Crash Denies Taddy X Games Medal
Taddy Blazusiak has placed fourth overall in the Men’s Enduro X final at the Barcelona X Games after crashing heavily on the final lap of the race while battling for the win. Entering the event eager to repeat his winning performance at X Games Brazil, Blazusiak’s race ended in spectacular style when he parted company with his 350cc KTM in mid air.
Battling his way up to second position following a mid pack start in the Enduro X final, Taddy immediately set his sights on challenging for the lead. Quickly closing onto the rear wheel of race leader Mike Brown, Blazusiak pushed his team-mate hard throughout the main event.
With the course becoming increasingly one-lined Blazusiak continued to apply pressure in the hope Brown would make a mistake. Entering the penultimate lap, Blazusiak almost found a way past when Brown stumbled on the tricky, uphill rocky turn. But with Brown holding a defensive line, Blazusiak was unable to make the pass stick.
With the race almost over, Blazusiak made another charge for the lead on the final lap. But a big mistake on a high-speed double jump resulted in the KTM rider crashing out of contention for the race win. Despite the spectacular get-off, which resulted in bent handlebars and an injured wrist, Blazusiak remounted and was able to finish the race in fourth position – missing out on a medal result by less than eight seconds.
Taddy Blazusiak: “I’m disappointed to miss out on the win or at the very least a medal result. I was having a great race with Mike Brown for the victory but it all ended for me on the final lap. We were racing on the very limit. During the race I felt like I had a little bit more speed than Brown and was doing everything I could to find a way past. But the track was becoming very one-lined and it was difficult to overtake. On the penultimate lap he made a mistake on the rocky uphill and I almost squeezed passed him, but he held his line and kept the lead. On the final lap I knew I needed to try and make something happen. I pushed hard to close the gap but coming up to the double jump I got out of shape. I’m not sure exactly what happened but I had to jump off midair. I landed awkwardly and hurt my wrist. My handlebars were bent badly but I managed to finish the race in fourth. It’s a shame to have ended such a great race like that but I suppose that’s part of racing. You have to take the good with the bad. I’ll get my wrist checked out to make sure everything is okay and come back stronger at the next round in Munich.” (source: future 7 media)