Dear X-Games:

First off, thanks for including freeride mountain biking to the X-Games with the new Slopestyle event. The audience the X-Games reaches is valuable to the lifeblood of this growing sport.

However, RAISE YOUR GAME! The whole term of freeriding implies that you can assess the terrain, pick your line and go big. These are unwritten rules that RedBull Rampage and Whistler’s Crankworx have known and been doing successfully for years. Yet, when I saw the X-Games coverage, there was 1 line, boring as hell and lacked imagination. Give the guys options. Give them an opportunity to innovate. Otherwise you are taking all of the imagination out of the event.

Still not convinced? Watch the X-Games First Place finisher compared to Crankworx from 6 years ago – many of the same athletes competed in both events. Then re-evaluate where this form of riding originated – British Columbia, check it out and improve. [Forgive my misspelling of Andreu Lacondeguy – that dude is insane and have his own TV show]

Compare:

X-Games 2013: Take X-Games Gold Medalist, Brett Rheeder

Crankworx 2007 [6 Years ago]: Take Second Place finisher Andreu Lacondeguy

Now that you’ve reviewed both – join with me and ask ESPN and X-Games to #X-GamesRaiseYourGame

If you’d like to see more downhill videos I have some over at my YouTube Channel: jasongrimesdotcom.