks pretty painful though.
Nitro Circus truly lived up to the Circus part of its name. I never thought I’d see so many ridiculous household items jumped across a 75’ gap. Thank God for the mind of Travis Pastrana!