Spring has sprung in Switzerland, and the World Championship series was heating up inside the St Jakobshalle arena when the riders battled again at the 6th round of NIGHT of the JUMPs.
Before the event kicked off, many of the riders were affected by French Air-controller strikes which stopped all flights going through French air-space, consequently forcing riders to miss their flights and find alternative transport, but the most affected rider was none-other than the current World Championships points leader, Maikel Melero. Melero’s flights were cancelled not once, but twice and was then forced to drive 1,900 kilometres through the night to arrive in Basel 2 hours after practise had begun.
Qualification was filled with drama, and a very close battle between the two Italian’s, Leo Fini and Davide Rossi who showed they have stepped up their riding since the European Championships qualifier in Linz. Also Germany’s Hannes Ackermann, USA’s James Carter and Jose Miralles, however the Spaniard, Miralles, would go through to the final and piece together a smooth run and secure 5th place.
Miralles had a busy night after making the Final 6 by also taking out the win in the Maxxis Highest Air competition over fellow Spaniard, Maikel Melero, with a final height of 9.00 metres. Jose’s victory has now catapulted him to the overall leader of the Maxxis Highest Air series in front of Massimo Bianconcini who wasn’t able to compete in Basel. USA’s James Carter also came away with the victory in the Lifeproof Best Whip competition, with the undisputed best whip, easily turning his bike down past 120 degrees.
In the final, the crowd witnessed the only crash of the night from the Czech star, Libor Podmol, who took a dirt sample when over-rotating his Surfer Take-off Flip to Tsunami on only his second jump of his run. Podmol had pushed through from a mid-week training injury and was lucky to avoid any further injury in this mishap.
Rob Adelberg (AUS) and Remi Bizouard (FRA) battled for 3rd place, the Australian didn’t put a foot wrong, pulling out an impressive run with smooth style on technical tricks like the ‘Sideshow to Side Saddle landing’ and huge Christ Air to No-hand landing without a bar check. But it was Remi’s run filled with some of the biggest tricks in the sport to secure his place on the podium in 3rd. Remi wanted to prove a point in Basel and seek revenge for his 5th place in Tours 2 weeks earlier, with perfect extension on Cliffhanger, Shaolin and Tsunami Flips, coupled with the technical Volt body varial in the Double Up.
It wouldn’t be enough for Remi to close the gap on the 2015 break-away riders, 2013 World Champion David Rinaldo and 2014 World Champion Maikel Melero. Melero (ESP) had to push through exhaustion of all-night driving from Spain into Switzerland, but you could not see any lag in his final run after qualifying in first place. Melero put together a smooth run, full of technical take-off combos, side-saddle take off California Roll and was the only rider to utilise the Quarter Pipe with a 540 Flair. Maikel’s only mistake would come from dropping his foot on the Flair to keep him upright after a hard landing, and it cost him the mere 2 points from the winning run.
The night would belong to France’s David Rinaldo, and it wasn’t hard to see why he is one of the most in-form Freestyle MX riders on the planet at the moment. Rinaldo began his run with all the perfection of a Swiss watch, showcasing a perfect Volt and including big technical tricks in his run such as the ‘One hand Take-off Flip to Seat Grab flip over the Super Kicker’, busting out a second body varial, the ‘California Roll’ inside the 110 second run and then finishing with a Double Grab Indy Flip for the Double-Up, a refreshing change from other riders who leave their body varial for the last jump.
The 2015 series could not be closer, both David Rinaldo and Maikel Melero having secured 3 wins and two Runner Up positions each, the battle is only going to get hotter for the second night in Basel and could be a turning point for both riders for the remainder of the season.
Pictures and texts www.NIGHToftheJUMPs.com.
FACTS
NIGHT of the JUMPs/FIM Freestyle MX World Championship
Basel, 10th April 2015 – Round 6
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 413 Points
2. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 411 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 403 Points
4. Rob Adelberg AUS AMA Yamaha 389 Points
5. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 321 Points
6. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 37 Points
Results Qualification
1. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 352 Points
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 346 Points
3. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 342 Points
4. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 341 Points
5. Rob Adelberg AUS AMA Yamaha 340 Points
6. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 292 Points
7. James Carter USA MA Honda 267 Points
8. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 265 Points
8. Davide Rossi ITA PZM KTM 262 Points
10. Leonardo Fini ITA PZM KTM 251 Points
11. Fred Wasner FRA FFM Yamaha 184 Points
Lifeproof Best Whip Contest
1. James Carter USA MA Honda
2. Davide Rossi ITA PZM KTM
Snychro Contest
1. Libor Podmol/Rob Adelberg CZE/AUS
1. Hannes Ackermann/Jose Miralles GER/ESP
Maxxis Highest-Air
1. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 9,00 Meter
2. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 8,50 Meter
FIM Freestyle MX World Championship
Ranking (after 6th contest)
1. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 108 Points
2. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 96 Points
3. Rob Adelberg AUS AMA Yamaha 94 Points
4. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 76 Points
5. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 58 Points
6. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 53 Points
7. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 43 Points
8. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 38 Points
9. James Carter USA AMA Honda 37 Points
10. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 33 Points
11. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 24 Points
12. Filip Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 23 Points
13. Taka Higashino JAP Yamaha 16 Points
14. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 12 Points
15. Marcin Lukaszczyk POL PZM Yamaha 11 Points