Red Bull Home

Lance Coury is used to being ahead of his time. When he was 15, the kid who had been on a dirt bike since he was four years old realized he only wanted to do the jumps and set out to conquer freestyle motocross. But in a sport more conducive to an older athlete with the heft to handle competitive 75-foot ramps and a bigger bike, Lance was up against serious obstacles. "Until you have girth on you, you can't jump a 250," says Lance, now 18. "You can't whip it, do tricks on it. So you can't compete. At 15, you're kind of along for the ride."

Lance has spent the last three years growing into his bike by riding demos and catching air in films like On the Pipe 4 and Fuel TV's Great Ride Open. In 2006, he also built himself a place to ride at the 650-acre Red Bull Compound in Wyvern, California. The Compound's five ramps, dirt hits, natural terrain jumps, and regulation supercross track regularly attracts some of Lance's greatest motocross heroes like Nate Adams, Ronnie Renner, and Derek Garland. "When I see other big names I've looked up to come here and have a good time on a course I've helped design, I think it's pretty cool."

In 2009 Lance plans to show what he can do in competition, as he gears up to qualify for the AST Dew Tour. Yet even after three years of solid FMX riding, which included becoming one of the youngest riders to ever land a backflip, Lance doesn't feel ready. "I have a lot more work to do," he says. With a killer set of skills and a ton of media attention and sponsorships, Lance has earned his reputation as "the future of freestyle motocross." But he's keeping it all in perspective: "It feels good, but I don't let it get to my head. I still have to work hard."