X Games 2014: Moto X Freestyle event cancelled
By Mike Dyce
AUSTIN – The Moto X Freestyle event was supposed to take place on Saturday night at the Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, Texas. The wind forced one of the premier X Games events to be postponed until Sunday afternoon.
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It was a decision that raised the eyebrows of some of the spectators who bemoaned that event being canceled while the BMX Big Air event continued. How could BMX riders go down a 75 foot drop and off a ramp in the same conditions that forced riders and considerably heavier Moto X bikes to sit it out?
Well there were other contributing factors, like the Moto X track being open on the north side of the Circuit of the Americas track. The Big Air ramp was built further south and in a little bit of a protected area. It was down a hill with the Austin 360 Amphitheater shielding it, at least the lower part of the course where the riders go off the ramp and approach the quarter pipe.
On the the opposite side of the amphitheater were bleachers as well, though likely too far away to do anything.
The event was rescheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon but as the time for the event neared it seemed less likely to go off. When crew members came out and started removing the sponsorship from the ramps that was the first red flag. They later confirmed over the PA system as a fork lift removed a ramp that the event was canceled for the 2014 X Games in Austin.
Unfortunately, there will be no medalists in the competition this year. Refunds were issued to those who had bought Saturday or Sunday passes and seat upgrades, but not for the 3-day passes.