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Freeride Mountain Bike (FMB)
World Tour Announced
World Mountain Bike News
Freeride Mountain biking, which
includes Big Mountain, Slopestyle and Dirt Jump contests, has become an
essential part of the sport during the last decade. The number of riders
participating in these sports is rapidly increasing every year. But unlike
other comparable action sports, freeride mountain biking has never had its
own world series like snowboarding (TTR World Snowboard Tour) or surfing
(ASP World Tour). During the last six months, an alliance of core scene
members consisting of professional athletes, event organizers and opinion
leaders have been putting their heads together to make a change and
initiated the establishment of the Freeride Mountain Bike (FMB) World Tour -
starting in 2010.
The goal of the tour is to bring a
professional structure to the sport and raise the level of the events to
make them safer and more consistent for athletes and the media worldwide.
Freeride mountain biking has become a dynamic and progressive sport with
many skilled athletes competing in many different events around the globe.
The formation of a tour is the next logical step for freeride mountain
biking to become considered as one of the elite sports within the action
sports world. "It's time to bring the sport of freeride mountain biking to
the next level. The FMB World Tour will help bring consistency to our sport.
I will know that when I show up to a FMB tour stop that the event will be
safe, the judging will be fair and the end of the day we will know where I
stand among the other athletes" says pro freerider Aaron Chase.
The goal of the Freeride Mountain Bike
(FMB) World Tour is not to create an entirely new tour, but to integrate
already existing high class and successful events from around the world.
Athletes who compete at FMB sanctioned events will be able to collect points
by attending these different Slopestyle, Dirt Jump and Big Mountain events,
which are integrated in to the FMB World Tour. The world ranking system will
be updated after each official tour stop and this will allow athletes, fans
and the media to follow the action. After the final tour stop the points
will be tallied and we will have our FMB World Tour champion. "The FMB World
tour is an exciting new chapter for the sport of Freeride Mountain biking.
The time has finally come for the athletes, event organizers and industry to
come together to show the world how incredible the sport of freeride
mountain biking can be." Says Todd Barber producer of the Red Bull Rampage.
In order to assure that the FMB World
Tour includes the interests of the sport - athletes, event organizers as
well as the public - the FMB World Tour advisory board has been created. The
members of the advisory board are experts in the action sports world and
were chosen because of their diverse backgrounds and dedication to the
sport.
- Aaron Chase (pro
rider / USA)
- Todd Barber (event
organizer "Red Bull Rampage" / USA)
- Alex Dörr (CEO &
founder EIM Solutions / GER)
- Tarek Rasouli
(athlete manager & event organizer, "Big in Bavaria", "26TRIX", "Vienna Air
King", "White Style" / GER)
- Vincent Saccomani
(judge of international events, journalist & filmer / FRA)
- Jeremy Roche
(organizer "Kokanee Crankworx" and "Crankworx Colorado" events / CAN)
- Darren Berrecloth
(pro rider & event organizer "Bearclaw Invitational" / CAN)
- Grant Fielder (pro
rider & course builder / GBR)
In order to establish the FMB World
Tour, an organization called the Freeride Mountain Bike Association (FMBA)
has been formed to give all of its members a voice. The FMBA is a non-profit
organization with the goal to push the sport of freeride mountain biking
into a more professional direction and raise awareness within the public and
media.
The FMBA had been in negotiations with
the following selected premier events that are a fixed part of the FMB World
Tour for 2010:
-
Vienna Air King, Vienna (AUT), April
10th & 11th
-
Dirt Masters Mongoose Slopestyle,
Winterberg (GER), May 21st to 24th
-
26TRIX, Leogang (AUT), June 24th to
26th
-
Chatel Mountain Style, Chatel (FRA),
July 2nd to 4th
-
BikeRadar Live Invitational Dirt Jump
Contest, Kent (GBR), July 10th & 11th
- Claymore Challenge, Highland
Mountain Park (USA), July 15th to 17th
-
BIG IN BAVARIA, Munich (GER), July 22nd to 25th
-
Crankworx Colorado, Winter Park (USA),
July 29th to August 1st
-
Kokanee Crankworx, Whistler (CAN),
August 7th to 15th
-
Red Bull Rampage, Virgin, Utah (USA),
September 30th to October 3rd
The events will be classified in one
of three categories. Each events classification will be determined by their
ability to meet important criteria like: Quality of riders, course design,
media, prize money and significance of the event. Freeride mountain biking
is set to reach a new level of professionalism in 2010.
The FMB World Tours first stop is
right around the corner and is set to take place at the "Vienna Air King" on
April 10th and 11th (www.vienna-air-king.at ). The official FMB World tour
website is currently under construction and it will list important
information on the tour and the World tour athlete ranking:
www.fmbworldtour.com.
General information about the FMB
World Tour:
The goal of the Freeride Mountain Bike
(FMB) World Tour is to help develop the sport of Freeride Mountain Biking -
which includes: big mountain, slopestyle and dirt jumping - providing
athletes and event organizers with a tangible world ranking system and
guidelines for course design, judging and safety. The FMB World Tour is run
by the Freeride Mountain Bike Association (FMBA), a non-profit organization
following the goal to push the mountain bike freeride sport into a more
professional direction and establish it in the world of sports through the
raise of media and public attention.
Source:
Whistlemountainbike.com
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Posted By: Diesel
Date: 03/20/2010 |
