The weather was fantastic on Saturday, as NIGHT of the JUMPs celebrated its premiere in Shenzhen / China. Temperatures of 30 degrees and bright sunshine turned the stadium in the Chinese business metropolis into the perfect playground for some world championship action. Three landing hills in all with a double line and seven ramps provided a large track and many options for the eleven FMX stars from five different countries.
The riders had to complete seven tricks plus the double-up in qualifying. The toughest tricks were hammered home into the Chinese dirt even in the quali. Championship leader Maikel Melero pulled off a Double Grab Flip, catapulting himself into second place in the preliminary round. Only Rob Adelberg, who showed the best style in the quali, was able to outdo him. David Rinaldo also executed a Double Grab Flip, progressing through into the next round along with Petr Pilat, who performed a Dead Body Flip which was not quite fully extended. Remi Bizouard completed the line-up for the final.
Hannes Ackermann did not make the top six, despite his completely new Seatgrab Clicker Flip. Apart from him, Jose Miralles, Brice Izzo, Luc Ackermann and Bianconcini were also unable to move forwards in the run-up to the final round.
But prior to that, Bianconcini was still fighting for victory in the Rockwell Best Whip contest. He and Bizouard ‘whipped’ the pants off all the other competitors. However, going head-to–head with Bianconcini, Bizouard nosed in front to secure the trophy.
The Italian Stallion could not bear the shame and put everything on the line in the Maxxis Highest Air contest, where he got the drop on both Jose Miralles and German rider Luc Ackermann with a jump of 9.30 metres.
Three-time world champion Bizouard confidently opened the finale with a Seat Grab, Cliffhanger and Ruler Flip combo, but Czech rider Pilat went one better directly after that. He jumped a Shaolin Flip first, followed by a Dead Body Flip in the double line. The judges liked what they saw, placing him higher than the Frenchman. But here again, Pilat was also removed from the hot seat straightaway when Rinaldo pulled off his Double Grab Indy Flip and California Roll. At any rate, the Frenchman did not enjoy his time in the top position for long. Starting after him, Podmol let fly with a TP Roll, Cliffhanger Flip and Can Indy Backflip salvo. The audience and judges were in raptures when for the first time, he also effortlessly executed a Surfer Takeoff Tsunami Flip across the kicker ramp. 397 points gave him the lead.
And ultimately, no one was able to snatch the top spot back from Podmol. Maikel Melero showed a strong run initially with his Double Grab Flip, but there was no quarter pipe on which to perform his 540. He could not catch Podmol without this trick. Nor was Rob Adelberg able to knock the Czech rider off his perch. His run was too ‘unsafe’ as he left the expected trick premiere for tomorrow. Nevertheless, it was enough to give him third place. Rinaldo jumped ahead of the Australian into second place, but Podmol secured a well deserved victory on the day, announcing his return to the fray in the championship fight.
Maikel Melero on 108 points leads the world championship standings after the seven FIM Freestyle MX world championship contests staged so far. Podmol is on 96 points, moving up into second position. Bizouard is third with 80 points.
The eighth round of the 2014 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship gets under way tomorrow with the second day of the NIGHT of the JUMPs at the Shenzhen grand prix in China on Sunday.
FACTS
NIGHT of the JUMPs/FIM Freestyle MX World Championships
Shenzhen, 01st November 2014 – Round 7
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 397 Points
2. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 390 Points
3. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 386 Points
4. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 383 Points
5. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 382 Points
6. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 366 Points
Results Qualifikation
1. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 345 Points
2. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 340 Points
3. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 337 Points
4. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 335 Points
5. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 331 Points
6. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 330 Points
7. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 311 Points
8. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 296 Points
9. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 293 Points
10. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 262 Points
11. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 262 Points
Results Best Whip Contest
1. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki
3. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM
Maxxis Highest-Air
1. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 9,30 meters
2. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 9,00 meters
3. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 8,50 meters
FIM Freestyle MX World Championships Ranking (after 7th contest)
1. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 108 Points
2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 96 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 90 Points
4. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 87 Points
5. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM 80 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 63 Points
7. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 57 Points
8. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 55 Points
9. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 47 Points
10. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 36 Points
11. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 34 Points
12. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 22 Points
13. Mat Rebeaud SUI FMS KTM 20 Points
14. Aleksey Koleshnikov RUS MFR Yamaha 13 Points
15. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 5 Points
David Rinaldo wins Day 2
A double bill of FMX Grand Prix took place this weekend in Shenzhen. The Chinese metropolis (10 million inhabitants) hosted the seventh and eight rounds of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. Eleven riders lined up for Sunday’s competition in the local sports stadium.
A strong wind was blowing throughout the qualifying stage, which made life difficult for the contestants. Petr Pilat was the first to show signs of nervousness as he crashed on his first jump. But he jumped right back on his bike and thrilled the crowd with his proprietary Dead Body Flip. Next up was current championship leader Maikel Melero who landed in the dirt on his seventh jump. That brought his participation to an untimely end. Libor Podmol stumbled on his Cordova Flip, but retrieved the run with some great combos to qualify fourth.
Meanwhile, Remi Bizouard, Rob Adelberg and David Rinaldo seemed untroubled by the conditions and booked the top three slots in the final. Brice Izzo and Hannes Ackermann were less impressive than on Saturday but made it through nonetheless.
Luc Ackermann narrowly missed out on his first world championship final, but that only seemed to increase his motivation for the Rockwell Best Whip contest. There was a minor sensation here, with the 16-year-old German beating three-time FMX world champion Remi Bizouard. Both performed extravagant whips, but the judges ultimately decided in Luc’s favour by a wafer-thin margin.
The Maxxis Highest Air once again turned into a showdown between Massimo Bianconcini and Jose Miralles. The bar was gradually raised to 10.00 metres, at which point Jose dislodged it, leaving Massimo to lift the trophy.
Hannes Ackermann opened the final with a Rowdova Flip and his new ‘Porti Air’, a display that was good enough to overtake Brice Izzo whose run had to be repeatedly interrupted because of the gusty conditions. Podmol reprised his Surfer Takeoff Flip to remove Ackermann from the hot seat. The Czech occupied it until the last of the finalists completed his run, as neither Remi Bizouard nor Rob Adelberg managed to outscore him. But his time was up when David Rinaldo executed an ultra-extended Doublegrab Flip followed by a California Roll. So the evening ended with Rinaldo in first place ahead of Podmol and Adelberg.
Maikel Melero continues to lead the FMX World Championship on 120 points, but his margin over Libor Podmol has now shrunk to six. So there is still everything to play for in the final two rounds of the championship.
The 2014 FIM Freestyle MX World Champion will be crowned at the Festhalle in Frankfurt on the weekend of 21st/22nd November. Because of a clash of dates in Sofia (Bulgaria) and also the ongoing Ebola crisis in West Africa, the events scheduled for those locations have had to be cancelled or postponed to next year. Consequently, the NIGHT of the JUMPs weekend in Frankfurt has been upgraded to another double bill of championship contests, and the series will be decided on German soil.
Results
1. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 398 Points
2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 392 Points
3. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 378 Points
4. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 373 Points
5. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 345 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 336 Points
Results Qualifikation
1. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 345 Points
2. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 341 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 333 Points
4. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 324 Points
5. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 312 Points
6. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 312 Points
7. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 305 Points
8. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 284 Points
9. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 264 Points
10. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 252 Points
11. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 231 Points
Results Best Whip Contest
1. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna
2. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki
Maxxis Highest-Air
1. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 10,00 Meter
2. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 9,60 Meter
3. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 8,50 Meter
FIM Freestyle MX World Championships
1. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 120 Points
2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 114 Points
3. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 104 Points
4. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 103 Points
5. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM 80 Points
6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 73 Points
7. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 63 Points
8. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 62 Points
9. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 59 Points
10. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 54 Points
11. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 43 Points
12. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 37 Points
13. Mat Rebeaud SUI FMS KTM 20 Points
14. Aleksey Koleshnikov RUS MFR Yamaha 13 Points
15. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 5Points