NIGHT of the JUMPs/FIM Freestyle MX World Championships
Liberec, 08th November 2013 – Round 9
Oliver Franke / NOTJ.de
On Friday night, the Czech Republic made its return to the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship fixture list after a one-year absence. The ninth round of the 2013 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship was contested in the framework of the Liberec NIGHT of the JUMPs. Among the eleven-strong line-up was reigning world champion Remi Bizouard making his comeback after a long injury-induced lay-off. Unfortunately, the return seems to have been premature, because after performing a single Switchblade, he turned and rode out of the arena.
In the hunt for a place among the final six were the Czech Republic’s four finest freestylers in the shape of Frantisek Maca, Martin Koren, Petr Pilat and Libor Podmol. The countries two top riders – Podmol and Pilat – not only made it through the qualifying stage but did so with the former world champion leading the way. They were joined by the French duo of Brice Izzo and David Rinaldo and by Rob Adelberg from Australia. Despite making an error in his double-up flip, Maikel Melero ( ESP) squeezed through in sixth place.
Rob Adelberg
The Maxxis Best Whip interlude kept the atmosphere electric as six riders went head to head for the win. Jose Miralles threw a variety of huge turndown and old school whips to take the trophy ahead of Massimo Bianconcini.
The local fans were delighted by the prospect of two Czechs against the Rest of the World. Petr Pilat had staged his best NIGHT of the JUMPs run of the season in the preliminary round, pulling off his first ever Seatgrab Flip. In the final, however, he seemed to wilt under the pressure, making a number of errors that condemned him to sixth place.
Brice Izzo reeled off his run in customary professional style, including a Tsunami Flip, but the judges rated it only worthy of fifth. Rob Adelberg fared better, repeating exactly the same run with which he had won NIGHT of the JUMPs in Riga, but this time, his Tsunami Flip, Cliffhanger Flip and 360-style Underflip were deemed worthy only of the third podium spot.
David Rinaldo
Next up was the showdown between World Championship rivals David Rinaldo and Libor Podmol. Having let himself down badly in Riga, Rinaldo came back strongly with a One-Hand Take-Off to Seatgrab Flip over the Kicker Ramp, a Lazyflip, a MaseTwist combo and Doublegrab Flip for his double up. Podmol countered with a Cliffhanger Flip, a Tsunami Flip and an Underflip Seatgrab Indy combo. After ten tricks, he was well ahead, and with the home Czech crowd screaming the place down urging him to win, Libor got high sided at the bottom of landing after a huge underflip indy in the double-up and ate it! This slam demoted him to fourth place.
Libor Podmol
But even that was not enough to put Rinaldo in the hot seat, because Maikel Melero managed to turn P6 in qualifying into victory on the night. Melero’s perfect Doublegrab Flip and brand-new JetSki to Tsunami combo were decisive in securing him a maiden win in the NIGHT of the JUMPs series.
Maikel Melero
In the chase for the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship title, David Rinaldo has once again edged back into the lead. The Frenchman tops the championship table by a one-point margin over Libor Podmol. This means that he now has his fate in his own hands, needing only to finish ahead of his closest rival in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia to see himself crowned as the 2013 world champion.
Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final
1. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 389 Points
2. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 383 Points
3. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 380 Points
4. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 348 Points
5. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 346 Points
6. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 318 Points
Qualifying Results:
1. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 341 Points
2. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 336 Points
3. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 331 Points
4. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 321 Points
5. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 317 Points
6. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 313 Points
7. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 301 Points
8. Martin Koren CZE ACCR KTM 282 Points
9. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 275 Points
10. Frantisek Maca CZE ACCR KTM 188 Points
11. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 16 Points
Results MAXXIS Best Whip Contest
1. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM
2. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM
FIM Freestyle MX World Championships Ranking (after 9th contest)
1. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 143 Points
2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 142 Points
3. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 107 Points
4. Maikel Melero ESP RFME KTM 91 Points
5. Petr Pilat CZE ACCR KTM 89 Points
6. Dany Torres ESP RFME KTM 84 Points
7. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 80 Points
8. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 77 Points
9. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 67 Points
10. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 64 Points
11. Kai Haase GER DMSB Suzuki 43 Points
12. Rob Adelberg AUS MA Yamaha 36 Points
13. Clinton Moore AUS MA Yamaha 22 Points
14. Gabriel Villegas CHL FMC KTM 16 Points
15. Martin Koren CZE ACCR KTM 15 Points