Canadian BMXer Mike Varga is eager to compete in front of fans as X Games returns
Arguably the greatest moment in X Games history was when skateboarder Tony Hawk landed a 900 on a halfpipe during the 1999 edition of the summer action sports spectacle.
It took him 11 tries to finally do the trick, with his fellow competitors and thousands of fans cheering him on after each flat-out failure.
Mike Varga wants to have his own ‘Tony Hawk moment’.
The Canadian BMX rider has enjoyed great success in competition, winning the Dave Mirra DMX Best Trick event at back-to-back X Games. He famously landed a 1260 in 2021 to take his second consecutive gold, but due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were few spectators to see his performance in person.
“It is absolutely crazy how wild the crowd gets and how much it can push a rider to learn that trick,” said Varga from his home in Whitby, Ont. “So I remember seeing it [Hawk land the 900] and I went ‘Holy crap!’
“Maybe I could be there one day and have that same vibe in that arena and maybe try a trick like that.”
Varga announced via Instagram on Tuesday that he had been invited to compete again this year at the X Games from July 21-23. He will compete in four BMX disciplines at the Ventura Fairgrounds in California: dirt, mega park, best trick and park best trick.
The X Games were held spectatorless in 2020, 2021 and 2022, with action sports athletes hosting the events on their home turf to ensure participants were more physically dispersed. It was at fellow BMX rider Pat Casey’s house where Varga landed the 1260 in competition.
“I still did it for myself, but it’s not like when Tony Hawk did it because that was another level,” Varga said in an interview before Casey’s death from a motorcycle accident was announced on June 8. “The whole audience went, just screaming, right?
While Varga has competed all over the world, a return to California and his fans is especially important to him. He considers the state the home of action sports and knows that the fans there have an incredible passion for BMX, skateboarding and the other X Games events.
“That’s where it all started,” Varga said. “That’s where I want to do all those crazy tricks and land things in front of a crowd in California, because that’s where it all comes from.
“California is the hub.”
