Ryan Nyquist Takes Home First Place

Ryan Nyquist Takes Home First Place Wins at the CFB and X Trials Freestyle

BMX rider Ryan Nyquist has always been admired for his outstanding performances in competition, and lately he has been unstoppable with a first place finish in BMX Park at the X Trials in Grand Prairie, TX and two first place wins (BMX Dirt and Park) at the CFB in Lake Perris, CA. Ryan has been very busy these past few months and has been riding non-stop. He is one of the six pro riders on the ESPN 2001 Dave Mirra BMX Super Tour presented by Slim Jim, which has been touring nationwide since April 28th. Meanwhile, he squeezed in outstanding performances at the ESPN B3 competitions in Anaheim, CA and Louisville, KY.

At the CFB contest in Lake Perris, CA (May 11-13) Ryan brought his bag of tricks and threw down stunts never seen before. In the dirt competition, the bar spin master pulled a "double bar spin flip," which he dubbed the "limo driver" (an upgraded "truck driver") and a "double bar spin no footed can-can nothing," which etched him into first place ahead of TJ Lavin and Colin Mackay who took second and third respectively. In the park competition, Ryan once again stepped onto the podium to take home the first place prize winnings. Ryan was off to a great start by qualifying first in prelims and had outstanding runs throughout the rest of the "jam session" contest, including his debut trick - a "switch handed back flip" on the box jump. But to Ryan, with six of the ten riders being from Greenville, SC, the contest was more like a regular day with his friends.

"I came out here to ride well and have fun," Ryan later commented, "TJ Lavin and Colin Mackay definitely raised the bar, but we were all still having fun." As for competing with his buddies, Ryan said, "It was like a session at home. We were in relax mode and meanwhile everyone was throwing down awesome tricks and having a great time."

Ryan took his winning streak to Grand Prairie, TX in the BMX Park contest at the X Trials. The Texas sun had no mercy on the riders, which limited prelims to a do-or-die run. Ryan, who won the silver medal for park at the 2000 X Games, qualified first and proceeded with two consistent runs in the finals which landed him on the podium for the first prize win.

"The heat and humidity made it really difficult for us," Ryan stated, "By the time finals rolled around, most of us had little energy, so I just concentrated on being consistent and staying on my bike!" The night prior to the contest, Ryan joined a crew of other athletes at the GPX Skatepark Charity Jam, which helped raise money for the V Foundation for Cancer Research and the GPX Youth Program.

Don't expect Ryan to slow down any time soon. In fact, he and his fellow tour buddies are back on the tour in California on the 2001 Dave Mirra BMX Super Tour where they will be kicking off the second leg of the tour at the Escondido Sports Center. The tour will be televised on ESPN and ESPN2. For more information on Ryan and all the riders, as well as air times, visit www.expn.com.