Freestyle Quad Star Cody Elkins joins the St. Pete Action Sports lineup
Original Article: Tampa Bay Times
By: Terry Tomalin
Motocross champion Cody Elkins, who holds the world record for the longest moving jump on a quad bike (73 feet, 4.5 inches) has been added to the lineup of athletes competing at the inaugural St. Pete Action Sports, Dec. 4 and 5 at Al Lang Stadium. The exciting, all-star event combines FMX, BMX Big Air Triples and skateboard verts.Motocross champion Cody Elkins, who holds the world record for the longest moving jump on a quad bike (73 feet, 4.5 inches) has been added to the lineup of athletes competing at the inaugural St. Pete Action Sports, Dec. 4 and 5 at Al Lang Stadium. The exciting, all-star event combines FMX, BMX Big Air Triples and skateboard verts.
Cody Elkins started his motocross career on two wheels, but back in 2009 he decided it was time for a change.
“I wondered if you could do all the same tricks on a quad,” said the 33-year-old Oklahoman. “The four-wheeler is much heavier than your standard motocross bike but in the end it is still pretty much the same thing.”
But don’t take his word for it. See for yourself Friday and Saturday when Elkins goes head to head with the top freestyle motocross riders in the world.
“I’ll be doing everything they do,” Elkins said. “It is all about timing and technique. Anything is possible.”
Elkins, who holds the world record for the longest moving jump on a quad bike (73 feet, 4.5 inches), will be one of more than a dozen daredevils in the lineup at the inaugural St. Pete Action Sports.
Widely considered to be the world’s top quad rider, Elkins will perform flips and tricks on the same ramps as the Freestyle Motocross pros.
“I am a little bigger, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, than the average rider,” he said. “It is a physical sport. … I’ve broken more than 80 bones over the years. But when you do what I do, it comes with the territory.
On an average jump, Elkins will be 35 to 40 feet off the ground. “That’s when I do the backflip,” he said. “Right now there are only four of us in the world who can do it.”
Along with Elkins, the field of FMX riders includes other well-know riders Adam Jones, Mike Mason and Javier Villwegas, seasoned veterans accustomed to keeping spectators on the edge of their seats.
Other acts include the Big Air Triples — BMX riders doing three consecutive jumps on a 200-foot-long by 32-foot-high ramp — and skateboarders ripping it up on the same half-pipe from the X Games.
The BMX pros include Ryan Nyquist, who has won 16 medals at the X Games, Colton Satterfield, who recently made history by becoming the first BMX’er to hit a double flair on the Big Air, and James Foster of Nitro Circus fame.
Tickets are available at stpeteactionsports.com. Single day tickets: General admission $30. Two-day tickets: general admission $50; child (ages 3-12) $40. General admission student tickets (with valid student ID) are $20.