The 2018 Farm Jam was one for the record books as the largest-ever
contingent of world-class international riders pitted their skills
against the local Kiwi heroes, who more than held their own around the
freestyle motocross, BMX and mountain-bike contests on Saturday
afternoon.
At what has been deemed to be the biggest, most successful and most
competitive Farm Jam yet, Australia’s BMX UCI World Champion Logan
Martin defended his crown against a hard-charging 2013 Farm Jam
champion Kyle Baldock. Martin, 24, and Baldock were in a league of
their own as they pushed each other to the limit in front of an
estimated 3,000 spectators. Crowd favourite, and long-time Farm Jam
rider, Michael “Hucker” Clark (USA) rounded out the BMX podium.
“The thing I love about Farm Jam is that it just feels like a
session with the boys and to come away with another win here is
amazing,” Martin said afterward. “It definitely means something
when it’s your fellow riders are enjoying what you’re doing. That
means a lot, and the vibe of the contest is always pretty special.”
The freestyle motocross competition saw local rider Andrew Jackson
topple some of the biggest names in the sport as he flipped and
whipped his way to the win ahead of American freeriding phenomenon
Tyler Bereman and legendary Australian FMX rider Jake Bowen. Bereman
destroyed the field in the freeride contest on Friday, but 24-year-old
Jackson from Gore stunned everyone with his relentless bag of tricks
and whips Saturday’s freestyle competition. When the results from
the two contests were collated, Jackson came away with a memorable
win.
“I’m so surprised to come away with the win!” Jackson beamed
afterward. “I came in with no expectations, with top guys such as
Tyler and Josh Sheehan coming over this year. I just thought I’d do
the best I could and practised a lot on similar jumps leading up to
the Farm Jam, but yeah, to win this is a dream come true.”
The mountain-bike contest saw the largest ever influx of international
athletes, with almost three-quarters of the star-studded field hailing
from abroad. Even though the field was the strongest in the Farm
Jam’s 10-year history, UK 23-year-old Matt Jones continued his
dominance to win his third straight Farm Jam crown with his trademark
style and amplitude. Second place went to always-impressive Raglan
rider Lewis Jones, with US-based rider Ray George rounding out the
podium.
“The level of riding today was by far the highest it’s ever been
in the mountain-bike contest, and I’m a little bit surprised to
win,” admits Jones. “For me though, the most impressive part of
the day is the fact you have the Frew brothers, who are all family men
with kids and full-time farming jobs, but love nothing more than
putting the smiles on the faces of everyone who rides here. What they
do is remarkable and we’re so lucky to have people like that putting
on high quality events.”
Farm Jam organisers Dan and Brett Frew were ecstatic on how the entire
day unfolded and the high level of riding that was on offer.
“The weather came right, the riding level was at an all-time high,
and we couldn’t be more stoked with how it all went,” says Dan.
“From Tyler Bereman pushing the limits in the hills, right through
to the ridiculous tricks that thousands of people witnessed in the BMX
and mountain-bike contests, the 2018 Farm Jam was an amazing day that
will go down as one of the best, if not the best, event we’ve ever
organised.”
The next Farm Jam will be held in early 2020 at the same venue in
Winton, New Zealand.
For more information, photos, videos and updates, follow @farm_jam on
Instagram, and “Like” Southern Freeriders [1] and Farm Jam [2] on
Facebook.
