Mike Cinqmars died he was 31

Mike "Cinq" Cinqmars was quite literally a pioneer of freestyle motocross. In 1999, he finished just below Travis Pastrana, taking home the silver medal at the X Games' first year of freestyle competition. Unlike some of his competitors, Mike preferred to ride for fun, rather than compete. From an interview in 1999, "Films sit in people's homes forever, and people watch them all the time. Contests are cool but I'd rather go shoot a vid. In contests, sometimes you do well, sometimes you don't. Your talent doesn't always show. And there's a lot of pressure, and I'm kind of over that. I want to just go ride and have fun." Mike did do many films, including MTV's "Senseless Acts of Video" where he most famously jumped over his own two-story home. Unfortunately, it was during the filming of his own movie, "35/01 My Trip" that he broke his back and ended his motocross career. Recently Mike had expressed interest during an interview in making a comeback.



It has been rumored that Mike was battling with demons after his career crushing injury. Despite the obstacles that befall many of the talented and gifted, he was always proud of his life and accomplishments. "Once I started making money, my biggest goal was to have a nice house that I could call my own, and have all nice stuff in it, and to have a car and a truck, bikes and all that. I've got all that. I've got land, and it's good to be able to have all that. It was a big goal of mine and I've done it." Sounds like the words of a true champion at heart.


Yes, it is a sad day in the motocross world indeed. Mike never got the chance at his comeback but his talent will forever be remembered in the memories of his fans. My condolences to his friends, family and thousands of fans.

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