Vince Byron edges Jamie Bestwick for second-straight BMX vert gold medal

The second event of X Games Minneapolis 2018, the BMX vert final, wrapped up Thursday night after the skateboard vert final. Here are all the highlights from the freestyle staple.

The BMX vert final delivered on the hype and then some Thursday, the first night of X Games Minneapolis contests.

The event featured eight of the best male pro BMXers in the world, including defending gold medalist Vince Byron and 18-time X Games medal-winner — and 2017 second-place finisher — Jamie Bestwick.

Also competing were 51-year-old Dennis McCoy, a BMX Freestyle legend and the oldest athlete at these X Games; 14-time medalist Simon Tabron; Chile’s Coco Zurita; Wisconsin native Mykel Larrin; up-and-comer Zach Newman; and Douglas Oliveira, who is still looking for his first X Games medal.

The BMX vert final is a two-run format, which each rider having a maximum of 30 seconds per run and each run scored between 0 and 100 points. That can be both a blessing and a curse; a bomb of a first run won’t count, but it also puts a lot of pressure on the second.

As expected, Bestwick and Byron stole the show in the first run. Bestwick briefly took the lead with his first run, throwing down his now-signature alley oop tailwhip 540, but Byron quickly stole his thunder — and it was clear this was going to be a battle between last year’s top dogs once again.

“What do you think of Vince Byron’s 91?” Bestwick was asked of Byron’s core after the completion of the first set of runs.

“I think it’s three points higher than mine,” Bestwick said with a laugh. “Vince threw it down. I gotta get after him.”

Unfortunately for Bestwick, he didn’t quite get there. He still placed on the podium, earning silver for the second straight year. And once again, Byron found himself with another piece of gold hardware, while

Results

Gold: Vince Byron

Silver: Jamie Bestwick

Bronze: Zach Newman

Bestwick met up with FanSided after the contest to talk about his result and his pleasure at the riders he found himself sharing the podium with:

Highlights

Bestwick first run not only saw the return of his original trick, the alley oop tailwhip 540 and a flair downside tailwhip that drew cheers from the crowd:

But then Byron came along and strung together trick after trick with so much style and finesse in his own first run:

Don’t forget Newman, who earned his bronze with his shocking air and 540s:

Perhaps low-key the best, or one of the best, moments of the event was McCoy becoming the oldest BMX vert rider in history to land a 900:

Because Bestwick didn’t do enough to unseat Byron in the second run, Byron got to take the enviable victory lap while knowing he had his gold medal in the bag:

https://twitter.com/XGames/status/1020174525252632576

And, finally, Byron high-fiving his friends and family while displaying his new hardware is what it’s all about:

Next: X Games Minneapolis 2018: Jimmy Wilkins wins gold in Skateboard vert

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