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 Chad Kagy |
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 Chad Kagy has some of the biggest flairs in the business.
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He's Back: Chad Kagy Storms Dallas
By Jared Souney
This was supposed to be Chad Kagy's year. Coming off a win at the 2006 X Games, and the birth of his son Tanner, Chad was on top of his game. Many people had him pegged as the one to beat in BMX vert this year, and as the one to beat in the X Games Mega Ramp competion.
A crash during X Games Mega Ramp practice shattered Kagy's dream season... literally. It left with him a shattered collarbone, requiring plates and multiple screws to piece him back together. There's never a good time for injury, but just as the season is getting moving is definitely not good.
Two and a half months later, Kagy returned on to the final stop of the Dew Tour in Orlando, with few expectations of himself. He won the contest. Miraculous, really.
Still trying to get back to 100% Chad comes to Dallas for the LG Action Sports World Championships with a win as motivation, and a builder of confidence. Kagy is back. The 2006 LG Action Sports World Championships BMX vert top dog is looking for his second straight title. Can he do it?
When did you get back on your bike after your X Games injury?
The first time I touched a bike was to drop in for points at the Salt Lake City Dew Tour but I wouldn't call what I did there "riding." I started to ride about a week or two after that so it was a seven or eight week vacation from my bike.
Do you expect to be anywhere close to 100% in Dallas?
I expect to be capable of riding at a level that most people won't notice that I'm recovering from injury but I'm not going to be riding at 100%. I'd say I'm more like 85-90%. That last part of getting back to "normal" is the hardest part of the recovery and the dangerous part, it's hart to not push yourself too fast.
Was the Orlando Dew Tour win a motivator in your healing?
I went to Orlando without any expectations but was hoping for a top ten finish. I hadn't done some of the tricks that I did during my run but that run was feeling good to me so I let loose and it worked for me. It was a huge motivational push for me but until I feel 100% I'm not going to push myself further than I think I should go. I'm going to ride the best I can and hope for a good run.
Have you been able to work on any new stuff, in the past few weeks, or has it been getting back to pre-injury skills?
Everything I've been doing lately has been getting myself back to my pre-injury skill level. It's weird to re-learn everything that you've already worked so hard to figure out.
How much of a help/influence was your dirt and park background in where you're at on vert these days? The new guys on the vert ramp (you're still relatively new) including Steve McCann and Zack Warden have similar backgrounds, which seems to have helped their progression as well.
I had a heavy jumping background with dirt and box jumps so when I started riding vert it wasn't so much about learning new tricks for a while. It was all about figuring out how to do all of my jumping tricks in a 180. Some work and some don't but I think that jumping background gave me an advantage at a different looking style than the regular vert riders. Guys like Steve and Zack are doing the same thing I did a few years back, adapting what they already know how to do in a straight jump into an air on vert. A background of diverse riding helps in every aspect of riding, vert skills improve park skills... it's all reciprocal.
The leader board has been getting switched up to some new faces, particularly this past year. Are we seeing a changing of the guard to a new field of top vert riders (including yourself)?
It's nice to see things change up all the time. If one person wins all the time it gets a bit boring for spectators since they show up and know who's going to win. That rules for the guy winning but now that we've got a lot of new blood in vert with a ton of new tricks being pulled every comp it could be anyone on the top of the podium now.
What do you think has brought some of these new faces to the vert ramp?
A few of the new guys live at Woodward East and there are regular vert sessions. The vert guys are on average a bit older and have a family so they're on a schedule, usually riding earlier. The park guys are younger and don't wake up till 2pm so some of the park riders that do wake up earlier don't want to sit around all day and wait, so they hit the vert ramp [with us]. The first winter I lived here in PA there weren't any resident park riders, so I had to choose between riding park alone or riding vert in a good size session.
The addition of the Mega Ramp in the X Games has pushed a handful of people to ride vert. It's all the natural cycle of things being in style or out of style. It's been a while since there have been some new vert riders. Maybe it's just that time. Maybe these younger riders have found out how much fun it is to be 12 feet over the top of a vert ramp... there's no feeling like it from riding anything else.
Obviously Woodward has been an influence on your riding (and evolution to the vert ramp). Do you think you'd be where you're at if you lived anywhere else?
No, it would've taken me a lot longer to get to where I'm at. Having the facilities to experiment with my creativity is a key to how fast I've learned all of my really hard tricks. The foam and resi allows us to cut down the injuries while learning new tricks, so the learning curve is rapid. The other side to that, is that I don't have to spend even more time recovering from the possible injuries from learning these tricks on a regular ramp.
How has having a son changed your bike riding or motivation?
It's given me a more profound purpose to competitions. It's the way I support my family. I want to provide for my son and be the best father I can be. This is what I can do right now, ride at the level I'm at pushing myself to stay at the top of my game. I've accomplished a lot in my riding career but there is no comparison when it comes to my son... he is by far the best thing to ever happen in my life.
As far as music acts in Dallas, who are you looking forward to more: Kanye or the Beat Box guy from American Idol?
I'm a fan of Kanye, and I'll be at Kanye's show for sure.
What other events besides BMX vert will you be checking out in Dallas?
Vert riders stick together so I'll be watching the Skaters and Inliners as long as they're not scheduled for 9am. BMX park has been absolutely nuts all year so I'm going to make sure I'm around for their finals.
Are you a conspiracy theorist when it comes to the Kennedy assasination? Or was it Oswald, alone?
I'm going to throw a whole new idea into the mix and baffle everyone even more than they already are... ha ha. Kennedy was overwhelmed by the power of being a president and couldn't take it anymore. He hired Oswald to assassinate himself. It was a suicide. It's a powerful statement, I know, it's insane but no more insane than than grassy knoll's and sharp shooters in library windows. I wasn't alive when this happened and didn't see it in person, so don't ask me. That's like asking if Jessica Simpson is smart & just acts stupid or if Justin Timberlake is straight or gay... TV shows one thing but you just never know until you meet them in person.
The LG Action Sports Championships will take place in Dallas November 9-11, 2007. To catch the action live, pick up tickets online, or tune in to the LG Action Sports Championships on CBS, Spike TV, and Versus.
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