“Doing that Double Backflip was really scary,” said Sheehan, who celebrated the victory with an impressive backflip dive without his bike off a dirt ramp into Olympia Lake. “It’s amazing to win in front of a great crowd like this,” added Sheehan, the only rider in the field who has mastered the mind-boggling Double Backflip – which he nailed in Qualifying on Friday as well as in Saturday’s quarter-final, and in his semi-final victory over Sherwood before doing it again in the final.
It was a bittersweet day for defending champion Thomas Pages of France, who had moved into third place overall in the championship battle with his brilliant victory over Sheehan in the final in Madrid last month. But Pages, who won Friday’s Qualifying, saw his title hopes evaporate after he had to abandon his bike in mid-air while attempting the treacherous Bike Flip that he did for the first time in Madrid. The Frenchman crashed hard to the ground, suffering a shoulder injury, and was lucky that his bike just missed landing on top of him.
Results Munich: 1. Josh Sheehan (AUS), 2. Taka Higashino (JPN), 3. Levi Sherwood (NZL), 4. Luc Ackermann (GER), 5. Thomas Pagès (FRA), 6. Dany Torres (ESP), 7. Rob Adelberg (AUS), 8. Clinton Moore (AUS), 9. Adam Jones (USA), 10. Rémi Bizouard (FRA), 11. Brody Wilson (USA)
World Tour Standings: 1. Sherwood 265 points, 2. Sheehan 260, 3. Pagès 190, 4. Torres 185, 5. Higashino 150, 6. Adelberg 120, 7. Bizouard 110, 8. Jones 75, 9. Rebeaud 70, 10. Melero 60