Eleven riders from seven different countries and three continents lined up on Sunday for the fourth competition of the Freestyle MX European Championship at the NIGHT of the JUMPS in Graz. Spectators in the Stadthalle were anxious to see if Maikel Melero could repeat his victory from the previous day and possibly overtake Podmol in the European Championship standings.

Photo Credit: Oliver Franke / NOTJ.de

 

Firstly though, the contenders had to get through qualifying. Maikel Melero did best, securing first place in the prelimnary round, followed by the two Frenchmen Brice Izzo and Remi Bizouard. Podmol muscled his way into the fourth position in the final with Jeremy Rouanet and Joel Brown completing the field of starters in the finals. Luc Ackermann was within a whisker of going through but did not quite make it this time.

However, to ease his disappointment, the 16-year-old gave Maikel Melero and Kevin Ferrari a good run for their money in Maxxis Highest Air. The young German nosed into second place with 7.50 meters but had to admit defeat to Melero, who jumped 7.80 meters, winning all of the weekend‘s Maxxis Highest Air competitions.

The Rockwell Watch Best Whip contest again turned into a scrap between the two Frenchmen Bizouard and Rouanet, and once again, the three-time world champion emerged triumphant.

The final was an absolute peach of a showdown. Firstly, Jeremy Rouanet executed incredible Flatliners and Shaolin Flips, then Australian Joel Brown countered with superb triple combos and a Seatgrab Indy Flip, clinching fifth place.

Libor Podmol mounted a tremendous offensive, performing his Underflips, his new Tsunami Flip and the Cliffhanger Backflip to No Hand Landing. That should have earned him a podium at least. However, it was not enough to fend off the challenge from the two Frenchmen. Remi Bizouard was the first to overtake the Czech rider with a Ruler Flip, Turntable and Cliffhanger Flip. Then it was the turn of Brice Izzo to outclass him with an Underflip, Tsunami Flip and Triple combo.

Maikel Melero hoped to see himself crowned supreme champion in Graz by clinching wins on the day in the high jump and freestyle competitions and the Spaniard was in front until his very last trick of the competition. However, he made a mess of the double up and left his hand on the handlebars during his Double Seat Grab flip. That meant he performed the Superman Seat Grab flip twice on his run, dropping down into fourth place as a consequence. And so, Remi Bizouard took the honours from fellow French rider Izzo and Podmol in third place.

Podmol continues to lead in the overall Freestyle MX European Championship after securing third place. Currently on 70 points, the Czech rider has a short lead on Bizouard (68 points). Melero follows in third place.

The FMX riders now have a break until March 6th when the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship gets under way at the NIGHT of the JUMPS in Berlin. April 26th will see the return of the European Championship in Munich. Austrian fans can look forward to being amazed by the NIGHT of the JUMPS once again in January 2015 when the riders return to Linz and Graz.

Top 3 Runs:

Highlights:

[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heW6ETd880g[/youtube]

 

Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final

1. Remi Bizouard                     FRA    FFM              Kawasaki       379 Points     

2. Brice Izzo                           FRA    FFM              Yamaha         369 Points

3. Libor Podmol                       CZE    ACCR            Yamaha         364 Points

4. Maikel Melero                      ESP     RFME            Yamaha         361 Points

5. Joel Brown                         AUS    MA               Yamaha         347 Points

6. Jeremy Rouanet                  FRA    FFM              Yamaha         342 Points

 

Results Rockwell Watch Best Whip Contest

1. Remi Bizouard                     FRA    FFM              Kawasaki      

2. Jeremy Rouanet                  FRA    FFM              Yamaha                 

 

Maxxis Highest-Air

1. Maikel Melero                      ESP     RFME            KTM              7,80 Meter

2. Luc Ackermann                   GER    DMSB           KTM              7,50 Meter

3. Kevin Ferrari                      ITA     PZM              KTM              7,00 Meter

 

Freestyle MX European Championships

Ranking (after 4th contest)

1. Libor Podmol                       CZE    ACCR            Yamaha         70 Points

2. Remi Bizouard                     FRA    FFM              Kawasaki       68 Points      

3. Maikel Melero                      ESP     RFME            Yamaha         64 Points

4. Brice Izzo                           FRA    FFM              Yamaha         62 Points

5. Joel Brown                         AUS    MA               Yamaha         40 Points

6. Petr Pilat                            CZE    ACCR            KTM              32 Points

7. Luc Ackermann                   GER    DMSB           KTM              23 Points

8. Jeremy Rouanet                  FRA    FFM              Yamaha         20 Points

9. Massimo Bianconcini             ITA     PZM              KTM              19 Points

10. Maxime Gregoire               FRA    FFM              Yamaha         16 Points

11. Kevin Ferrari                     ITA     PZM              KTM              15 Points

12. Leonardo Fini                    ITA     PZM              KTM              14 Points

13. Nikolay Ivankov                 RUS    MFR              Yamaha         14 Points

14. Ondrej Zaruba                   CZE    ACCR            KTM              13 Points

15. Ales Liemann                     CZE    ACCR            KTM              10 Points

16. Fred Wasner                     FRA    FFM              Yamaha          6 Points      

17. Martin Koren                     CZE    ACCR            KTM               5 Points

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