5 skateboarders you have to watch at X Games Minneapolis 2018

X Games Minneapolis kicks off on July 19 at U.S. Bank Stadium. From rising stars to established veterans, the skateboarding talent on display this year is of the must-watch variety.

Fans of skateboarding know that the product has perhaps never been better than what X Games Minneapolis 2018 will have to offer.

From park to vert, street to big air, the world’s top athletes are set to compete in the skateboarding contests at this year’s iteration of the X Games, held in Minneapolis for the second year in a row.

There are the legends — Bucky Lasek will compete in his 21st X Games — and there are the fresh faces looking to disrupt the podium, as 24.3 percent of all X Games athletes this year are 21 years old or younger.

We’ll take a look at five of the most exciting athletes you should make sure to check out in all skateboarding’s disciplines — ones you just may see accepting a medal on the podium when all is said and done.

Bucky Lasek (Vert)

We’ll start with the obvious. Anyone coming to Minneapolis or tuning into the X Games on TV is, in part, tuning in to watch Lasek, the most decorated vert skater in X Games history with 14 total medals in the discipline.

At 44, Lasek is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s been able to push his repertoire of tricks as the up-and-comers in the sport keep pushing the boundary of what’s possible in this sport.

In 2018, Lasek will attempt to make the podium in vert for the first time since 2013, where he placed first with a score of 92.33, which he threw down on his very first run of the day. He edged out his contemporary and competitor Pierre-Luc Gagnon, who finished second.

Since that fateful day, however, the highest Lasek has finished in a vert contest was his fourth-place effort two years ago in Austin. That motivation will drive him this year.