Pearls and twirls

On May 10 and 11 Guadalajara, the ‘Pearl of the West,’ will be the world capital of BMX dirt jumping. At the Red Bull Elevation location, the bar of the do-able will be elevated a few notches to the supposed impossible.

Canadians and Mexicans have mutual neighbors, an idiosyncratic way of pronouncing English, and a preference for Mexican food – but apart from that, relatively little in common. Except for one thing: in both Canada and Mexico there’s a very lively BMX dirt scene. For this reason, Red Bull Elevation, the most demanding dirt contest of the year, has been drawn towards Guadalajara in 2008 after three events in Whistler.

Perfect course in Parque Metropolitano

Guadalajara’s Parque Metropolitano is “an amazing spot for Elevation” says Jay Miron, whose Red Bull Elevation tracks have revolutionized BMX sport since 2005. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw the park. It has a trail-like feel, the perfect slope and even an existing sprinkler system that we can use for water.”

New edition of the duel between Nyquist and Bohan?

The entire BMX dirt elite will tackle Miron’s dirt hill in the ‘Valley of Stones’ (the literal translation of the Guadalajara). Luke Parslow and Chris Doyle among others will want to get in on the duel between Ryan Nyquist, winner in 2005 and 2007, and Corey Bohan, victorious in 2006. How dangerous both of them are they’ve proven over the last three years. The Australian superstar Parslow has already bagged a second and third place in Red Bull Elevation; his American rival has been among the top five in all three events.