Rome/Italy/Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2011/Stadio Olimpico
The world’s top 12 freestyle motocross athletes converted Rome’s Stadio Olimpico into a modern Circus Maximus on Friday. In front of 45,000 spectators Nate Adams (USA) nailed the tricks to earn the title as the new Roman Caesar. Andre Villa (NOR) took second place and whiz kid Josh Sheehan (AUS) came out of nowhere to take third place in the third stop of the 2011 Red Bull X-Fighters Tour.
The wave would not stop rolling through the Stadio Olimpico crowd as Nate Adams revved up for the start of the final showdown battle on two wheels. When it finally did, Adams got off 18 flawless jumps within the 120-second time limit to win over the five-member gladiator jury, picking up his fifth victory in the 11-year history of the Red Bull X-Fighters. “It was the most difficult win in my career after I had a crash in Qualifying”, the 27-year-old American said afterwards.
On the biggest FMX course ever built in Italy – with 11 kickers and 8 dirt landings – the competeing athletes pushed themselves to their limits, jumping distances of up to 30 meters and as high as 15 meters.
Adams widened his lead in the overall 2011 Red Bull X-Fighters standings, following a third place in Dubai (UAE) and victories in Brasilia (BRA) and Rome, to 40 points over Villa. The Norwegian still has plenty of time to catch Adams in the three remaining stops in Madrid (ESP/July 15), Poznan (POL/August 6) and Sydney (AUS/September 17)
Final results Rome: 1. Nate Adams (USA), 2. Andre Villa (NOR), 3. Josh Sheehan (AUS), 4. Blake Williams (AUS), 5. Dany Torres (ESP), 6. Eigo Sato (JPN), 7. Adam Jones (USA), 8. Robbie Maddison (AUS), 9. Javier Villegas (CHI), 10. Maikel Melero (ESP)
Standings(after 3 of 6 events): 1. Adams (USA/265 points), 2. Villa (NOR/225), 3. Torres (ESP/145), 4. Maddison (AUS/135), 5. Blake Williams (AUS/135)
Next Stop, Spain! Make sure to watch on July 15th!
Credit: Joerg Mitter, Daniel Grund, Sebastian Marko for Red Bull X-Fighters