Shocking and pleasing

Palmerston North teenager Levi Sherwood, 17, has shocked the freestyle motocross world (FMX) by winning the first event of the 2009 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour in Mexico on debut, in front of 43,000 fans. “Winning here is the best day of my life,” said Sherwood in an interview after his victory lap. Sherwood met Japan’s Eigo Sato in the final where his “smooth skills, incredible flexibility and crazy extension” were too much for the Japanese rider. The second round of the tour begins in Calgary, Canada on May 30.