Rider defends crown at King of the Whip 2024

Belgian Freestyle Motocross rider Julian Vanstippen successfully defended his crown at King of the Whip 2024, claiming his third title for the third consecutive time in front of a sold-out crowd at Montecasino.

LW Mag presented the King of the Whip in association with Ford, Monster Energy, Yamaha, Garmin, Motul, GoPro, PlayTSOGO and Estrella Cerveza.

Over 20 best freestyle motocross and motocross riders took to the ramps to compete in the Best Whip and Best Trick contests.

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Up for grabs was a share of the R225 000 cash prize and various prizes from the official event partners.

The 2024 edition had the biggest list of international riders competing – Julien Vanstippen (Belgium), Tom Parsons (USA), Pat Bowden (Australia) Genki ‘Wanky’ Watanabe (Japan), Andreu Lacondeguy (Spain), Sebastian Westberg (Finland) and Antonio Navas (Spain).

“Every year this event exceeds expectations. It has gone from strength to strength and is now an event with international acclaim.

“We are in our third year at this venue and sold out again. We had seven international riders competing against local stars, our most ever, which shows the event’s growth and recognition locally and internationally,” said event organiser Ryan van der Spuy.

“We had two firsts for this event, and the sport itself, with an official pre-event riders press conference and the betting partner playTSOGO joining to allow fans to bet on their favourite riders.”

The action for the Best Whip competition began with the riders going head-to-head in four qualifying rounds.
Judges looked at aptitude, style, and variation when deciding which of the 15 riders would qualify for the semi-finals.

Seven more riders were eliminated in the semi-finals, leaving only eight to compete in the finals.

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Before the King of the Whip could be crowned, FMX riders could show off their crowd-thrilling freestyle tricks in the best tricks, right-side-up and upside-down competitions where Pat Bowden proved to be the King of the Tricks.

In the best trick right-side-up competition, each rider had two chances to take to the ramps and pull off the best trick possible.

Bowden claimed victory by showcasing his heart-stopping tricks like a holy grab to double heart attack look-back and a holy grab to rock-solid indie.

Crowd-favourite Genki Watanabe joined him on the podium in second place and Julien Vanstippen, finished third.
For the best trick upside-down, the riders had three jumps each to stake their claim.

Not content with one first place, Bowden took the top step again to claim the title with a backflip no-hander, backflip cliffhanger and a backflip double grab.

Rounding out the podium was Watanabe, who slotted into second place and Dallan Goldman, who grabbed third.

“It feels awesome, as I had no expectations of coming here. I did not know if I would be riding until two days ago, as I broke my ankle around 10 days ago,” said Bowden, winner of the 2024 best trick right-side-up and upside-down competitions.

“I taped my ankle as best I could before riding, so going home safe with two medals in the bag feels incredible.”
After the Best Trick contest, it was time for the evening’s premier event, the Best Whip final.

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The tempo began to ramp up as the sun set with the action only aided by a dazzling pyrotechnic display and a crowd on the edge of their seats.

The Best Whip final saw the riders pull out all the stops to unseat reigning champion, Vanstippen as King of the Whip.

It was a hotly contested battle between Tom Parsons, on-board the Stark Varg electric bike, and the defending champion Vanstippen.

Vanstippen stepped up to ultimately emerge as the 2024 winner and claim the Triple Crown.

Parsons followed him in second and Watanabe claimed third. Rounding up the top five were local riders, Dalton Venter and Dallan Goldman.

“Third time in a row. I’m so stoked and thankful to be back here. The crowd was insane, so claiming my third King of the Whip title in front of them was a fantastic experience,” said Vanstippen, winner of the 2024 Best Whip competition.

“King of the Whip always puts on such a great event, and I cannot wait to be back next year battling it out with these amazing riders in front of this crowd.”