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april 16, 2010
MEXICO CITY The Official Red Bull X-Fighters Magazine
High - Fliers
Where champ Adams invents his stunts
Double Wonder
Cameron Sinclair’s incredible double backflip
modern matadors
All riders’ profiles, all tricks decoded, the key to the bike–ready to ride
MEXICO CITY / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS
game on! COvER pHOTOGRapHY: FLOHaGEna.COM/RED BULL pHOTOFILES; pHOTOGRapHY: RED BULL pHOTOFILES
After a 2009 World Tour packed with twists and turns, both in the air and in a thrilling championship battle that went right to the wire at the final event, Red Bull X-Fighters is back – bigger, bolder and badder than ever before! Champion Nate ‘the Destroyer’ Adams is back to defend the crown he won at the death in London last year, but it won’t be easy. Title rivals Robbie Maddison and Eigo Sato have had the winter to lick their wounds and prepare for a renewed assault, while last year’s Mexico winner, Levi Sherwood, has matured into a major threat and will want to repeat the feat he pulled off on his debut here. And queueing up behind them are a host of familiar and not-so-familiar faces, all desperate to cement a place on a new Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour that, for the first time, will head to Egypt, Russia and Italy. It’s all set up to be an awesome year but, as ever, it will come down to one thing – the rider throwing down the sickest tricks will ultimately walk away as champion. So get revved up and ready for the ride of your life…
CONTENT
04 HotsHots ots The double wonder 10 news Rebeaud, Coury, Renner 14 Race stats Mexico 15 RIDeR eR Nate Adams 16 aIR tIMes The origins of a world series 20 tRIcK town Temucula, California 26 aIR cRaFt How riders modify their bikes 29 RIDeR Robbie Maddison 30 coMebacK caM Sinclair rides again 33 RIDeR Eigo Sato 34 tRIcK bag A quick guide to Red Bull X-Fighters’ tricks 38 RIDeR Levi Sherwood 39 wIlD caRDs Johan Nungaray, Bilko Williams 41 RIDeR Dany Torres 42 FIve FoR FIgHtIng Seven riders compete for five spots 44 tHe RIng MasteR Tes Sewell makes the series tick 46 FIgHt to tHe FInIsH The rules 48 Plaza De toRos The location 50 woRlD touR The dates 50 IMPRInt
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FOTO: CHRISTIan POnDELLa/RED BULL PHOTOFILES
RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
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Double Wonder The 2009 season was remarkable for many things, but perhaps chief among them was this – Cameron Sinclair’s double backflip. The Australian delivered the first such jump in competition at the Texas round and in Madrid (pictured) did it again in the Best Trick competition. But in the heat of the main event it went horribly wrong, Cam crashing heavily and sustaining life-threatening injuries. Just six monthes later, Sins is back – and raring to go: “I couldn’t wait to get back on the bike.” 05
PHOTOGRAPHY: Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Photofiles
MEXICO CITY / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS
World Power You couldn’t have asked for a more thrilling finale to the 2009 World Tour – an iconic former power station in the heart of London, a title to fight for and four major players battling for the crown. In the end, it was Nate Adams who held his nerve best, taking the title by defeating friend and neighbour Robbie Maddison in the semi-final. Adams capped it off by winning the London event and returns to Mexico to begin his defence in earnest. 06
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RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
Training Day
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PHOTOGRAPHY: JOERG MITTER FOR GLOBAL-nEwSROOM
PHOTOGRAPHY / XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
No sooner has one Tour ended than preparation for the next begins and many of the riders competing in Mexico take the opportunity to hone their skills and dream up ever more crazy tricks at their training compound near Los Angeles. Here, (left to right) Andrè Villa, Mat Rebeaud and rising star Lance Coury go wild in the country in preparation for the 2010 season.
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RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS
NEWS
one to watch...
LaNcE coury Up-and-comer Lance Coury was hoping for a shot at a Red Bull X-Fighters place – until a bout of bad weather forced the cancellation of the planned ranking event to decide tonight’s line-up. But the 20-year-old, who most recently was a guest at the opening of Red Bull’s new soccer stadium in New York, remains convinced that his time will come.
Swiss FMX superstar Mat Rebeaud is targeting July’s Madrid round of the Red Bull X-Fighters Tour 2010 for a comeback, after suffering serious injury during a crash in training at the Red Bull Compound in March. The 2006 and 2008 Mexico City winner crashed while trying to execute an Underflip One Hand at the California training centre. First on the scene was course designer Dane Heron who is trained in first-aid and was able to stabilise Rebeaud until the medical team arrived. Due to the severity of his injuries, Mat was immediately flown to nearby Valencia hospital, where he was initially reported to be in a serious condition, although conscious. Doctors treating Rebeaud decided that the 28-year-old FMX pro should have an operation to treat a fractured arm and compressed lung. Both operations went smoothly and Mat was feeling better and able to talk just a few days later. Rebeaud’s recovery has been progressing well and he was able to leave hospital on March 10th, returning to Switzerland in order to recuperate fully and get in shape, hopefully, to compete in Madrid in the coming summer.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: GARTH MILAn/RED BULL PHOTOFILES (1), LOzzAPHOTO.COM/RED BULL PHOTOFILES (1)
Rebeaud hopes to Rebound in MadRid
Was it a big blow that the ranking event was cancelled? Yeah. When I got the mail saying it had been cancelled, it was as if I had been stabbed in the heart. I had spent the six months before that preparing for the Ranking Session and working on my tricks, getting all the aspects you need to do well in bigger competitions. I was really bummed when it was cancelled. Then I got on the phone and tried to find out how else I could get into the Red Bull X-Fighters, via a wildcard or something, or if there was some other way I could showcase my skills.
times a week and have become really good friends – he’s like an older brother to me. And Levi Sherwood too? When Levi Sherwood first came to California, he slept at my house and ended up staying for about three months! We rode together every day, and it really opened my eyes to the fact that there are kids out there who can take on the older guys and win. That really helped to push me. Levi is a fun kid, too, so it’s great to ride with him and I would love to go out and compete against him. I want to go out there and do battle with him! So what’s on the agenda for 2010 now? I really want to get into the Red Bull X-Fighters and have been working really hard towards that. I’ve been taking Mat’s advice on what I need to do to get on, so now I’m really ready to throw down.
But you already know some of the guys who are on the Tour, don’t you? I met Mat Rebeaud when we were 16. We hooked up through Red Bull, and he didn’t really have a place to ride in California, so we went riding together. It was a good chance for me to push myself, and he had a chance to ride. Now we meet up maybe four to five 11
RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS
Former Red Bull X-Fighter Ronnie Renner, winner of the inaugural Mexico round back in 2005, took on a different arena in Poland recently, battling an arch enduro rival in the construction zone that will eventually the country’s new National Stadium. The stadium in Warsaw is being built to host UEFA’s 2012 Euro Championships soccer finals, but Renner and local enduro racer Taddy Blazusiak took the initiative to stage the first sporting event in the stadium with a head-to-head race that recalled the pair’s previous meeting, at a Red Bull X-Fighters Super Session in Warsaw in 2008, at which the American rider competed and where the Pole was judge. This time, it was a race to a finish line at the main entrance tunnel, though the course was littered with obstacles and construction machinery, testing both riders to the limit. Despite Renner gaining a small time advantage decided by a coin toss, the pair crossed the line simultaneously, Blazusiak’s enduro skills coming to the fore as the hauled back the deficit from his freestyle opponent. “I’m honoured to be able race Ronnie here,” said Blazusiak. “It’s a good thing the stadium’s not ready, as it gave us a unique opportunity.” “Almost two years ago, my team won a Red Bull X-Fighters Super Session here and today I was competing here again,” said Renner. “I’ll be back when they finish their job here!”
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PHOTOGRAPHY: LUkAS nAzDRACzEw / RED BULL PHOTOFILES (2)
RenneR Rides out in poLand
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Red Bull X-fiGHTeRS / MeXiCO CiTY
2001 valencia MiKe JOneS
AIR TIMES The origins of Red Bull X-Fighters stretch back to a single event. On a steaming July day in 2001, a few thousand dedicated FMX fans gathered in Valencia’s bullfighting arena to watch the world’s best freestylers defy logic, physics and, presumably, every fear of broken bones by throwing themselves and their bikes through the baking air. With echoes of Pamplona’s Running of the Bulls – 100 whiteclad volunteers were herded into the arena by the FMX stars – and screamed on to ever more dangerous feats by a fanatical crowd, the template was set. In 2002 the event migrated to Madrid’s legendary Plaza de Toros, for wilder tricks and bigger air. More than 23,000 fans watched local hero Edgar Torrontera take the honours. By the following year the stakes had doubled, with two events in Spain, and the start of US domination, with Kenny Bartram and Nate ‘the Destroyer’ Adams taking the honours in 2003 and the legendary Travis Pastrana dominating 2004’s events. It was the cue for the Red Bull X-Fighters series to go international. Given Red Bull X-Fighters’ bullfighting heritage, Mexico’s vast, monolithic Plaza de Toros in Mexico City presented the obvious destination and, in 2005, the first international event saw Ronnie Renner continue US dominance over what was fast becoming
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freestyle’s most exciting series. In 2006, though, that domination was ended when Swiss star Mat Rebeaud beat Pastrana in Mexico. With a host of international stars now riding, it was finally time to go global. The first World Tour took off in 2007, with events in Mexico, Ireland – at historic Slane Castle – and once again in its spiritual home, Madrid, where Pastrana took another title. The Europeans, though, were not taking it lying down and in 2008 it was Mat Rebeaud who again took the fight to the Americans across a six-stop season, taking in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Fort Worth in the US, Madrid, Oetelshofen in Germany and the season finale in Warsaw. Rebeaud was imperious, taking three wins from the first four events to seal title victory even before the Polish finale. US rule of the FMX world was over and a European superstar was born. But while everyone was talking about the possibility of European riders taking centre stage, a skinny kid from New Zealand was preparing to set that notion on its head. Drafted into the ’09 opener in Mexico at the last minute, 17-year-old Levi Sherwood wowed both crowd and judges with a set of flawlessly executed tricks that were impossible to ignore. He won on his debut, relegating Eigo Sato, almost twice his age, to second, with Rebeaud
PHOTOGRAPHY: BeRnHARd SPOeTTel/Red Bull PHOTOfileS
From just a single battle to a world-spanning series Featuring the best Freestyle riders on the planet, red bull X-Fighters has come a long way. and here’s how…
Red Bull X-fiGHTeRS / MeXiCO CiTY
2002 madrid
PHOTOGRAPHY: ludOviC fRAnCO (1), www.flOHAGenA.COM (3), JOeRG MiTTeR (2), JüRGen SKARwAn (1), AleXSCHelBeRT.de (1) All Red Bull PHOTOfileS
edGAR TORROnTeRAS
MeXiCO CiTY / Red Bull X-fiGHTeRS
2003 valencia
2004 madrid
KennY BARTRAM
TRAviS PASTRAnA
2009 london nATe AdAMS
2005 mexico city ROnnie RenneR
2008 germany
MAT ReBeAud
2007 madrid
TRAviS PASTRAA
2006 madrid
Travis PasTrana
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third. It was an understatement to say it looked like being one heck of an interesting season. In Canada, another Antipodean dominated, as Aussie Robbie Maddison staked his early claim to a first title. But with Sato again second, the Japanese rider was the one to watch. That extended to round three in Texas and Sato again picked up valuable points to increase his series lead. The stars of the show, though, were event winner Nate Adams, now beginning to find serious form, and Australian Cameron Sinclair, who brought the crowd to their feet with an amazing double backflip. Cam’s ambition backfired in Madrid, however. Buoyed by the success of his signature move in Texas, Sinclair went for it again in Madrid but under-rotated and crashed heavily. Badly hurt, Sincs has since made a miraculous recovery and will ride out again tonight to make one of the most amazing comebacks in Red Bull X-Fighters history. It was left to Dany Torres to lift the Madrid crowd with a set of adrenaline-pumped runs, the local hero steaming to a deserved win. But lurking in the wings was Adams and second in Madrid put him in charge of the championship. It set up a mouth-watering fourway title fight at the season finale in London at Battersea power station, the building featured on the sleeve of Pink Floyd’s album Animals. The title could have gone to Rebeaud, Sato, Maddison or Adams. But it was Adams who kept his focus and, after a fascinating duel with close friend Maddison in the semi-final and Sherwood in the final runs, ‘the Destroyer’ took the win and claimed victory in the overall standings in the closest battle ever for the title. Which brings us right up to date and tonight’s opening round in Mexico. Adams is back to defend his title. But Sato and Maddison, pipped at the post last time, are out for revenge; new kid Levi Sherwood will want to repeat his debut victory here and launch a title challenge in the city of his greatest triumph so far, and Dany Torres, a rider who excels in massive venues, won’t be far behind. And biting at their heels will be seven ‘open category’ riders, all bucking for a spot on Tour and a trip to round two in Cairo. It’s set to be an astounding year in Red Bull X-Fighters history. Let’s get ready to rumble! 19
MeXiCO CiTY / ReD bUll X-fiGHTeRs
Trick Town PHOTOGRAPHY: JOeRG MiTTeR fOR GlObAl-NewsROOM
Temecula is a relaxed, peaceful kind of place – noT words normally associaTed wiTh fmx riders – yeT half of TonighT’s compeTiTors call, iT home. This year’s defending champion naTe adams explains why The californian ciTy has become red bull x-fighTers cenTral
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ReD bUll X-fiGHTeRs / MeXiCO CiTY
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Malibu
Los Angeles
Temecula
San Diago
“i’M NOT GOiNG TO GO AROUND PeekiNG OveR feNCes,bUT i CAN sTAND ON MY DRivewAY AND wATCH MADDisON RiDe, sO THAT’s A PlUs!”
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOeRG MiTTeR fOR GlObAl-NewsROOM
ook up the town of Temecula on the internet and you’ll get plenty of descriptions of a thriving southern Californian town, a place to which families have flocked in recent years, drawn from nearby San Diego by more affordable housing, wineries, balloon festivals and a more peaceful life. Even the name is suitably blissful, often translated as ‘where the sun breaks through the mist’. In short, it’s a nice place to live – green, quiet, safe. At least on the surface. There are places in town, though, where it’s not quite like that. Days when the only thing breaking through the mist is an upside-down motorcycle, 10m in the air, the rasping note of its engine scything through the warm air with buzzsaw intensity. Quiet it ain’t. Safe? Well, if you call flinging yourself up a ramp on a howling bike and then clinging onto the airborne machine with just your fingertips safe, then, yes, this is the most comfortable place in the world. This, then, is Temecula, aka FMX Central, home to, among others, Nate Adams, Robbie Maddison, Andrè Villa and Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams. What drew the riders here was space. Freedom to carve ramps from the pristine landscape, to rip up back yards and install practice grounds, places where they could hone tricks and then kick back with friends over a few beers and a barbecue. And it’s to here that Nate Adams retreated after winning the 2009 Red Bull X-Fighters title, somewhere to recharge the batteries and ready himself for the assault on 2010. “The funny thing is that this area is pretty much a Mecca for motocross,” Adams says
of his home town. “The test tracks of all the factories, such as Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki, are about half an hour away, and at the back of my home there’s a mile of prime free-riding. There are also about 10 public tracks about an hour from here – it’s just the place to be. “When I moved out here, pretty much everyone in freestyle besides Maddo and Bilko lived here, and then I moved here and guys kept coming: Bilko, Andrè Villa, Robbie Maddison, Nicky Danielson have all moved here since I took up residence. One reason is that people want to live where their friends are, so now everybody is here, and that’s just drawing more and more people.” There is, though, the danger that living in such close proximity to other riders could lead to neighbourly bouts of ‘industrial espionage’, with riders constantly leaning over the garden fence to check out the new tricks being developed by rivals. “Ha! That’s definitely a possibility, but these days it’s too hard to keep anything a secret anyway,” laughs Adams. “Some days there will be some guys over here riding, and on other days, we will be up at Jimmy Fitzpatrick’s house just 10 minutes up the road – he’s got about 60 acres with unlimited jumps. “Sometimes you go to ride somewhere and there are two or three people; sometimes you go and there are about 12 people – everybody from (Brian) Deegan to (Jeremy) Stenberg and Robbie Adelberg. It’s just a free-for-all and a real photographer’s dream. That’s what you come out here for – you go to spots like that and there will be a photographer from Racer X or a European mag, and you just go out there
MeXiCO CiTY / ReD bUll X-fiGHTeRs
“THis AReA is PReTTY MUCH A MeCCA fOR MOTOCROss – THeRe ARe AbOUT 10 PUbliC TRACks A Mile fROM HeRe – iT’s THe PlACe TO be”
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOeRG MiTTeR fOR GlObAl-NewsROOM (2)
NATE ADAMS Listens to: Rap/Hip Hop Watches: The big lebowski, kingdom of Heaven Eats: Mexican Was inspired by: Travis Pastrana, Dad, Mike Metzger, Carey Hart When Not Riding will mostly be: snowboarding, hanging out withfriends, playing video games
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and get shots. You would never get that back home in Phoenix, where I’m from. That’s why everyone lives here.” But it’s not the only reason. Up the road from the back yards of the FMX stars are the factories of many of the major bike manufacturers. A wrecked bike on Monday can usually be back in the foam pits by Friday, thanks to availability of parts and expertise. “Yeah! All the factories are here," Adams confirms. "If you order something from Yamaha here, you get it the next day. Robbie (Maddison) moved here partly for that reason. If they haven’t got a part in Australia, then you’ve just got to wait! Here, I can drive an hour up to the factory and get it myself or have it shipped and it arrives the next day. We could go on for hours talking about the advantages of living here!” The rewards, though, are temporary, fitted around a punishing schedule of events across the globe, chief of which, of course, is the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour, a series won by Adams last year in a final round showdown at London’s iconic Battersea Power Station. On the night, any one of a quartet of riders could have taken the title. In the end it was Adams who handled the pressure best. “By the time it got down to the final run, it was between me and Levi – and Levi wasn’t in contention for the overall title – but I still really wanted to win the event. I’d made quite a few mistakes on my previous run, but then I got lucky because Levi repeated a trick and made some mistakes too. I got the feeling that the pressure was off as far as the overall title was concerned. I guess the pressure did get to me, but only after I had actually won the overall title – I won it before the event was over and still had to go out and ride. It was a strange feeling, but luckily I pulled it off.” And how. After missing out on the Mexico round last year and placing fifth in round two
in Canada, Adams suddenly got his mojo back and blitzed the competition in Texas in round three to take maximum points. Others though were setting the pace, with Mr Consistency, Eigo Sato, scoring in all rounds to hold the series lead. Adams, though, was on fire and in Madrid, second place gave him the series lead. In London, he wrapped it all up in style with an impressive event win. The rise in form throughout the year was no surprise to the American rider, though. “I think that sometimes, you just want it bad enough," he says. "Other times, you want it bad enough and things don’t work out, but last year, I wanted it bad enough and I prepared well, so some things just fell into place. I guess I got a little lucky, too, but I believe you make your own luck." Following the London win, Adams took a deserved break – “I took two weeks off. I didn’t touch a dirt bike; in fact, I did anything but touch a dirt bike!” – but thereafter, training for the new year began in earnest, despite the fact his training was hampered by injury and the champion goes into the opening round of 2010 without as much prep as he’d like. “I’ve just recovered from a broken thumb I suffered in Supercross,” he explains. “I’ve definitely got my work cut out before I tackle Mexico – I’ll wait until my thumb is healed and then just buckle down.” Despite the setbacks, Adam’s isn’t worried about what his rivals will bring to the Tour's opening round, choosing instead to focus on enjoying what he does aboard a bike. “One thing I have never really gone in for is checking out what other people are getting up to – I just go out and do my own thing,” he says. “To go out of your way to try to find out what someone else is getting up to, kind of takes the fun out of it for me.” And in Mexico this weekend, Adams will be hoping to show his fellow competitors just how potent that mix of fun and focus can be. “If I show up and someone has done more work and been more creative and beats me, then that’s fine,” he says, before taking one more glance around his Temecula back yard. “You know, I’m not going to go around peeking over fences, but I can stand on my driveway and watch Maddison ride, so that’s a plus!” 25
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.
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1
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.
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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.
IlusTraCIoN: russEll bEll
8 > HA ND HO LD S
Red Bull X-fiGHTeRs / MeXiCO CiTY
PHOTOGRAPHY: GARTH MilAn/Red Bull PHOTOfiles
ROBBIE MADDISON NickName / Maddo NatioNality / australiaN Date of Birth / July 14, 1981 Bike / yaMaha yZ250 robbie Maddison can rightly claim to be daredevil worldrecord holder for distance jumps on 125cc and 250cc motorcycles and FMX kingpin to thousands of fans back in australia, but after a 2009 season in which he finished runner-up to close friend and neighbour Nate adams in the red Bull X-Fighters World tour, it’s the latter description Maddo’s focused on this year. For 2010, he’s vowed to put record attempts on hold as he pursues one goal – a red Bull X-Fighters title. “i’ve stewed over what happened last year and i want a real run at it this year,” he insists.
2009 results Mexico City Mexico / dns Calgary / Canada 1st Fort Worth / usA 5th Madrid / spain 3rd London / uK 4th Final Overall Position 2nd
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ReD bUll X-fiGHTeRs / MeXiCO CiTY
COMEBACK
CAM When it goes right, it’s spectacular – the sight of a rider 10m aloft above the dirt, hands barely in touch with a bucking motorcycle, before pulling it all together again for a seamless landing soundtracked by the applause of thousands. When it goes wrong though, it’s terrifying – the realisation that there is danger associated with FMX is like a sudden slap in the face. So it was last year, when Cameron Sinclair, coming off the back of landing a stunning double backflip in the Texas round of Red Bull X-Fighters ’09, tried the same feat in the following round in Madrid. Under-rotating, Cam crashed heavily. No thunderous applause this time, just the eerie quiet of 20,000 people holding their breath as the Australian was attended to. Rushed straight to hospital, he was found to be suffering from a ruptured liver, a broken cheekbone, broken shoulder and head injuries. He spent time in a coma. The prognosis, though 30
ultimately positive, was guarded. These were serious injuries, with possible long-term effects. To some, the outlook was tantamount to saying Sinclair’s time as a rider was done. Even as he began to get better, his recovery time was being spoken of as a year, maybe more. For Sinclair, that forecast wasn’t accurate. In six months, he insisted, he’d be riding again. “I was back on the bike by December,” he says, ahead of his competitive comeback tonight and looking back on a remarkable recovery. “Just riding around on the bike and stuff. No jumps, though, because the doctors ruled that out, but just riding to get my balance back.” In truth, it has been a punishing time for he Melbourne-based rider, but by Christmas he was jumping again and looking ahead to a return to competition. “I’m still not 100 per cent, but I’m working as hard as I can,” he says. “I don’t reckon I’m
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOeRG MiTTeR fOR GlObAl-NewsROOM
It was one of the hIghlIghts of last season – Cameron sInClaIr landIng the fIrst double baCkflIp In CompetItIon. a month later, exCItement gave way to shoCk as hIs next attempt resulted In a lIfe-threatenIng Crash. but now, just sIx months later, sInCs Is baCk – and rarIng to go
“I couldn’t waIt to get back on the bIke. that’s all I ever thought about”
RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY / 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
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.
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.
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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.
RULER
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.
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RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY / 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.
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ILUSTRACIOnES: RUSSELL BELL
ROCK SOLID
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MEXICO CITY / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS
Name/JOHAN NUNGARAY NickName/tHe FLYING CAt NatioNality/MeXICAN Date of Birth/AUGUSt 31, 1983 Bike/RIdeR’S OWN Mexico’s top FMX star returns to Red Bull X-Fighters competition after featuring in the Mexico round in ’06, ’08 and last year. His return will surely once again be marked by the song that earned him his nickname, el Gato Volador. eleventh in this round last year, Johan will hope to kick it up a gear and put the flying cat amongst the pigeons.
wild card JOHAN NUNG
AR AY
2009 results Mexico City Mexico/11th Calgary/ Canada DNS Fort Worth/USA DNS Madrid/Spain DNS London/UK DNS Final Overall Position 18th
d l i wcard BILKO W
ILLIAMS
LEVI SHERWOOD NickName / RUBBeR KId NatioNality / NeW ZeALANd Date of Birth / OCtOBeR 22, 1991 Bike / KtM 250 SX 2009 results Mexico City Mexico/1st Calgary/Canada 7th Fort Worth/USA DNS Madrid/Spain DNS London/UK 2nd Final Overall Position 6th 38
prior to his Red Bulls X-Fighters debut in Mexico last year, Levi reckoned the call-up made him as happy as “a fat kid in a doughnut shop”. A year on from his spectacular first win here, it’s almost as if the Rubber Kid has opened his own cake factory. despite several injuries along the way, Levi finished ’09 in sixth place overall, with an automatic entry to all of this year’s events. It’s the perfect platform from which to prove that he is indeed one of the sport’s brightest new stars.
PHOTOGRAPHY: GARTH MILAN/RED BULL PHOTOFILES
NickName/BILKO NatioNality/AUStRALIAN Date of Birth/ApRIL 4, 1985 Bike/HONdA CRF250R A fans’ favourite, Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams has emerged as one of the most dynamic riders on the FMX scene, with successes including a gold medal in Moto X Freestyle and silver for Best trick at the 2009 X-Games. Now Bilko is set to bring his tricks to the Red Bull X-Fighters World tour 2010 for the first time and his ambitions are as big as his personality. “this will be my first Red Bull X-Fighters event,” he says, “so my goal is to be top three and build on that throughout the competition.” 2009 results Did not participate 39
five for fighting Mexico sees a new forMat – a shootout to progress to the big stage: seven riders but just five spots available. who’ll be the last Men standing?
JIM MCNEIL
NickName / JuMpin’ JiMMY NatioNality / uSA Date of Birth / DeceMber 29, 1979 Bike / SuZuki rM250
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ANDRÈ VILLA
TAKAyuKI HIGASHINO
NickName / none NatioNality / norWeGiAn Date of Birth / April 27, 1982 Bike / YAMAHA YZ250
NickName / tAkA NatioNality / JApAneSe Date of Birth / MArcH 13, 1985 Bike / YAMAHA YZ250
PHOTOGRAPHY: AlexScHelbeRT.de (1), JOeRG MiTTeR (3), bAlAzS GARdi/euRO-NewSROOM (1), iAN HYlANdS/Red bull PHOTOfileS (1), flOHAGeNA.cOM/Red bull PHOTOfileS (1)
MexicO ciTY / Red bull x-fiGHTeRS
LIBOR PODMOL
CHARLES PAGÈS
NickName / tHe cAt NatioNality / cZecH Date of Birth / June 6, 1984 Bike / SuZuki rM250
NickName / cHArlY NatioNality / FrencH Date of Birth / JAnuArY 6, 1981 Bike / SuZuki rM250
CAMERON SINCLAIR
ADAM JONES
NickName / SincS NatioNality / AuStrAliAn Date of Birth / April 12, 1984 Bike / YAMAHA YZ250
NickName / none NatioNality / uSA Date of Birth / JulY 23, 1984 Bike / YAMAHA YZ250
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Red bull x-fiGHTeRS / MexicO ciTY
MexicO ciTY / Red bull x-fiGHTeRS
the ring master
the judges are looking for, then i have a real shot at winning. Have you had a chance to try out this new judging system? We used the new system to judge a series of old runs from previous years. one of the things we realised was that the variety of tricks in a run is going to be much more important this year. there were some runs where guys would do eight backflips out of 12 tricks – 66 per cent backflip combinations! When we judged those runs based on the new criteria, the scores were completely different. now guys who have a wider and more varied selection of tricks are going to get rewarded more – they are the best all-round freestylers.
reD bull X-FiGHterS tour Director teS SeWell iS tHe MAn cHArGeD WitH MAkinG tHe SerieS tick. Here He eXplAinS WHY tHe neW JuDGinG SYSteM For 2010 MiGHt tHroW up SoMe MAJor SurpriSeS
“i HONeSTlY dON’T THiNk ANYONe cOMiNG OuT TO ANY eveNT ANYwHeRe THiS YeAR iS GOiNG TO be diSAPPOiNTed” 44
Are the judges going to be the same as in previous years? no. We used to have five or six judges who did all the events, but now we have a pool of 10 judges who will be rotated. one of the big things now is that we can go to the riders and explain to them what the judges are looking for. i don’t think that ever really happened in the past. i think that is one of the key differences the riders will really appreciate out there – the fact is, if i ride knowing what
Can you briefly explain the rider selection process for the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2010? the top five guys from 2009 automatically qualify for the whole 2010 tour. it was to be six, but Mat rebeaud is injured. For the rest, we are going to take the guys who are the highest-ranked and invite them to have a mini-ranking Session on the day before the main event in Mexico city, to fight it out for the last five starting places. And then we will have two wildcards at each event.
PHOTOGRAPHY: JOeRG MiTTeR/GlObAl NewSROOM (2)
So Tes, what’s going to be the difference between 2009 and this year’s Tour? We knew there had been problems with our judging in previous years, with people getting results and not understanding why. that’s why we put together a judging clinic – which included a load of riders, managers and people from the industry – to discuss what they thought was important in freestyle and the things we should be looking at when judging. that enabled us to come up with a better system for 2010. i think one of the main differences people will notice this time around is that judging will be seen as more of a job than it was in the past. After every judging procedure, there will be a complete debrief with the Head Judge to go through why a particular score was given, what the judge had seen to award that score, etc.
“ONe Of THe biG THiNGS NOw iS THAT we cAN GO TO THe RideRS ANd exPlAiN TO THeM wHAT THe JudGeS ARe lOOkiNG fOR”
How will it work for the second event of the season in Egypt? the ranking after the first event is a big factor. if the two wildcards and the five guys who qualify from the mini-ranking Session to ride the event – the “open riders” – are ranked in the top six in the main event in Mexico, they get invited to the next event in egypt. As long as an open rider stays in the top six of the ranking, he gets to stay on the tour – if he drops out of the top six, then he needs to try and requalify or get a wildcard. There is a big difference between the locations last year and the stops on the 2010 Tour. For example, it’s heading to Cairo and Moscow this year it is a huge challenge working on egypt’s Giza plateau, but with such an incredible backdrop, we certainly won’t have to tell anyone we’re in
egypt! We couldn’t build the big dirt course there that we wanted to, so we’ve had to design special landing ramps, which are being built on-site. it is a small arena, but the scenery is incredible – right at the feet of the Sphinx and in front of the pyramids. We also head to Moscow for the first time. Again, it’s a fantastic place – next to Saint basil’s cathedral and the kremlin. Dane Heron has designed another big dirt course, and again, we expect around 40,000 russians. Mexico, egypt, Moscow, Madrid, london, rome – it sounds like a fashion house! it gets crazier every year, and i’m happy to be a part of it. i honestly don’t think anyone coming out to any event anywhere this year is going to be disappointed. this is going to be a big year… 45
RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS
FIght to thE FInISh
RULES
SeemS Simple really – nominate 12 of the beSt riderS on the planet, build them a vaSt, dirt-covered playpen and let them go wild. thiS iS X-fighterS though – the beSt of the beSt. and to find the ultimate rider you have to work the guyS hard. here’S how it’S done. QUALIFyIng 2 runs of 90 sec (12 riders)
rOUnd 1
1 run of 90 sec (Quaifying ranks 7-12)
QUArter FInALs
semI-FInAL 1 run of 90 sec
head to head
heAt 1
rIder Q1
wInner
rIder Q5
heAt 1
rIder Q2
rIder Q4
heAt 4
rIder Q3
heAt 2
wInner
rIder Q6 rIder Q7
rIder Q6
heAt 2
rIder Q3
heAt 3
vs
vs
rIder Q4 rIder Q5
vs
vs
top six qualifiers progress straight to Quarter-Finals rIder 1 r1
heAt 3 rIder 1 r1 vs
rIder Q2 heAt 4 rIder 2 r1 vs
rIder Q8
rIder 2 r1
rIder Q9
rIder 3 r1
Q9 rIder Q10
rIder 3 4 r1
rIder Q11
rIder 5 r1
rIder Q12
rIder 6 r1
rIder Q1
FInAL wInner semI-FInAL 1 vs
wInner semI-FInAL 2 46
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 1 in reverse ranking order, with the top six ranked riders from qualifying sitting out Round 1 and automatically progress to the Quarter Finals. During Round 1, each competitor has one 90-second run to impress the panel of judges led by the Head Judge. Only the top two riders from Round 1 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 lower-ranked 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. The winners of the Semi-Finals meet in the Final. Each rider takes one 90-second run. The judges’ decision is announced after the last run. The winner of the Final is crowned the winner of that Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour event.
RIDERS The number of starters at each Red Bull X-Fighters event is limited to 12. Uniquely, in qualifying here in Mexico, however, there are14 riders: the five top-ranked from ’09, who are pre-qualified for the quarter-finals; seven ‘open category’ riders vying for just five places in the main event and two wildcards. Two of the ‘open category’ riders will be eliminated at the end of qualifying and will not take part in the competition proper while the remaining five and wildcards will progress according to their ranking in qualifying .
JUDgIng 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. 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. Judge 2 / Challenge and exeCution
Has responsibility for assessing the level difficulty of each trick and how well the tricks are performed.
Judge 3 / Style Here the rider is judged on the rhythm of his run and synergy with the course and bike, both on the ground and in the air. Judge Four / uSe oF CourSe
The rider is assessed on how he utilises the whole course in order to show off their skills. Judge FiVe / Show and SpeCtator reaCtion This Judge rules on how the
rider’s ability to demonstrate the most energetic, exciting and entertaining run. head Judge / Responsible for judging the overall impression of the run.
WoRLD toUR At each Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour stop 100 points are awarded for first place, 80 for second place, 65 for third place, all the way down to 5 points for 12th place. Riders have the chance to discard their lowest single Tour stop score thanks to the Throw Out Rule, with the remaining stops being 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
2nd
80
3rd
65
4th
55
45
9th
20
6th
35
10th
15
7th
30
11th
10
8th
25
12th
5
5th
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RED BULL X-FIGHTERS / MEXICO CITY
MEXICO CITY / RED BULL X-FIGHTERS
Plaza de
Toros
It’s the bIggest bullrIng on the planet and an Ideal venue for stagIng the fIrst round of the red bull X-fIghters. here’s what you need to know about It…
Getting to the Arena The 48,000-capacity Plaza de Toros sits in a block formed by the streets Augusto Rodin, Maximino Avila Camacho, Carolina and Alberto Balderas. The easiest way to get to the bullring is by taxi or via Metro to San Antonio on Eje 5 Sur or to Estacion Ciudad de los Deportes on Insurgentes Sur. You can also go by By Tourist Bus. There is a Turibus circuit taking passengers from the La Roma neighborhood south along Insurgentes Avenue to San Angel, Coyoacán, and Tlalpan. Stops include the World Trade Center, Plaza de Toros bull ring, Carillo Gil museum, Perisur shopping center, UNAM university, and the Frida Kahlo museum. Tickets are about $ 10 for a full day’s usage on a hop-on, hop-off basis. If you do return to Mexico City (and that is highly recommended) between July and November there are novillada (novice) fights and in Jan-Feb and Nov-Dec professional fights. Tickets are roughly 20-500 pesos, depending on proximity to the ring and sombra (shade) or sol (sun). Bullfights are usually on Sundays at 4pm. Plaza de Toros México / Augusto Rodin No. 241 Col. Noche Buena C.P. 03710 México D.F. / Tel +52-1-56 11 44 13, fax +52-1-56 11 90 20. Also next door is the big, blue Estadio Azul, Indiana 260 (55 63 90 40; www.cruz-azul.com.mx). Home to one of Mexico City’s pro football teams, Cruz Azul, tickets are 100-200 pesos and the next home game is against Chivas Guadalajara on April 24th at 5 pm. 48
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Red bull X-fiGHTeRs / meXicO ciTY
next stoP
world tour 2010 DATES Mexico city Mexico / April 16 Giza egypt / MAy 14 Moscow russiA / June 26 Madrid spAin / July 22/23 London englAnd / August 14 roMe itAly / october 1 2009 RESulTS 100 80 65 55
Round 5, london, england 01 Nate Adams (USA) 02 Levi Sherwood (NZL) 03 Dany Torres (ESP) 04 Robbie Maddison (AUS)
Round 2, calgaRy, canada 01 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 02 Eigo Sato (JAP) 03 Mat Rebeaud (SUI) 04 Jeremy Stenberg (USA)
100 80 65 55
FinAl STAnDingS
Round 3, FoRt WoRth, texas, usa 01 Nate Adams (USA) 02 Mat Rebeaud (SUI) 03 Cameron Sinclair (AUS) 04 Eigo Sato (JAP)
100 80 65 55
Round 4, MadRid, spain 01 Dany Torres (ESP) 02 Nate Adams (USA) 03 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 04 Jeremy Stenberg (USA)
100 80 65 55
RED Bull X-FighTERS WoRlD TouR 2009 01 Nate Adams (USA) 02 Robbie Maddison (AUS) 03 Eigo Sato (JAP) 04 Mat Rebeaud (SUI) 05 Dany Torres (ESP) 06 Levi Sherwood (NZL) 07 Jeremy Stenberg (USA) 08 Cameron Sinclair (AUS) 09 Thomas Pagès (FRA) 10 André Villa (NOR)
impRinT red buLL x-fiGhters MaGazine # 1 / 2010 / Mexico city
100 80 65 55
325 265 245 245 215 210 190 165 110 100
Publisher Red Bull GmbH, Am Brunnen 1, A-5330 Fuschl am See Produced by Red Bulletin, Heinrich-Collin-Str. 1, A-1140 Vienna, www.redbulletin.com Printed by Offset 5020, A-5072 Siezenheim media contact media@redbullxfighters.com Visit www.redbullxfighters.com
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PHOTOGRAPHY: bAlAzsGARdi.cOm/Red bull PHOTOfiles
Round 1, Mexico city, Mexico 01 Levi Sherwood (NZL) 02 Eigo Sato (JAP) 03 Mat Rebeaud (SUI) 04 Cameron Sinclair (AUS)
Giza egypt / MAy 14