Red Bull X-Fighters Mag - Rome 2010 by Red Bull X-Fighters

FINAL FIGHT! THE TITLE SHOWDOWN HITS THE ETERNAL CITY

#6 ROME octoBER 2nd 2010

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

cover photography: Giorgio cosulich/getty images, Daniel Grund for Global-Newsroom; PHOTOGRAPHY: flohagena.com/Red Bull Photofiles

grand finale!

From Mexico City to the ancient Pyramids of Egypt, from Moscow’s iconic Red Square to Madrid and on to London, the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2010 has seen the world’s finest freestyle motocross stars perform some of the wildest tricks imaginable in pursuit of glory in what is undoubtedly the planet’s toughest FMX competition. But with five rounds over and a thrilling fourway title fight in prospect, all roads now lead to Rome as the Tour’s grand finale hits the Eternal City. At last we’ll discover just which one of these daredevil riders will be crowned Red Bull X-Fighters champion of 2010. The battle, though, will be intense. At the Stadio Flaminio, the 12 best riders in the world will throw themselves and their bikes up to 15m in the air, delivering wilder and wilder tricks in a bid to convince the judges that they have what it takes to claim the ultimate prize. Born from the bullrings of Spain and infused with the high-octane excitement of motocross, Red Bull X-Fighters has been defying gravity for a decade but it’s never seen a battle as closely fought as this one. Rome, get ready to be rocked!

CONTENTs

04 The battle for glory After five thrilling rounds the World Tour comes to a head here. Here’s how the title fight shaped up ahead of an amazing finale 18 the contenders Any one of four riders could leave Rome as Red Bull X-Fighters Tour champion. We present the lowdown on the showdown 23 air times Celebrating a decade of Red Bull X-Fighters aerial action 24 free speech We talk to competition host Zoran Filicic 26 AIR CRAFT How riders modify their bikes 28 italian stallion Massimo Bianconcini’s Red Bull X-Fighters dream is now a reality and the man known as ‘Little White’ is determined to grab the opportunity with both hands 32 trick bag The riders’ top tricks explained 36 laying down the law Italian FMXpert Alvaro Dal Farra explains how he and his fellow judges will choose a champion 40 wild bunch Red Bull X-Fighters has had its biggest year yet – and it’s all thanks to 150,000 amazing fans 42 The riders The six other major FMX stars getting ready to rock Rome 44 WILD CARDS Massimo Bianconcini and Clinton Moore 46 the Rules & Venue All you need to know about the final round in Rome 50 2010 tour standings

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

fight to the finish

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS Red Bull X-Fighters 2010 has seen some spectacular action and much of it stemmed from possibly this year’s most improved rider, Levi Sherwood, who has taken more victories than any other ride so far

PHOTOGRAPHY: Joerg Mitter for Global-Newsroom

take the finest freestyle motocross riders on the planet, some of the world’s most iconic locations and the most challenging courses ever devised, and the sparks will surely fly. The 2010 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour has been the most exciting ever and it will come to a thrilling climax in the Eternal City. Here’s how the battle for the Tour title took shape…

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

round one

Mexico City

Mexico City’s huge Plaza de Toros was once again a full house, with over 42,000 crazy fans packing into the world’s biggest bullring to see Andre Villa (right) triumph as the rain fell in torrents

Mexico / April 16

PHOTOGRAPHY: Balazs Gardi for Global-Newsroom, Daniel Kolodin for Global-Newsroom

The Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2010 kicked off in its traditional first stop – Mexico City. But the competition in the world’s biggest bullring was far from predictable…

Nothing kicks off the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour like the sound of 42,000 crazed Mexican FMX fanatics, packed into the world’s biggest bullring and all urging on their heroes – unless, of course, you can add the natural fireworks display of a massive electrical storm into the equation. If the riders needed any reminding that they were about to embark on another season in the world’s biggest and best freestyle competition, then the mayhem in Mexico City this year provided it. In qualifying, Andre Villa stunned onlookers with an immaculate display of big-air trickery, the Norwegian proving that a winter spent refining his runs in the US had paid off in a big way. With 2009 champion Nate Adams a couple of points back and ’09 runner-up Robbie Maddison third, the opening round’s main event looked like being another classic befitting the massive Plaza de Toros Monumental. And on Saturday night the stage was perfectly set. With 42,000 baying fans crammed into the arena and the atmosphere rapidly being cranked up to fever pitch, the riders prepared for the crucial head-to-head. But after a first round lit up by electric performances from Cameron Sinclair, the Aussie making a stunning return from injury in the Madrid last year, Eigo Sato, debuting his new Aeroplane trick, and Robbie Maddison, another aerial electric show suddenly took control. With torrential rain making the course more and unpredictable and dangerous

and lightning splitting the sky above, the decision was eventually taken to call a halt to the competition. Thus the round was decided on the qualifying result, meaning that Andre Villa took his first ever Red Bull X-Fighters win, ahead of Adams and Maddison. Adams was philosophical. “Andre deserved to win here. You have to live with the weather conditions.” he said. The last words, though, were left to Villa. The Norwegian had endured an injuryplagued 2008 and a 2009 comeback had been erratic at best. The Mexico result was reward for a whole winter of hard work in the foam pits of his adopted California home. “I have trained hard my whole life and made so many sacrifices for this,” he said. “I feel I have nothing to prove any more.” Egypt beckoned and in the heat and dust of the desert a battle as monumental as the ancient pyramids themselves was about to unfold. Mexico City Result 01 Andre Villa (NOR) 02 Nate Adams (USA) 03 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 04 Dany Torres (ESP) 05 Jim McNeil (USA) 06 Eigo Sato (JAP) 07 Levi Sherwood (NZ) 08 Adam Jones (USA) 09 Charles Pagès (FRA) 10 Blake Williams (AUS)

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RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

eygpt / may 14 Out of the cauldron of Mexico’s frenzied Plaza de Toros and straight into the furnace of Egypt’s legendary Giza Plateau on the cusp of a baking hot summer. And in the shadow of the ancient pyramids a battle royal was developing. It was always going to be a hot time for the riders in the old city of Cairo as the Tour hit Egypt for the first time, but none of them could have predicted just how fiery things would get as Red Bull X-Fighters set up its tents in front of surely the most impressive venue the Tour has ever visited – the inscrutable Sphinx and the pyramids. With temperatures edging towards 40 degrees Celsius and the desert winds stirring up the shifting sands around the ancient monuments, both men and machinery were pushed to the limits of endurance and beyond. But with a multitude of new fans in attendance the only way was up – and that meant throwing down some almost impossible trick sequences on the tight and narrow course. First to be caught out was Libor Podmol, the Czech rider crashing out in practice. He was soon

followed by Petr Pilat and Nate Adams. But by the time of the main event, the top three from Mexico, Andre Villa, Adams and Robbie Maddison, had all progressed to the semi-final stage. The wild card in the finals mix, though. was Adam Jones, the American rider going big in the quarters to dismiss a stunned Levi Sherwood. That was the cue for a new event format, the semis taking the shape of a ‘jump for jump’ battle, the riders throwing down their biggest and badddest moves and then awaiting the response of their opponent in an ever-escalating war of the tricks. Jones met Mexico runner-up Adams in his semi and despite Adams firing on all cylinders, Jones went bigger and better every time, a perfectly executed Dead Body eventually giving him the edge. With Villa dismissing Maddison in their semi, the showdown left Jones up against a rider rapidly establishing himself as the dominant force of the 2010 Tour. After a blistering array of tricks Villa eventually cracked, however, the Norwegian failing to make a flip stick and opening the door for Jones to claim his first Red Bull X-Fighters victory. “This really is a dream come true for me,” Jones beamed afterwards. And he admitted the win was simply down to forgetting about the possibility of victory. “I think I was just having fun,” he said. But while Jones left with a smile on his face, a deeper sense of satisfaction probably lay with Villa. With a victory and a second place under his belt, the Norwegian was rapidly stretching his Tour lead over Adams. Villa wouldn’t have it all his own way, though, and by the time the riders reached Moscow, a new player was preparing to enter the championship frame. Giza Result 01 Adam Jones (USA) 02 Andre Villa (NOR) 03 Nate Adams (USA) 04 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 05 Levi Sherwood (NZ) 06 Eigo Sato (JAP) 07 Jim McNeil (USA) 08 Libor Podmol (CZE) 09 Lance Coury (USA) 10 Daice Suzuki (JAP)

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round two Red Bull X-Fighters has set up at some pretty impressive loactions over the past decade but this year’s event in front of the mighty Sphinx and provided possibly the most spectacular backdrop ever. Adam Jones (left) was in equally impressive form, too, the American taking first series victory

PHOTOGRAPHY: Balazs Gardi for Global-Newsroom, Joerg Mitter for global-newsroom

giza

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

round three

moscow

Moscow saw a return to winning ways for Levi Sherwood (opposite). The ‘Rubber Kid’ earned his his nickname thanks to his incredible extensions and in the Russian capital the New Zealander went bigger than ever to claim a first win since his 2009 debut in Mexico, as this huge trick demonstrates

russia / june 26

PHOTOGRAPHY: Balazs Gardi for Global-Newsroom, Joerg Mitter for global-newsroom

How to follow up the great Pyramids of Giza? Easy – the World Tour headed straight to Moscow where Red Square was well and truly rocked by the Red Bull X-Fighters

Leaving Giza for Moscow, the Red Bull X-Fighters riders would have been forgiven for thinking that they were escaping the blazing hot deserts for altogether cooler northern climes, but if anything Red Square was even more red hot than Egypt, the Russian capital wilting under a heatwave that saw the riders suit up in temperatures edging towards 35 degrees. It was a pressure-cooker comeback venue for Swiss superstar Mat Rebeaud. The 2008 champion had been sidelined after a nasty pre-season crash but the man they call Air Mat had made an amazing recovery and duly took his place among the riders sweating through the Moscow preliminaries. One man, though, was staying frosty in the punishing heat. After winning his debut event in Mexico in 2009, ‘Rubber Kid’ Levi Sherwood had toughed it out through a season blighted by minor injuries. In the winter of ’09, though, he’d undergone knee surgery and had only climbed aboard a new bike again just weeks before the start of the 2010 Tour. Seventh in Mexico and fifth in Giza hadn’t set the world alight. Arriving in Moscow though, Sherwood had upped a gear – pounding out the tricks in training. “If I don’t do some of the backflips for a while I’ll get scared,” he said in the run-up to the Moscow round. “After Egypt I just knuckled down and did them.” And in Moscow the dedication paid off. Sherwood blitzed the qualifying round ahead of Nate Adams and Robbie

Maddison. The opening sessions, however, didn’t go quite as well for Blake Williams, the 2010 Tour regular crashing out and damaging his shoulder, an injury which would sideline him from the rest of the Tour. After Maddison had a near miss, almost failing to land a seatgrab flip, Sherwood was left to battle it out against Tour leader Andre Villa in the semis. And when Villa failed to raise the special levers that aid flip tricks and had to abort, the Rubber Kid was through to a final against Adams. But after nailing his runs all weekend, Adams suddenly lost his rhythm. It left Sherwood just needing a clean run to take the top prize. The young New Zealander was in the mood to show off, however, and treated the crowd to a stunning display of airborne trickery to take the victory. The Rubber Kid was ecstatic. “I was so motivated after doing badly in the last two rounds,” he said. “It just feels so good to have another win under my belt.” Moscow Result 01 Levi Sherwood (NZ) 02 Nate Adams (USA) 03 Andre Villa (NOR) 04 Eigo Sato (JAP) 05 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 06 Dany Torres (ESP) 07 Adam Jones (USA) 08 Cameron Sinclair (AUS) 09 Jim McNeil (USA) 10 Mat Rebeaud (SUI)

Pts 100 80 65 55 45 35 30 25 20 15

PHOTOGRAPHY: Joerg Mitter for global-newsroom

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

Moscow’s incredible course was certainly one of the year’s most spectacular and brought out the best in both the riders and the thousands who thronged to St Basil’s basilica for the Tour’s third round

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

SPAIN / juLY 22/23

The spiritual home of the Red Bull X-Fighters, Spain’s round at Madrid’s Plaza de Toros de las Ventas is always a passionate affair and with Robbie Maddison bringing an electric new trick to the party it more than lived up to its billing as El Clásico. With Red Bull X-Fighters now a decade old and returning to Madrid for a ninth consecutive year, it was time to give a new generation of riders a chance to savour the unique atmosphere of the series and its spiritual home. The first day of the only two-day event on the calendar was given over to a Wild Card competition where six young riders battled it out for a place in the main event. One place became two after regular rider Eigo Sato sustained a broken arm in practice and when the wild card shootout was over Australian Jackson Strong and Spanish wonder kid Maikel Melero found themselves up against the big guns in the main competition. Strong dropped out in round one but Melero toughed it out to the quarters, only to be beaten by Andre Villa. Two regular Tour riders, however, were finding incredible form. First up was Mat Rebeaud. The Swiss rider had only returned to action after injury a month 14

before, taking a hard-won 10th place in Moscow and admitting he was far from 100 per cent fit. In Madrid, though, he’d clearly made up the deficit and, via a series of amazing runs, Air Mat blasted through to the semi-final stage, where he met local hero Dany Torres. Torres had aced the 2009 event in his homeland, aided in no small part by the fanatical support of the Spanish crowd, and it should have been enough again to help him defeat Rebeaud. But the Swiss rider was in brilliant form and, after scattering roses to the crowd, proceeded to deliver a little pain in Spain to Torres and booked his place in the final. There he would meet the other form rider of the weekend. After a difficult weekend in Moscow, Robbie Maddison had been hard at work. “I’ve been working on it since Moscow,” he said in the run-up to Madrid. “I knew I had to bring something bigger if I wanted to win.” The big ‘it’ was a brand new trick, the ‘Volt’ Body Varial, where the rider dismounts and rotates his body through 360 degrees before rejoining the bike. “I’ve been mentally visualising it for a while,” he said, “and I read a book about mental preparation on my way home from Moscow because I had to bring my mental awareness level up.” His mental fitness was sky high in the final runs in Madrid and after dismissing Villa with the move in the semis, Maddo again unleashed the Volt against Rebeaud in the final and the judges could do nothing other than hand the Aussie his first victory of the season. “Here’s to Rome baby – London and Rome,” Maddo laughed after the victory celebrations. London, though, was to prove a tricky mistress, for Maddison more than most. Madrid Result 01 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 02 Mat Rebeaud (SUI) 03 Andre Villa (NOR) 04 Dany Torres (ESP) 05 Levi Sherwood (NZ) 06 Adam Jones (USA) 07 Mike Mason (USA) 08 Maikel Melero (ESP) 09 Jackson Strong (AUS) 10 Cameron Sinclair (AUS)

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round FOUR Moscow hadn’t been kind to FMX superstar Robbie Maddison and afterwards he admitted he’d have to bring his ‘A-game’to Madrid. The Aussie delivered in spectacular style to earn victory in the spiritual home of Red Bull X-Fighters

PHOTOGRAPHY: Joerg Mitter for global-newsroom, andreas schaad for global-newsroom

mADRID

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

round FIVE

london

London’s iconic Battersea Power Station was the setting for the penultimate round of the year and while the riders unleased some stunning moves, such as this by Mat Rebeaud, it was Levi Sherwood who triumphed, the Mew Zealander grabbing a deserved second win of the season to make him a hot contender for the overall Tour title

UK / August 14

PHOTOGRAPHY: Andreas Schaad for Global-Newsroom, Alex Schelbert for Global-Newsroom

Just as had happened in mexico, the elements intervened at london’s battersea power station. For some the storm clouds had a silver lining, but for others it was a washout….

Battersea Power Station: former seat of energy and power for the city of London; rock icon thanks to it’s appearance on Pink Floyd’s seminal ‘Animals’ album cover and, since 2009, spectacular home of Red Bull X-Fighters in the UK. After last year’s electric event, at which Nate Adams had sealed his first Tour title, the UK competition had gone one step further, building a simply massive course, the season’s largest, that would provide the grandest of spectacles and test the riders skills to the limit. In the end, though, it was the capricious English weather that proved to be the biggest test and qualifying was delayed by rain until Saturday morning. When the ranking session finally got underway the course was anything but predictable, as title contenders Robbie Maddison and Andre Villa soon found out. Villa was unable to establish any kind of rhythm and the normally ultra-reliable Norwegian slumped to ninth in the tricky shake-up for the main event. Maddison, meanwhile, was enduring worse. The Madrid winner, nursing a minor injury from the recent X Games competition in the US, was ill at ease and crashed out in qualifying. He would ultimately be forced to sit out the main event. By Saturday evening, with rain again having crossed the location during the day, the course was becoming cut up, leading to the landings becoming increasingly slippery and ever more dangerous. It wasn’t looking good.

However, braving the weather, the riders took to the course to thrill the 30,000-strong crowd with some of their wildest tricks but with the conditions varying from run to run it was eventually decided to score the event from the earlier qualifying round. And with Villa, the normal king of qualifying, unseated, it was Rubber Kid Levi Sherwood who took the honours, the New Zealander landing his second win of the year and vaulting into true championship contention. “It’s insane,” he said after closing to just 20 points behind season-long leader Villa. “I’m going to give everything at the last event to try and knock Villa off top spot.” All road now lead to Rome. With Villa and Maddison ninth and tenth respectively, and Adams adding another podium finish to his haul, the battle for the title is poised on a knife-edge. The Eternal City is in for one hell of a season climax! LONDON Result 01 Levi Sherwood (NZ) 02 Nate Adams (USA) 03 Dany Torres (ESP) 04 Mike Mason (USA) 05 Adam Jones (USA) 06 Mat Rebeaud (SUI) 07 Cameron Sinclair (AUS) 08 Clinton Moore (AUS) 09 Andre Villa (NOR) 10 Robbie Maddison (AUS)

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RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

TOUR OF DUTY THE CONTENDERS 18

contender 2010 Results Mexico City (Mexico) 1st Giza (Eygpt) 2nd Moscow (Russia) 3rd Madrid (Spain) 3rd London (UK) 9th POINTS: 310

ANDRE VILLA NICKNAME / NONE Nationality / norway DOB / April 27, 1982 Bike / Yamaha YZ250

PHOTOGRAPHY: joerg mitter for global-newsroom

After five furious rounds of aerial action, just a handful of points separate the riders at the top of the red bull x-fighters championship table. meet the fantastic foursome revving up for this weekend’s title showdown in rome

Red Bull X-Fighters’ own renaissance man, Andre has reinvented himself after what he describes as “a terrible” 2009 season to lead this year’s Tour from the very start. After taking his first ever Red Bull X-Fighters win in Mexico, Villa has been this season’s most consistent rider, landing podium finishes in Egypt, Russia. A mini-slump in London dented his season but the series’ throw out rule means Villa still leads the championship and, having dominated qualifying at three of the five stops so far and finished in the top three at all bar one of the locations, the Norwegian looks a solid bet to secure the title in Rome. “Everything seems to be coming together for me,” he says of his resurgence this year. “I’ll go for it. I’ll be out there, always pointing at top spot!

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

LEVI SHERWOOD NICKNAME / RUBBER KID Nationality / NZ DOB / OCTOBER 22, 1991 Bike / KTM 250SX

contender

After winning on his Red Bull X-Fighters debut in Mexico in 2009, insiders were predicting big things for Levi, but a series of niggling injuries saw him drift out of contention as the year went on. Knee surgery in the off-season set him back further and the ‘Rubber Kid’ only climbed aboard his bike again a couple of weeks before the start of this year’s Tour. Seventh in Mexico and fifth in Egypt didn’t offer much hope of a turnaround but the New Zealander knuckled down and came back with a dominant win in Moscow. Since then he’s been in irresistible form and a second win in London put him firmly in contention for the title. “I started the season on a couple of bad notes in Mexico and Egypt,”

2010 Results Mexico City 2nd Giza 3rd Moscow 2nd Madrid dns London 2nd POINTS: 305

he admits. “I was pretty bummed by those so I put a lot of practice in for Russia. “Winning in Moscow was a big deal for me,” he adds. “I won Mexico last year but after that it was a really long time between wins. It felt great and it sort of pushed a doubt away in my mind as to whether I could do it again.” It was back to earth with a fifthplace bang in Madrid though. “I think I was feeling a bit confident and was almost riding for the win, which doesn’t work for me. I always want to win but I think when I try to target a victory it doesn’t work.” Now, though, following a second win of the season in London, Sherwood has every chance of taking the title here in Rome. “I’m looking forward to it,” he says. “It’ll kind of put a lot of pressure on some of the riders, so it’s going to be a different feeling, but not me. If I’m in contention, fine, but I’m not going to let it affect me this time.”

#3 contender

NICKNAME / The destroyer Nationality /usa DOB / MARCH 29, 1984 Bike / Yamaha YZ250 The Destroyer needs little introduction. The American rider sealed a dramatic championship win at the final round in London last year after dominating the second half of the Tour and he’s carried that form through to this year. With a string of excellent podium finishes behind him this season, he’s now second in the championship standings and looking good to become Red Bull X-Fighters first back-to-back Tour winner since Travis Patsrana in 2007. Only a win eludes Adams this year and he’s determined to put that right here in Rome. “I’ve been up front a lot this season, but I really want to get that win,” he

says. “There’s a huge difference mentally between second and first. It just totally lifts your confidence. So I really want to end on that high note, to get that feeling again. It just gives you a boost, a little more fire.” And as for this season? Adams reckons it’s been a mixed bag. “In Egypt I was lacking a bit,” he says. “I had a crash in practice and that left me with a swollen hand and knee and that set me back. It was quite a basic course, with just three jumps and that’s not my thing. London suited me more – that’s what I’m all about, a big course and plenty of space. I think my best performance was in the X Games Speed and Style competition. It was one of those day where I felt ‘on’. Maybe that feeling will carry now through. For Rome, I’ll take it as comes. It’s going to be a new experience and hopefully a good one.”

2010 Results Mexico City 7th Giza 5th Moscow 1st Madrid 5th London 1st POINTS: 290 PHOTOGRAPHY: joerg mitter for global-newsroom

NATE ADAMS

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

daredevil decade

#4 contender

From a single battle to a world-spanning series, Red Bull X-Fighters has come a long way in the past ten years. Here’s how…

2010 Results Mexico City 3rd Giza 4th Moscow 5th Madrid 1st London 10th POINTS: 265

2001

Red Bull X-Fighters is born on a steaming July day when some of world’s best FMX riders gather in the historic bullring of Valencia, Spain. With echoes of Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls – 100 white-clad volunteers are herded into the arena by the FMX stars – and screamed on to ever more dangerous feats by a fanatical crowd, Mike Jones takes victory. The template is set.

ROBBIE MADDISON

It’s been a rollercoaster year for Robbie Maddison. The Australian superstar went to round one in Mexico on a high haviung just pulled off an incredible jump across Greece’s Corinth Canal and Maddo carried that good form into the Plaza de Toros Monumental, taking third place to position himself for a major tilt at the 2010 title. But the Aussie dropped to fourth in Egypt and then narrowly avoided a crash in Moscow when a landing went wrong. Those setbacks were cast aside in Madrid, where, armed with a spectacular new trick, The Volt, Maddison soared to victory. London though was cruel and this time he did crash out, compounding injuries he’d picked up at X Games. Since then Maddo’s struggled with a debilitating knee injury. The Rome finale will undoubtedly present a major challenge and Maddo’s runs will have to be perfection if he’s to stand a chance of landing his first Red Bull X-Fighters title. But there’s one rider in the world capable of rising to that kind of challenge, it’s Maddo!

PHOTOGRAPHY: joerg mitter for global-newsroom, Jürgen Skarwan/Red Bull Photofiles

NICKNAME / MADDO Nationality / AUSTRALIA DOB / JULY 14, 1981 Bike / Yamaha YZ250

2002 Following the

success of the Valencia event, Red Bull X-Fighters migrates to Madrid’s legendary Plaza de Toros de las ventas, for wilder tricks. More than 23,000 fans cram into the iconic venue to see local hero Edgar Torronteras take his revenge on Jones.

2003 Bigger and

better, as both Valencia and Madrid feature. Kenny Bartram rules at both venues, twice pushing fellow American Nate Adams to second position.

2004 Madrid hosts

the only event, but a new legend is born when Travis Pastrana takes his first title ahead of Nate Adams. “Red Bull X-Fighters is more fun than any other event. The atmosphere is unique,” Pastrana confesses. It’s

about to become even more special…

2005

With crowds rising in the Red Bull X-Fighters’ heartland of Spain the decision is taken to go international. Given its bullfighting heritage, the Plaza de Toros in Mexico City is the obvious destination and here Ronnie Renner dominates what is fast becoming FMX’s most exciting series.

2006

After a glut of US wins 2006 sees a new European star rise as Swiss rider Mat Rebeaud beats Pastrana in Mexico. Rebeaud eventually

finishes third behind winner Pastrana and Nate Adams Adams but it’s clear a new era of internationalism beckons. Time to go global.

2007 The first World

Tour takes off in 2007, with events in Mexico, Ireland and once again, Madrid, where Travis Pastrana wins another title blitzing the finale after also winning at Slane Castle near Dublin to claim his title back from Rebeaud.

2008

Across a fivestop season taking in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Forth Worth in the US, Madrid, Oeteslhofen, Germany and the season finale in Warsaw, Rebeaud is imperious, taking three wins from the first four events to seal title victory before the final round.

2009 The biggest

Tour yet sees Red Bull X-Fighters invade Mexico, the US, Spain and for the first time Canada and the UK. and despite the discovery of wonder kid Levi Sherwood, who wins at his first attempt in Mexico, it’s Nate Adams who eventually seizes control, victories in Calgary and London and second in Madrid landing him the title ahead of friend and California neighbour Robbie Maddison.

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

free speech There’s no one more qualified to host the grand finale of Red Bull X-Fighters than Zoran Filicic, and Italy’s most famous extreme sports commentators is all set to bring the noise to Stadio Flaminio

What’s your relationship with FMX? I’m a big fan, and to think that I was there when Travis Pastrana did his first Double Back Flip! Back when I started following FMX, Pastrana was a new face; he’d just gone professional and everyone was talking about this “phenomenal young guy”! On television, just to mention one, I commented live on the Red Bull X-Fighters event from Madrid. What are you expecting from the spectators here in Rome? I’m expecting loads of noise, people going wild, cheering like crazy – white heat! Rome’s the hottest place in Italy for the fans, the only place able to bring 24

out the very best, the very loudest.. The final will be at Stadio Flaminio, the home of the Italian national rugby team and the base for RBS Six Nations action. Last year you were the commentator for the game against New Zealand at San Siro stadium. How was that? I know the Flaminio well and commenting at San Siro was fantastic, as was Udine, where there were 45,000 spectators, but there’s nothing that gets the adrenaline flowing like FMX, and I can’t wait to see the Flaminio taken over by Red Bull X-Fighters. Have you ever ridden an FMX bike? Yeah, in Temecula, California, outside – let’s be clear about this, outside – Jimmy Fitzpatrick’s park, on the Kawa that Alve dal Farra had at the time. Have you ever taken part in a motocross race? No, I don’t have the guts! Have you got a favourite rider? Dany Torres, I’m just crazy about his whips! And also Libor Podmol – he’s just raw enough, with plenty of spunk. But my number one favourite has to be Jeremy ‘Twitch’ Stenberg: he’s wicked! Favourite position? And by that I mean your favourite trick! Any upside-down ones. Oops, are you sure you’re talking about tricks? Do you know Alvaro dal Farra? Know him? He was at my wedding! What how would you describe FMX? Pure adrenaline. There’s nothing like watching it – or commenting on it!

PHOTOGRAPHY: Giacomo Margutti

A big occasion needs a big personality to translate the excitement that comes with a title showdown and Red Bull X-Fighters couldn’t have found a bigger, or more qualified host to present the final round of the 2010 Tour than Zoran Filicic. Italy’s most famous extreme sports TV commentator, Zoran has worked as an action sports announcer for more than 10 years. He began his adrenaline-fuelled career path in snowboarding but his passion for extreme sports later led to a specialisation in BMX, Surf and, naturally, FMX. As well those sports he’s also covered two Olympic Games (Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010) on one as an on-site announcer and the other as a TV commentator, But it’s the ‘out there’ extreme stuff that still attracts him and he’s covered almost every major snowboarding, mountain-biking and freestyle motocross event held in Italy. Filicic also writes for specialist magazines and for Sportweek, as well as contributing regular blogs to a variety of websites.

Zoran Filicic WORD PLAY Freestyle: expression, research,freedom,vision. Respect:conditio sine qua non. Focus/concentration: there’s space for nothing else outside of what you’re doing. Nothing else can exist. Focus is fundamental! Danger:it’s part of what it’s all about, just like fear. Red Bull X-Fighters: about as good as it gets.

AIR CRAFT

3 > P OP -UP BARS

Freestyle asks a lot of a motorcycle, so to cope with the trickery, riders make small but critical modifications

These are flip-up bars that, when extended, sit perpendicular to the handlebars. During some tricks, these are crucial for the rider to balance his arms against. Essential, to carry out many tricks.

4 5 3

5 > HA N DLEBARS

4 > STE E R I NG STA BI LI S ER

FMX riders opt for widerthan-standard bars, making the bike easier to grab and manipulate. They prefer bars with a deeper bend and no top cross-brace, for tricks such as the Dead Body. With no crossbar, handlebars are often thicker and more rigid than usual.

The handlebars’ dial sets the rigidity of steering. For some tricks, it’s vital that steering stays in a straight line when hands are off the bars.

2 > FORKS/NUMB ERP L AT ES 2

A lot of riders cut the numberplates to fix on grip tape or simply add grip tape to the forks. This helps, during tricks such as the Cliffhanger, to clamp their feet to the forks.

7 6

8 1 > F RONT F ENDER

No major adaptation here,just a shorter front fender for purely aesthetic reasons.

6 > S EAT

Part of the foam beneath the seat’s covering is removed to give riders more room when performing tricks such as No-Foot Cans, and to reduce the danger of riders getting tangled up in mid-air.

9 10

7 > REAR FE N DER

Many riders shorten this for better control of the back end of the bike and to facilitate more tricks.

Most riders create handholds by cutting into the plastic coverings just beneath the seat. This may also mean the subframe needs cutting and re-welding to give space to perform seat-grab tricks such as the Superman Seat Grab, etc.

9 > FO OTPEGS

Most riders opt for wider footpegs so they have greater stability. They also help to distribute the force of impact across the foot, making landings less painful.

10 > UNDERCARRIAGE

Includes forks and shocks. These are specially adjusted to cope with bone-jarring landings, especially when riders miscalculate distances.

Illustration: russell bell

8 > HA ND HO LD S

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

italian stallion 28

PHOTOGRAPHY: GEPA pictures

PHOTOGRAPHY / Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Red Bull x-Fighters is the ‘DREAM of every rider’ reckons massimo bianconcini. IN ROME, THE FANTASY WILL AT LAST BE MADE REALITY FOR THE RIDER THEY CALL ‘LITTLE WHITE’

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

Is Red Bull X-Fighters something you had been aspiring to? Obviously! I think it’s the dream of all freestyle riders! Red Bull X-Fighters is a huge event, there’s live transmission on TV, everything. Plus the level of riding is incredibly high. You get to go out there and compete with the best in the world! Is it the biggest competition you’ve ridden in? Yeah, definitely. I’ve done many big events, but they’re nothing compared to Red Bull X-Fighters. Do you think you’ve got the tricks to compete with guys like Robbie Maddison and Andre Villa? Robbie and Andre are really great. They have a lot of talent and great style. But I’m also not bad! The worst thing for me is that I don’t have too much time for training. In September, though, I’m going to refresh all my best tricks and hopefully learn some new ones, so we will see what happens on the night. Does it put a lot of pressure on you knowing that you’ll be riding out there with some of the very best in the world? How will you handle it if you get nervous? Of course I’ll feel the pressure, but for now I’m not nervous at all. I will be next month! But to handle it I’ll just try to focus on my own plan, my training regime, preparing for the event. I will try to relax… and have as much sex as I can! Ha, ha! Will you be looking for advice from any riders about how to approach the competition in Rome? I’d be very grateful for any advice I can get. I talked with Petr Pilat a bit (Pilat competed in Egypt this year) and he invited me to come and train with him in his park. So that will be good. For sure, I’ll also train 30

Do you have a favourite trick and if so why? For now my favourite tricks are the Whip Flip and the Underflip. I like anything that includes whipping, it just comes really easily for me. Everybody in FMX has a cool nickname, like Nate Adams is ‘The Destroyer’ and Robbie Maddison is ‘Maddo’. What’s yours and how did you get it? My nickname is Bianco or Little White. Both just came from my surname. The second nickname was invented by Ronnie Renner. How did you get into freestyle motocross? What’s your background in the sport? I started riding when I was three years old and the got into motocross. I spent a lot of time riding in Italian and European championships. I moved on to supercross and that eventually led me to freestyle. What was the attraction in FMX for you? Was it the lifestyle, the sport, the adrenaline? All of that! I really love the lifestyle: there’s no routine, I can wake up in the morning whenever I want, I don’t have to be in the same place all the time. It keeps me fit. And, of course, the sport gives me enormous

“ The public gives a lot of positive energy to a rider. It makes you feel totally pumped” pleasure. Most of all, I just really enjoy that feeling when you jump in front of the crowd and everybody is happy to see you. It’s fantastic. So how is it going to feel for you when you ride out there in front of your home crowd? I’m sure its going to be a great feeling. And I will do my very best to make the home crowd proud of me. The public gives a lot of positive energy to a rider. It’s really motivating and makes you feel totally pumped. And I’m going to represent Italy, so their support has a huge value for me. What tricks will you be bringing to Rome? What would make up your ideal run? That I can’t say. I’m going to surprise you! Finally, it’s been an amazing season in Red Bull X-Fighters and the title could go to a number of riders. Who do you think will win it in Rome? I don’t want to place my bet, because all of them are great and determined to win. Every one of them could spring a surprise. Each one of them could be on top of the podium. It’s going to be amazing.

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Is it true your friend, the Czech rider Petr Pilat, knew you were riding in Rome before you did? We heard he asked you about it at an event you were both riding at in Prague? No, it’s not true! He only asked me if I was going to ride in Rome, whether the Italian rider had been already chosen. Even if he knew, he didn’t say anything to me. I got a call on my way back from an event there and was really pumped to be asked.

in my own park. Apart from the riding, which is the most important thing, obviously, I’ll carry on with my running, which I do to keep myself in good condition.

PHOTOGRAPHY: private

his is going to be your first taste of Red Bull X-Fighters competition. How important and how flattering is it to be included in this competition? I’m very happy that they chose me. Now I can show myself to wider public, let them see what I can do, which, of course, is a great opportunity for me. I’m very, very lucky to be included and it is enormously flattering for me that I was chosen to compete with the best riders on the scene at the moment.

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

massimo bianconcini First rode a motorcyle: Aged 4, back in 1984 Hometown:I’m from a place called Monterenzio, Bologna Hobbies:Photography, video games and machines of the Second World War Other sports: Snowboarding Favourite Movie: Kill Bill and The Godfather

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MADRID

MADRID / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

TRICK BAG

DEAD BODY 

A Dead Body consists of the rider taking his feet off the pegs and extending his legs through the arms and up over the handlebars. Once in this position, the rider straightens his body completely.

The riders have a vast catalogue of gravitydefying tricks at their disposal. Here’s a quick quide to just a few to look out for tonight…

H A R T A T TA C K 

Named after Carey Hart, the first rider to perform the trick, the Hart Attack, is performed with both legs pointing straight up in the air. One hand is positioned as if performing a handstand on the seat, while the other holds on to it. If the rider’s face is facing backwards then the trick is called a Lookback Hart Attack. Some riders add an ‘Indy’ (as shown), where the rider kicks his legs in a cycling motion during the trick, to score extra points.

WHIP 

A Whip is when the rider kicks the bike sideways in the air so that it flips out to at least a 90° angle to the rider before being straightened out for the landing.

RULER 

Illustratinos: russell bell

S U P E R F L I P ( S U P E R M A N B A C K F L I P)  The rider does a Backflip, lets go of the bike with both feet and then kicks them straight back. Riders score bigger execution marks by getting further away from the bike. The biggest problem here is getting back onto your feet against the rotation. That’s why many riders mount special Flip-Levers in front of the handlebars in order to exert counter-pressure.

The Ruler is one of the harder tricks on Tour, relying on a great deal of strength and balance to get just right. The rider comes off the ramp and, holding the bars, launches his body upwards, his feet pointing to the sky. simultaneously he must push down the back of the bike so that the rear fender points towards the circuit. With back and bike pointing to 12 o’clock and six o’clock respectively you get The Ruler.

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MADRID

MADRID / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

TSUNAMI 

CLIFFHANGER 

The rider leaves the bike, then catches the underside of the handlebars with his toes. Most riders nowadays perform the trick slightly differently to the original trick. They also catch the bike with the inside of their foot at the fork for better control. The hands are raised above the head and the rider tries to lift his body as far away from the bike as possible.

Similar to a handstand in the air performed over the front of the handlebars while trying to keep the bike horizontal and level.

LAZYBOY 

The Lazyboy is a variant of the Coffin trick (which is performed by extending the legs out in front of the bike and below the handlebars and leaning back on the seat as far as possible). For the Lazyboy the rider lets go of the handlebars and extends his arms back over his head. The further a rider extends his arms and legs, the more points he will score.

K I SS O F D E AT H 

The rider performs a handstand on the bike and eventually lowers his head to the front fender as if to kiss it while still upside down.

Similar to a Superman Double Grab, where the rider takes his feet off the bike and straightens his body away from it, just holding onto the handlebars, but this time the rider releases his hands sideways from the bars. For a moment he’s totally detached from the bike and flies above it. The rider then catches his bike using the grab-holes to pull himself back onto the saddle.

Illustratinos: russell bell

ROCK SOLID 

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

LAYING DOWN THE LAW

PHOTOGRAPHY: joerg mitter for global-newsroom

PHOTOGRAPHY / Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With his riding career on hold, Italian FMX star Alvaro Dal Farra has put his expertise to the best possible use – helping to decide just which of the Red Bull X-Fighters will walk away with the title in Rome The judging has changed this year. How hard has it been to implement the new criteria? The new system was created to enhance the sport, the standard, the technique, the safety and the spectacle. Red Bull wanted to consider all of these points to create events with new judging criteria, which is the difference between Red Bull X-Fighters and other competitions. Changing things wasn’t hard, but it was a big responsibility. The hardest thing was to make the riders understand it: not all of them have grasped how it works and how to put it into practice completely. Do you think it is now a better system? The new system is correct and more complete. It’s very technical and tricky for the riders to put into practice. They have to adapt their riding styles and technique, they have to adopt a smoother riding style, maybe sacrificing powerful tricks to choose new lines, use all the track, and ride a ‘complete’ run.

It’s got to be energetic and positive with the public, so they can reach the top in all five categories. I think this method is fairer for the development of the sport. First, the focus was on the newest and most extreme tricks but now you must do everything well. It’s not just about having a big trick bag. How did you get involved with the judging panel? From 2007 onwards I took part in several Red Bull X-Fighters events and other competitions. But last year, on September 12th, I had a bad crash in training and suffered a triple pelvis fracture. I also fractured my arm and collar-bone, broke six ribs, cracked my sternum, punctured a lung and had internal bleeding. It was really, really serious. As of yet I haven’t been able to ride, so I switched my focus to off-the-bike sides of FMX. I had got to know (tour director) Tes Sewell and his team really well in recent years, and he asked me if I want to be part of the judging team. I went to my first judges’ meeting

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME own category, and often he doesn’t know how the rider is scoring in the other categories. There’s no way for a category judge to have a global overview. To score a winning run the rider should stick superextended and perfectly executed tricks, insert an innovative trick – like Maddison’s Volt in Madrid. He must use the whole track and interpret it with new lines, have an energetic style and interact well with the public. A rider has to be clean, quick and careful, both on tricks and on riding. He’s got to execute a good variety of tricks, using all of the bike and body positions. He’s got to nail combo tricks, special landings and take-offs. If you do all of that you should definitely be number one! It’s not easy.

in Santa Monica in January. I hope that I bring with me some experience and an ability to improve the judging at Tour stops. Which events have you judged at this year? I judged the competition category in Mexico, variety in Giza and challenge and execution in Madrid. I was supposed to be in London, but I was ill. Is there much argument between the judges about the runs? Yes, we discuss them before and after every contest, looking for clarity between all of us, just to be sure we haven’t got something wrong and to make sure we don’t get it wrong in future. We’re always suggesting things to each other and we also watch recordings of the events. We study the riders during practice. There’s a lot of work on systems which help us to note down every single run in order to be correct in any rider evaluation and, if is necessary, to be able to explain it to them. We also work when at home, exchanging e-mails with ideas about how to improve our work at upcoming events. What, then, makes a killer run? What are the judges looking for? Every judge is focused on watching and judging his 38

The standard of these guys is so high, it must be really tough to separate them? It’s very difficult, apart from when the rider does something obviously wrong. The scores are always really close. You have to be sharp and clever to make a judgement in just a few seconds. Who has impressed you most this year in terms of ‘upping their game’? All of the riders are growing a lot, but I’ve definitely seen stronger motivation and a bigger growth in Levi Sherwood, Andre Villa, Robbie Maddison, Eigo Sato and Libor Podmol. What do expect from the Rome round? There are four riders who could realistically win (Villa, Maddison, Sherwood and Adams) and they’re all at the top of their game aren’t they? I see Nate Adams as the most clear-headed and experienced, which means maybe he’ll feel the pressure less, but he hasn’t been very aggressive in his riding. Levi could win if he doesn’t make mistakes, but he sometimes ruins his runs with simple errors, as he did in Madrid. If he stays focused and shrugs off the pressure, he can do it. Villa and Maddo could win too, if they both resist the urge to go too big, which they do sometimes. If they remain calm, I could see both in the finals. It’s impossible to call really!

PHOTOGRAPHY: joerg mitter for global-newsroom

“ Levi could win, if he doesn’t make mistakes. he sometimes ruins his runs with simple errors”

How important is it to the judges when a rider performs a new trick to an event? Robbie Maddison brought the Volt to Madrid. Was that a key factor in his victory in Spain? No, doing a new trick is not fundamental to winning: we aren’t speaking about a best trick competition. Maddo won there because he was really complete and took high scores in every category. For example, in the first day of the competition one of the young guns, Clinton Moore, did a 360 and a Volt but even with these two high-level tricks he still didn’t qualify. He didn’t because he wasn’t as good in Style, Track Usage or in Show – three of the five categories. Robbie was really complete in all those categories and that made the difference.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Balazs gardi, daniel grund (2), flo hagena (3), joerg mitter, pedrag vuckovic, all for global-newsroom

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

wild bunch it’s been the biggest tour yet, with almost 150,000 fans packing arenas across the globe to see the red bull x-fighters land the sickest tricks imaginable

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

As soon as the news filtered through earlier this year that Red Bull X-Fighters’ traditional opening round in Mexico was once again a sell-out, it was clear that the 2010 Tour would shape up to be the biggest and best yet, drawing in fans in ever greater numbers and continuing to convert those who had previously been merely curious. A whopping 43,000 fans crammed into Mexico City’s massive Plaza de Toros Monumental and not even heavy rain and a truly spectacular electric storm could dampen their enthusiasm. Mexico, though, is firmly established as a hotbed of FMX fanaticism and the true test of any sport’s popularity comes when it heads into uncharted territory. That was the case with round two in Giza, Egypt and the following event in Moscow, Russia. But a combined crowd of 50,000 arrived to the events and, after Adam Jones and Levi Sherwood take their first wins of the 2010 Tour, they left as firm new FMX fans. Madrid, the spiritual home of the sport, was, like Mexico, a 24,000-strong sellout and with London (top right) attracting 30,000 passionate fans, the series is undoubtedly now the biggest Tour of its kind. The grand finale in Rome will only add to the series’ lustre. It’s been an outstanding year both on the course and in the grandstands for Red Bull X-Fighters and here’s hoping that 2011 will be even bigger!

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

riding high say hello to the remaining riders who will tonight go wild in rome in pursuit of red bull x-fighters glory adam jones cameron sinclair NICKNAME / SINCS Nationality /AUSTRALIA DOB / April 12, 1984 Bike / Yamaha YZ250 Cam has shown true Aussie grit in returning from a life-threatening injury in Madrid last year, where his signature Double Backflip went badly wrong. He made his comeback in Mexico this year and has been improving ever since. So much so that he recently took Best Trick gold at X-Games 16 with, you guessed it, his first Double Backflip since Madrid.

Nickname / none Nationality / USA DOB / JUly 23, 1984 Bike / YAmaha YZ250 The first rider to land a Cordova Flip in competition, Adam is one of the top FMX riders in the world. An X-Games gold medallist in 2007, he’s won pretty much every major event he’s competed in. The only trophy missing was a Red Bull X-Fighters win and he scored that in Giza. Earlier this year Adam targeted Rome as his dream event of 2010, so expect a grand finale from him at the Stadio Flaminio.

dany torres Nickname / DT Nationality / spanish Date of Birth / 10.03.87 Bike / ktm 250 sx One of the most spectacular riders on Tour, Dany’s 2010 hopes were dealt a blow by a pre-season wrist injury that meant he wasn’t at his big-tricking best in the early rounds. He’s been building the momentum since missing the Giza round, however, and has battled back to joint fifth in the standings ahead of the final round. He’ll want to end on a high note so be prepared for big air from Torres in Rome.

PHOTOGRAPHY: gepa pictures/michael riedler, vitek ludvik/red bull photofiles, flo hagena, daniel kolodin, joerg mitter (2), all for global-newsroom

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

mike mason NICKNAME / MASE Nationality / USA DOB / AUGUST 27, 1981 Bike / Yamaha YZ250

MAT REBEAUD Nickname / air mat Nationality / swiss Date of Birth / 29.07.82 Bike / KTM 250 SX After a major crash in training ahead of the 2010 Tour, Mat missed the first two rounds. But an amazing recovery saw him return in Moscow to take a battling 10th. The comeback was complete when he took a stunning second place in Madrid, an amazing performance which once again proved that Rebeaud is undoubtedly one of the finest riders in FMX – a fact that he’ll surely be out to confirm at the final Tour stop of 2010.

Two bronze freestyle medals from X Games ’06 and ’08 and fifth last year tell you that Nevada rider Mike Mason has what it takes to compete against the world’s finest. He showed that in his first round back with Red Bull X-Fighters in Madrid and pushed home the message with fourth place in London. Can he upset the status quo and wind up on the Rome podium? Time will tell.

robbie adelberg NICKNAME / ALDY, ADELS Nationality / AUSTRALIA DOB / NOVEMBER 7, 1988 Bike / Yamaha YZ250 A star in the making, Robbie Adelberg recently cemented his place on the world stage with fifth in the Freestyle event at X Games 16. His most recent Red Bull X-Fighters appearance, at round five in London, wasn’t so successful, and a crash in practice left him sidelined for the crucial qualifying session. He’ll be looking to set the record straight with a big performance here in Rome.

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

meet the two exceptional talents chosen to bring something special to rome massimo bianconcini NICKNAME / little white Nationality /italy DOB / October 2nd, 1981 Bike / KTM 250 SX Currently Italy’s finest FMX export Massimo’s promised to bring some truly spectacular tricks to his home event. Trouble is, he won’t tell us what they are. “I want to surprise you,” said the rider from Bo0logna, “but I’ll do my best to make the crowd proud of me.” With an ever-expanding repertoire or tricks, Massimo’s guaranteed to bring his home audience to their feet.

clinton moore Nickname / none Nationality / australia Date of Birth / APRIL 26, 1988 Bike / yamaha yz250 One of the most exciting new riders to emerge on the FMX scene, 22-year-old Clinton Moore wowed Red Bull X-Fighters Madrid when he became the first rider to land a Volt body varial in Red Bull X-Fighters competition when he took part in the special Wild Cards competition in Spain. That feat earned the ever-improving Clinton an invitation to round five in London and after thrilling the Battersea crowd, he’s all set to bring his unique style of tricks to the Rome finale.

PHOTOGRAPHY: private, andreas schaad for global-newsroom

d l i w ards c

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

THE RULES

follow THE FIGHT TO BE the RED BULL X-FIGHTERs TOUR CHAMPION 2010!

QUARTER-FINALS

SEMI-FINALS

FINAL

Head to head

HEAT 1

WINNER

RIDER Q5

HEAT 1

SEMI-FINAL 1

Rider Q2

RIDER Q4

HEAT 4

SEMI-FINAL 2

Rider Q3

HEAT 2

WINNER

RIDER Q6

HEAT 2

RIDER Q3

HEAT 3

Rider Q4 Rider Q5 Rider Q6 Rider Q7

RIDER 1 R1

Rider 1 R1

HEAT 4

Rider Q8

Rider 2 R1

Rider Q9

Rider 3 R1

Q9 Rider Q10

Rider 3 4 R1

Rider Q12

Rider 5 R1 Rider 6 R1

HEAT 3

Top six qualifiers progress straight to Quarter-Finals

RIDER Q2

RIDER 2 R1

Rider Q11

RIDER Q1

WORLD TOUR At each Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour stop, 100 points are awarded for first place, 80 for second, 65 for third, down to 5 points for 12th place. Riders have the chance to discard their lowest single Tour stop score under the Throw Out Rule, with the remaining stops totalled to give an adjusted points score prior to the start of the final competition. The overall winner of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2010 is the rider with the highest number of points after the final stop of the season.

Points system 1st

100

5th

9th

2nd

6th

10th

3rd

7th

11th

4th

8th

12th

Each World Tour stop comprises three days: Day One (rider briefing and training), Day Two (training and qualification), and Day Three (training and main competition). Following qualification, the riders compete in Round One in reverse ranking order, with the top six ranked riders from qualifying sitting out Round One and automatically progressing to the Quarter Finals. During Round One, each rider has one 90-second run to impress the panel of Judges led by the Head Judge. The top two riders from Round One progress to the Quarter Finals where they are awarded seed #7 and #8 respectively and compete against the top six from qualifying. The Quarter Finals are head-to-head elimination rounds for the top-seeded eight riders. The riders are paired up in the heats (shown in the table). In each heat, the lowerranked rider will ride first. A panel of five Judges, led by the Head Judge, will award each rider a score and the winner of each heat progresses to the Semi Finals. The Semi Finals pit the winners from the Quarter Finals against each other.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Joerg MItter/Red Bull Photofiles

ROUND 1 1 run of 90 sec (Qualifying ranks 7-12)

Rider Q1

RULES

Qualifying 2 runs of 90 sec (12 riders)

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

ROME / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS

Stadio Flaminio

RIDERS

1 PUBLIC ENTRANCE

Judge 1 / Variety

This Judge is responsible for marking the riders on the range of tricks they bring to each run, based on a number of trick categories.

3 ACCREDITATION, GUESTS / MEDIA 4 HOSPITALITY / MEDIA CENTRE

5 C OMMERCIAL ZONE: Red Bull Bar Red Bull X-Fighters Merchandise Swatch Lounge Nissan Hub La Gazzetta dello Sport Point MSN

do Pietri

n Via Dora

6 RIDERS’ TERRACE

judged on the rhythm of his run and synergy with the course and bike, both on the ground and in the air.

7 RIDERS’ AREA 8 MAXISCHERMO BIG SCREEN

9 PRESS TRIBUNE 10 GUEST TRIBUNE 11 JUDGES 12 CURVA NORD

3 SCOPERTA CENTRALE 1 TRIBUNE

14 COPERTA CENTRALE TRIBUNE

7 Tiz ia

Via le

Judge 3 / Style Here the rider is

11 10

Judge 2 / Challenge and Execution Has responsibility for

assessing the level of difficulty of each trick and how well the tricks are performed.

ia nc

There are five Judges on hand at each Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour event, with each one responsible for judging different criteria, and all are presided over by a Head Judge.

2 TICKETING

a Fr di

JUDGING

1 so

The number of starters at each Red Bull X-Fighters event is limited to 12. Six of the 12 are pre-qualified for each event, based on the final standings from 2009. Four of the remaining places are awarded based on the ranking from the previous round, so tonight’s action is bound to be just as intense as at the last round in Moscow, where New Zealander Levi Sherwood scored his first win of the year. The final two spots are reserved for the wild cards – riders the organisers believe will bring something unique to each event.

r Co

RULES continued

sk i ud Pi ls lo al ar es ci

St llo de le za az Pi

Head Judge / Responsible for judging the overall impression of the run.

rider’s ability to demonstrate the most energetic, exciting and entertaining run, impacts on the audience.

Vi al e

o ini io

Fla

Judge 5 / Show and Spectator reaction This Judge rules on how the

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Judge 4 / Use of Course

Here the rider is assessed on how he utilises the whole course in order to show off his skills.

RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / ROME

2010 TOUR STANDINGS Overall Standings 01 Andre Villa (NOR) 02 Nate Adams (USA) 03 Levi Sherwood (NZ) 04 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 05 Adam Jones (USA) – Dany Torres (ESP) 07 Mat Rebeaud (SUI) – Eigo Sato (JAP) 09 Jim McNeil (USA) 10 Mike Mason (USA)

Pts 310 305 290 265 210 210 130 130 95 85

Imprint red bull x-fighters magazine # 6 / 2010 / ROME Publisher Red Bull GmbH, Am Brunnen 1, A-5330 Fuschl am See Produced By Red Bulletin, Heinrich-CollinStr.1, A-1140 Vienna, www.redbulletin.com Printed By Offset 5020, A-5072 Siezenheim media Contact media@redbullxfighters.com Visit www.redbullxfighters.com

PHOTOGRAPHY: Balazs Gardi for Global-Newsroom

*Standings are based on the Throw Out Rule, *Standings are based on the Throw Out Rule, whereby riders who compete all events whereby riders who compete in allin events prior prior to the willwill havehave their lowest score to thefinal finalevent event their lowest score discarded to give discarded to an adjusted overall points total. If a rider misses one stop (other than the Final), give an stop adjusted points then that will count as the total. Throw Out.