El accidente de Lusk visto por un colega...
Publicado: 11 Feb 2009 00:02
Bueno interesante la entrevista... ahi habla del viento, de las rampas y demas...
Myles Richmond recalls Jeremy Lusk's crash
Professional FMX rider Myles Richmond was riding the X-Knights contest in Costa Rica when Jeremy Lusk under-rotated his seatgrab indy flip, causing him to slam head first into the ground. Since the FMX community is tight knit and the riders are close friends, I thought it would be interesting to hear the story from somebody who was actually a participant in the event and close to Jeremy. The last thing I want to sound like is a sleazebag journalist hunting down the juiciest story, so just keep in mind that I hit up Myles for the simple fact that I think he can shed some light on what really happened in Costa Rica.
So, I know you were riding the X-Knights event in Costa Rica with Jeremy Lusk and the rest of the talented line up. Where were you when Jeremy crashed and what were the rider's reactions, including yours? Maybe just kind of describe the atmosphere.
I was sitting back behind the take-off ramp, so I couldn't see the landing, but when I saw him go down I was speechless. Jeremy is a tough guy, so I thought as soon as he crashed, we would start to hear people cheering because he got up and brushed it off — but that wasn't the case. The atmosphere was just weird the entire day — even before he crashed. I don't think that any rider really felt great.
I was at the same event last year and I know that it was really windy and the ramps and landings weren't the greatest. Was that the case this year as well? Do you think the wind played a factor in Jeremy's crash?
It was really windy this year, but the landing was awesome. The ramps are different from what we are used to, or at least what I'm used to. I remember Lusk saying that he didn't like the ramps this year. I think the wind did play a small part in his crash, but for the most part, he didn't pull hard enough on the take-off. He was under rotating his flips all day long in practice, so it surprised me when he tried a seat grab indy flip in his run.
What was the atmosphere like after Jeremy's crash? Did the event go on as normal? What kinds of things were being said in the pits amongst the riders?
The event went on. I actually made top four in the finals, so we had to ride again. I couldn't go out there and do my regular run, so I just basically went out and did some whips. The riders were just in disbelief. We all know how tough Jeremy is and we were just trying to stay positive, but it was tough. We knew how bad his injury was, but we just didn't want to believe what had just happened.
Seeing something like this happen to one of the sport's best athletes has to be pretty traumatizing to you as a rider. Has Jeremy's crash affected you in any way?
Oh definitely. I thought that if anyone was invincible, it was Jeremy. If that crash happened to me there would be no way I would still be here. It's an eye opener and it's really scary! We all think that this kind of thing won't ever happen to us, but it could — and that's really scary.
Is there anything that you'd like to mention to everybody out there who is following this story closely?
All I can say is that we need to keep Jeremy in our thoughts. This is an extremely hard time for him and his family. I don't think there has been a moment since it happened where he hasn't been in my mind. He is truly a great guy and an awesome rider. If anyone can get through this it's definitely him!
Myles Richmond recalls Jeremy Lusk's crash
Professional FMX rider Myles Richmond was riding the X-Knights contest in Costa Rica when Jeremy Lusk under-rotated his seatgrab indy flip, causing him to slam head first into the ground. Since the FMX community is tight knit and the riders are close friends, I thought it would be interesting to hear the story from somebody who was actually a participant in the event and close to Jeremy. The last thing I want to sound like is a sleazebag journalist hunting down the juiciest story, so just keep in mind that I hit up Myles for the simple fact that I think he can shed some light on what really happened in Costa Rica.
So, I know you were riding the X-Knights event in Costa Rica with Jeremy Lusk and the rest of the talented line up. Where were you when Jeremy crashed and what were the rider's reactions, including yours? Maybe just kind of describe the atmosphere.
I was sitting back behind the take-off ramp, so I couldn't see the landing, but when I saw him go down I was speechless. Jeremy is a tough guy, so I thought as soon as he crashed, we would start to hear people cheering because he got up and brushed it off — but that wasn't the case. The atmosphere was just weird the entire day — even before he crashed. I don't think that any rider really felt great.
I was at the same event last year and I know that it was really windy and the ramps and landings weren't the greatest. Was that the case this year as well? Do you think the wind played a factor in Jeremy's crash?
It was really windy this year, but the landing was awesome. The ramps are different from what we are used to, or at least what I'm used to. I remember Lusk saying that he didn't like the ramps this year. I think the wind did play a small part in his crash, but for the most part, he didn't pull hard enough on the take-off. He was under rotating his flips all day long in practice, so it surprised me when he tried a seat grab indy flip in his run.
What was the atmosphere like after Jeremy's crash? Did the event go on as normal? What kinds of things were being said in the pits amongst the riders?
The event went on. I actually made top four in the finals, so we had to ride again. I couldn't go out there and do my regular run, so I just basically went out and did some whips. The riders were just in disbelief. We all know how tough Jeremy is and we were just trying to stay positive, but it was tough. We knew how bad his injury was, but we just didn't want to believe what had just happened.
Seeing something like this happen to one of the sport's best athletes has to be pretty traumatizing to you as a rider. Has Jeremy's crash affected you in any way?
Oh definitely. I thought that if anyone was invincible, it was Jeremy. If that crash happened to me there would be no way I would still be here. It's an eye opener and it's really scary! We all think that this kind of thing won't ever happen to us, but it could — and that's really scary.
Is there anything that you'd like to mention to everybody out there who is following this story closely?
All I can say is that we need to keep Jeremy in our thoughts. This is an extremely hard time for him and his family. I don't think there has been a moment since it happened where he hasn't been in my mind. He is truly a great guy and an awesome rider. If anyone can get through this it's definitely him!
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