From motocross to snowmobile

He’s achieved X Games Freestyle Moto X Best Trick gold medal glory for two consecutive years, and now Australia’s Jackson ‘Jacko’ Strong is going to test himself in the Winter X Games on a snowmobile, with only six hours of riding time under his belt.

The 21-year-old won Best Trick gold (motocross) at the 2011 and 2012 Summer X Games in Los Angeles, and, never one to rest on his laurels, has set himself a different challenge in what is a completely new sport.

This week’s Winter X Games in Aspen bring the best in various snow sport disciplines together to challenge for a raft of medals.

Athletes train their entire lives for a berth in the event, and only the best can lay claim to a gold medal.

Strong, from Lockhart in New South Wales, had only seen snow once before his mission back to the US in late 2012.

"By the time the event rolls around I will probably have ridden six hours total on a snowmobile, I definitely had hoped to get some more experience on it but it is just so physically demanding and takes a lot out of you," said Strong.

"There are elements of the tricks that are similar but at the same time, riding a dirt bike and snowmobile is completely different.

"I had a close call when I was practicing into the foam pit, I tried to flip and was thrown off and the sled came down perfectly on top of me and that took me out of a week of precious training time."

Strong says the goal of his Winter X Games mission is to bring innovation to the sport.

"It’s a new and exciting world, I just want to bring something to the table that has never been done and have a lot of fun doing it," he continued.

"I think I’ve got my trick dialled, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens when the event rolls around."

The GoPro Snowmobile Best Trick Final will be held on the evening of Sunday January 27.

Watch the training video, including footage of Strong’s foam pit mishap.