Libor Podmol wins Moto X Step Up

MUNICH -- Czech rider Libor Podmol bested Matt Buyten and Ronnie Renner on Friday to collect his first X Games gold after clearing 29 feet in Moto X Step Up at X Games Munich.

"I didn't expect anything like that," Podmol said. "I'm always happy for any medal and I was just super happy to even get the invitation because all my life I've wanted to ride at X Games. To get the gold here is a dream come true."

Podmol, best known as a competitor on the Red Bull X-Fighters and FIM Freestyle Motocross World Championship tours, is in his rookie year at X Games. He previously won bronze at X Games Foz do Iguaçu in May, and on Friday he became the first non-American rider to win the Moto X Step Up event.

Podmol nearly crashed several times during the six-man final but managed to hang on each time, and later said that the will to hang on comes from sheer love of the sport.

"It's just a passion for riding dirt bikes," he said. "I love it, and that's it: All the guys riding dirt bikes, we all do it because we love [it]. The moto life is a good life."

Renner still holds the Moto X Step Up record, which he set at 47 feet at X Games Los Angeles 2012. Podmol says he now has his sights set on that mark as his next goal.

"I was thinking maybe I could go a little bit higher," Podmol said. "So maybe next time."