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Five minutes with...
Matt Jones
Twenty-three-year-old Woburn shredder, and one of the most imaginative
minds in the scene, Matt Jones, came to Farm Jam with the intention of
continuing his dominance in the MTB comp, and despite heavily international
field bulging with talent, the guy got it done. We caught up with him to find out
how why he keeps returning to the far side of the planet, and his thoughts on
the epic 2018 event.
Words and Images: Simon Makker
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Congrats on the three-peat,
man. I’ve done a bit of research,
and did you know you’re the first
rider across any discipline to win
three in a row?
Hah, no I didn’t know that! A
three-peat winner is something
I’ve never thought of myself as,
and to me, it’s just a win being at
the Farm Jam. It’s the highlight of
the calendar for me, and the only
event where I get to ride and hang
with legends from other sports.
I guess I went there wanting to
win, but the format of the jam, and
being rider-judged, you can only
do what you can do, and I don’t
feel the sort of pressure that I do
at a normal event. The priority is
on having fun. But I felt my fitness
was a lot worse this year. We rode
for an hour and I didn’t have any
breaks as I was just having so
much fun, but man, I was ruined
by the end!
How was the level of riding out
there this year compared to the
past two events?
It was definitely higher than
previous years, but you couldn’t
have asked for riders that were a
better fit to the Farm Jam format.
Not only were there good trick
guys like Carson, but also the
world’s most stylish like R-Dog.
22 | FreestyleXtreme.com
I think everyone’s a lot more
aware of Farm Jam now, and
being only every two years, the
hype builds up a lot more. The
northern hemisphere guys are also
wanting to escape the winter, so
it’s perfect timing. I think Farm
Jam ticks every box – if you’ve got
the opportunity to go, you can’t
NOT go.
For sure. Here’s a burning
question: why didn’t you huck a
Double Flip this year?
Yeah, I was a bit disappointed
about that. Because of the bad
weather the jumps were running
slower, and the big sender jump
felt a bit kicky and sent us higher
th an normal. But the truth is I’ve
only landed one Double Flip in the
past year at an event. I landed one
at the London Bike Show, but have
crashed every one since, including
at all three Crankworx events. Now
I’ve got a bad feeling about them;
they’re not a trick to mess around
with and I was having so much fun
without thinking about trying to
throw the Double as well.
But you did throw a Dab Flip,
which is almost as cool.
Hahaha! I’d only done one before
at an event in Switzerland. At Farm
Jam I was pushing my bike back
up and a kid in the crowd shouted
“do a dab!” I did one then-and-
there and the kids loved it, so in
my next run I did a straight one,
then a Flip one. I probably lost a
few mates in the process by doing
that.
Hahaha. 2018 was your third
time to the Farm Jam. What
keeps bringing you back?
At normal contests, I struggle to
plan a single run that sums me
up as a rider. Being an hour-long
session, Farm Jam gives a much
better overall impression, and it’s
somewhere I can go, shine, have
loads of fun and it gives me a
confidence boost for the rest of
the year. Having your friends and
fellow riders love what I do on a
bike is amazing. Also, because
of the location, the great attitudes
of the organisers and the time
that goes into building the jumps,
it cuts out the bullshit that other
events have; you don’t have
agencies skimming off the top,
promoters who’re only worried
about time restrictions, and course
builders who don’t always have
the riders’ best interests at heart.
I think the Frew brothers, having
their name on the event, there’s
an element of pride there and they
always run the best event they
possibly can.