Competitions
X Games Munich this weekend.
For months we have known that mountain bike slopestyle will become an official X Games discipline and now our anticipation is almost over. This week, on Sunday June 30th, in the beautiful Olympiapark in Munich, riders from around the globe will get together to ride the first FMB World Tour Diamond event of the season. The athletes will be riding for the biggest ranking points available at a single contest as well as wealthy prize money and finally, the glory of winning the first ever mountain bike slopestyle event in X Games.
Every extreme sports athlete dreams of competing in the X Games. For the adrenaline seekers the X Games are their very own Olympics, where skaters, BMX'ers, FMX'ers, even rally drivers can get together to show off their best skills on a massive global platform. Now mountain bikers can join that elite group of athletes and will saddle up for the first time to ride the massive slopestyle course in Munich's Olympiapark. Darren Berrecloth in a previous interview summed it up best: "It's not a surprise that the X Games wants to be part of our sport because it's one of the raddest spectator sports out there." It should also be no surprise that a competition of this caliber was welcomed on to the FMB World Tour 2013 event calendar as the first of three Diamond events and the only one to take place in Europe. This is a big step for mountain biking and the riders are going there to prove to the world that our sport belongs in the X Games!
It's hard to select the crème-de-la-crème of the mountain bike athletes for such an event. After Red Bull Berg Line on May 20th, 12 riders were selected based on the FMB World Tour 52 Week Seeding List and then four additional invites went to athletes who have earned their chance to compete at this incredible contest. Officials have also decided to invite four alternate riders, who can ride and practice on the course and will move up into the qualifiers, in the case that another athlete should not be able to compete. In total: 16 set riders and 4 alternates will be onsite and ready to ride this week at X Games Munich Mountain Bike Slopestyle.
Currently Sam Pilgrim has dominated the FMB World Tour overall ranking with Brett Rheeder following close behind. This Diamond event will be the chance for riders to earn serious ranking points and leap ahead of their rivals. Martin Soderstrom, currently ranked 3rd overall will definitely have high hopes of leading the FMB World Tour overall ranking after this event but likewise his fellow competitors will be striving for a strong result. With such a high level of athletes attending it really is anyone's guess who will come out on top.
Alongside the official X Games Munich Mountain Bike Slopestyle event, Red Bull Phenom will take place between the qualifying and the finals. Red Bull Phenom is a separate competition for up and coming athletes who will get the chance to compete on the X Games slopestyle course. Six finalists were selected from video applications and the FMB World Tour 52 Week Seeding List. You can find more information about Red Bull Phenom on www.redbullphenom.com .
All in all, you can expect to see the very best slopestyle action this weekend with the world's best sending it hard on a challenging and impressive course. With a crowd of 140,000 expected to turn up to witness the action the atmosphere will be one-of-kind. You can watch the X Games LIVE on the ESPN online webcast via: www.espnplayer.com