Canadian BMXer Mike Varga eager to compete in front of fans as X Games return | CBC Sports

Arguably the greatest moment in X Games history was when skateboarder Tony Hawk landed a 900 on a halfpipe at the 1999 edition of the summer action sports spectacular.

It took him 11 attempts to finally land the trick, with his fellow competitors and thousands of fans cheering him on after each hard-hitting failure.

Mike Varga wants to have his own “Tony Hawk moment.”

The Canadian BMX rider has had plenty of 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 clinch his second consecutive gold but, because of restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were few spectators to watch his achievement in person.

“It’s 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 [Hawk land the 900] and I went ‘Holy crap!’

“Maybe one day I could be there and have that same type of 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 at this year’s X Games from July 21-23. He’ll be participating in four BMX disciplines at the Ventura Fairgrounds in California: dirt, megapark, best trick, and park best trick.

The X Games were held without spectators in 2020, 2021, and 2022, with action sport athletes hosting the events on their own property to ensure that the competitors were more physically spread out. 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,” said Varga in an interview before Casey’s death from a motorcycle accident was announced on June 8. “The whole crowd was going, just screaming, right?

Although Varga has competed around the world, a return to California and its fans is especially important to him. He considers the state the cradle 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, really,” said Varga. “That’s where I want to do all those crazy tricks and land stuff in front of a crowd in California, because that is kind of where it all came from.

“California is the hub.”