If the 2004 U.S. Championships of BMX at the LG Action Sports Championships in Pomona turns out to be anything like the ‘04 MSS competition series, then we are all in for an exciting spectacle. 2004 saw the rise of Koji Kraft, the continued domination of Chad Kagy and some surprises from Ryan Nyquist.

The season kicked off in Cincinnati with a fortuitous outbreak of cicadas. As the rain fell, the flood waters rose and the riders took to the air to keep dry. For Australian Steven McCann, who won the Goodtimes contest in Columbus the day before, the only real opposition was Allan Cooke. Still, he was able to take 1st while Allan picked up a 2nd place finish. Morgan Wade got honorable mention for losing his chain in prelims, finishing his run and STILL making finals.

On vert, the MSS introduced a competition run format (as opposed to the best trick format the tour had been running up until 2004) and the riders rose to the challenge. Kevin Robinson unleashed a new can can flair and Jimmy Walker put on one helluva show, but in the end, the kudos went to Koji Kraft whose edge-of-your-seat riding technique brought the crowd to their feet, drowning out the cicadas once and for all.

In Dulles, it was vert, vert and more vert out in front of the Dulles Town Center. Right from the start, it was too close to call between Kevin Robinson, John Parker and Koji Kraft, who fought valiantly for 2nd as English transplant, Jamie Bestwick walked away with first.

In Niagara Falls, Steven McCann once again took 1st place, but it was Morgan Wade’s bike flip that really raised eyebrows in the judge’s tower. Honorable mention went out to Josh Harrington for his bar spin to fufanu on the metal bar that was bolted to the side of the sub box. On vert, the lineup was no surprise with Jamie Bestwick airing well above the competition.
Sacramento was the jewel in the MSS crown as Ryan Nyquist took 1st with his double truck driver 540 on the quarter pipe to 720 over the box. Kagy picked up honorable mention for his textbook flip whips. On vert, John Parker found himself on top of the podium after Koji went down hard in the middle of his run.

Unfortunately, Koji Kraft took a nasty spill doing Got Milk? Gravity Tour demos and ended up on crutches just two weeks before the LG Action Sports Championships. So watch out for McCann and Nyquist as they do battle for the park title, while Bestwick, Mirra, Kevin and Jimmy Walker take to the vert ramp. One thing’s for sure, there is going to be some epic riding at the LG Action Sports Championships.