In 2023, over 50 of the world’s best freestyle BMX riders are competing at three tour stops for wins in BMX Dirt and Best Trick, as well as the overall season title.
As per tradition, the BMX dirt competition series takes place during select Monster Energy Supercross events. The 2023 Monster Energy BMX Triple Challenge kicked off in Anaheim, California, on January 28, and stop two attracted an elite field to throw down their best moves on the dirt track outside State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
Aside from occasional gusts, the warm and sunny Arizona weather was ideal for the riders to put down some heavy runs. The three perfectly shaped and groomed jumps consisted of a massive booter with one of the tallest landings ever seen on the first jump, followed by a slightly longer middle jump with a step-down roller after, leading into a final jump that a few riders referred to as a box jump ideal to let the tricks fly.
For the eight-rider final, the format was simple as usual: Three massive jumps. Best run counts. The top three walk away with trophies and season points.
When the action got underway, the gnarly course took its toll on some riders, including Monster Energy’s Daniel Sandoval having to contend with a flat tire on his first run of the final.
Undeterred by the massive jumps, young gun Bryce Tryon brought his A-game to Glendale and qualified for the final in second place. Bryce’s bag of tricks included his tried-and-true banger barspin-to-no-handed front flips to superman-to-barspins and a new pull from the bag with a 360 lookback-to-no-hander.
But the run that clinched the win was an absolutely flawless run comprised of a double backflip, followed by a barspin-to-no-handed backflip, and capped off with a 720 tailwhip. Before the dust even settled, Bryce gave his bike a post-run celebratory toss, and announcer Micah Kranz mentioned how that could potentially be the winning run—and the judges agreed!
Winning the Glendale stop of the 2023 Monster Energy BMX Triple Challenge marks the first victory in the Triple Challenge event series for Tryon. After competing in the BMX Triple for the past six years, Bryce’s consistent progression has made him a force to reckon with.
Having competed in the first BMX Triple ever, Bryce said: “I started all the way from the bottom and worked my way to the top. The first year or two, I would keep getting closer to the bubble to make it into semis, then making it into semis and not really knowing what to do. Each year progressing more and getting more comfortable with doing big jumps.”
Raised in the Monster Army athlete support program for seven years of his career, Tryon has steadily evolved his technical riding skills and took X Games silver in BMX Dirt in 2021. The next-generation talent ranked up to full-fledged Monster Energy pro team sponsorship in 2022. Watch out for this kid!
What’s next for the Monster Energy BMX team? Stay tuned for Stop 3 of the 2023 Monster Energy BMX Triple Challenge on April 29, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee, for the final showdown. Let’s get it!