Red Bull X-Fighters Madrid Results and Rider Quotes

The holy grail of Freestyle Motocross competition, the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid, Spain, was host for the third round of the 2015 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour.

The third round of the 2015 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour was held in Madrid, Spain — The Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas

Most of the riders brought new tricks, taking FMX to the next level once more but it was Tom Pages who kept his nerves together and put down one of the toughest runs in history to take the win. Levi Sherwood added some new tricks to his runs and his use of course was impeccable which saw him make it to the final and take 2nd place. Clinton Moore, winner of the two previous stops, stayed consistent and impressive to claim 3rd place.

Red Bull X-Fighters Madrid Results and Rider Quotes:

1st Tom Pages is the only rider in history who was able to win Madrid three times in a row. He seemed to be holding back slightly, but said after his hat-trick, “There is no strategy in Freestyle other than to bring the best you have, make the people happy and have fun. But of course I had a bit less pressure after Levis mistake. Las Ventas is the hardest and biggest FMX event in the world and that is where all the riders want to win. It is crazy to see how all the riders are stepping up right now and bringing new stuff to the events, but that is what you have to do if you want to win a freestyle competition nowadays.”

Tom Pages rides his way into the Freestyle Motocross history books — Tom Pages

2nd Levi Sherwood stepped up his game by bringing in the Flair., “I am pretty happy about second place and stoked to bring the Flair after I had problems with it in the past months during practice. Taka and I spent a day in the foampit before Madrid and I am happy to get this one off my shoulders now. I was happy to include it to my runs, but am really bummed about my crash in the final. I have to lift my hat to Tom, who was riding really well with his difficult tricks. He has definitely raised the level this year.”

Levi Sherwood bringing new tracks to the sport of FMX — Levi Sherwood

3rd Clinton Moore finished the third event of the year on the podium, this time in third position, which means he is still in the lead of the World Tour standings in front of Pages and Sherwood. “I am happy with my result. Levi obviously has stepped up his level and brought a few extra tricks. I stuck to my game plan and tried to get my points for the whole end of the season. For Pretoria at this point I am not looking for something new and will try to stick to my plan and have a constant, good year.”

Clinton Moore taking home 3rd place at Red Bull X-Fighters Madrid — Clinton Moore

4th David Rinaldo appeared to be a constant thread and finished in fourth position again, same as in Athens. “I am pretty happy with my fourth place, especially since last year I finished in last position here. I was pretty happy about my quarterfinal run, but had a few mistakes in the semi finals. But it is what it is and even though I do the Cali Roll a couple of times every day in practice, mistakes can happen.”

David Rinaldo stays consistent at X Fighters — David Rinaldo

5th Josh Sheehan experienced not the best weekend by crashing the Double Backflip again in his quarter final run after he crashed it already in the qualification. “It is a tight arena and I tried to find the right balance between run up size and gap. After the qualification I moved in the ramp by half a meter, but made a mistake in the run up and was too slow again. It is very disappointing. But sometimes things don’t go to plan and you have to keep pushing. But now I have plenty of time at home to relax, regroup and bring new tricks and come fresh for the next round.”

Josh Sheehan bring new Freestyle Motocross skills — Josh Sheehan

6th Adam Jones was happy about his sixth place result. “I came here to make it to the finals and do the run that I like. And that is exactly what I did. Clinton rode great and there was not too much I could do. I enjoyed myself and my riding.”

FMX Legend Adam Jones finished 6th at X-Fighters madrid — Adam Jones

7th Taka Higashino was happy to be back on the tour after his foot injury. “I only had two days back on the bike before I went to Madrid and am happy about my riding. But the level of riding is so insane now, it is important to have permanent access to a foampit, what I don’t have right now. But I will try to spend more time into a foampit now and come back strong at the next stop.”

Taka Higashino always bringing huge Freestyle Motocross tricks — Taka Higashino

8th Rob Adelberg advanced through the first round, but Tom Pages ended his competition. “Obviously it is tough against a good run from Tom, but his scores were not that far away from mine and I feel if I had one of his tricks I could see me beating him. I will keep pushing, pushing, pushing, that is what we do and I want to be competitive.”

Rob Adelberg progressing in the sport of FMX — Rob Adelberg

9th Maikel Melero celebrated his comeback, but just missed advancing into the quarterfinals by 0.1 points and was very disappointed. “I was happy about my riding, especially since I could not really practice after my injury. But I don’t really understand the judge’s decisions from yesterday and today. To ride in front of my homecrowd was great, they were so loud I could barely hear my bike.”

Maikel Melero riding his heart out in the bull ring — Maikel Melero

10th Javier Villegas rode without mistakes and good extensions, but did not make it through the first round. “The level now scares me a bit about what is gonna be the next level of tricks! Tricks that would have guaranteed you a win two years ago count as basic run nowadays. But I scared myself with my riding today, which is good since I was too conservative in the past.”

Javier Villegas with the backdrop of Red Bull X Fighters Madrid — Javier Villegas

11th Dany Torres ruined his competition already in the track testing session, when he tried to land the Flair for the first time to dirt and injured his knee and ribs. But he still went out to ride in front of his fans. “I am sad how this event went for me and it was difficult to ride today. But I am thankful for the crowd and very happy to be able to ride once more in this amazing place.”