Turin, March 2nd 2012: Twelve riders from seven countries met this Friday in Turin for the first round of the 2012 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship. The audience in Palasport Olimpico witnessed a spectacular contest with the impressive return of former World Champion Libor Podmol and the equalling of the high jump world record by two Italian riders.

The three azzurri, Bianconcini, Vanni Oddera and Ivan Zucconi did battle with the international FMX elite. They were wildly cheered on by their fellow Italians, but it was not enough to reach the final round. Bianconcini finished in eighth place as the best Italian Stallion. His annoyance at his lowly placing didn’t last long, however; Massimo was firstly able to win the Whip Contest and then dominate the Maxxis Highest Air contest together with team mate Ivan Zucconi. Jumping a massive 11:00 metres, both riders were cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd and matched the existing Step Up world record set in 2010.

Six riders, David Rinaldo (FRA), Brice Izzo (FRA), Clinton Moore (AUS), Maikel Melero (ESP), Remi Bizouard (FRA) and Podmol (CZE) did battle in the final contest, since world champion Javier Villegas (CHL) crashed out on the Double Up jump and was taken to hospital.

Clinton Moore missed the podium in the final stages, despite performing a 360 and a Volt. David Rinaldo was unable to defend a second place in qualifying, executing a Deadsailor Flip on the last jump. Brice Izzo is improving all the time, but is not yet able to break into the Top 3. Maikel Melero was rewarded instead with third place, jumping with his usual style.

Victory in the Italian Grand Prix was fought over by the two former World Champions, Remi Bizouard and Podmol, who showed everything from Hart Attack and Ruler Flip to Cliffhanger Flip and Indy Underflip. In the event, it was Podmol who won finally secured another NIGHT of the JUMPS victory by the narrowest of margins – just two points.

So in the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship, Podmol (20 points) leads from Bizouard (18 points) and Melero (16 points). That may change tomorrow, though, when the next world championship points will be awarded.

Nerves of steel – Bizouard leads FMX World Championship, Bianconcini sets new high jump record

Turin, 3rd March 2012: The second day of the fantastic FIM Freestyle MX World Championship weekend proved very entertaining once again. To the delight of an almost sell-out crowd at Palasport Olimpico Turin, the eleven NIGHT of the JUMPS riders executed the toughest tricks in their repertoire. However, after a bad fall the previous day, former world champion Javier Villegas was left to spectate.

In the quali, local heroes Ivan Zucconi, Vanni Oddera and Massimo Bianconcini dug deep into their bag of tricks to ensure that the Italian flag would fly high in the final. Ivan Zucconi deserves special mention, as he put on a fine show in the attempt, flipping for all he was worth with a Cordova and then a Tsunami. Placed seventh, he just missed the final round, as did the other two Italian riders. A similar fate befell Hannes Ackermann and Jose Miralles, who both went out in the preliminary round. The same six riders from yesterday went on to fight it out in the final: Brice Izzo (FRA), Libor Podmol (CZE), David Rinaldo (FRA), Clinton Moore (AUS), Maikel Melero (ESP) and Remi Bizouard.

But the Maxxis Highest Air and Whip Contest again remained firmly in Italian hands; firstly, Bianconcini 'whipped' his way to victory and then also set a new world high jump record of 11:50 metres. Earlier, Zucconi had also been able to top the old record of 11:00 metres with a super jump of 11:10 metres.

In the final, the audience went wild as the freestylers performed the baddest Backflip combos ever. The two Frenchmen David Rinaldo and Brice Izzo executed Superman Seatgrab and Indy flips, edging up into fourth and fifth place. Clinton Moore missed what probably would have been his first podium as he crashed out performing The Volt on the double-up.

Libor Podmol combined Cliffhanger Flip and Underflip combos on his run, but today that was only enough for third place, since Melero was able to show a Double Backflip as his final jump. However, it was Remi Bizouard who secured victory, displaying nerves of steel; as his first jump, the Frenchman pulled off a 360, which had led to a bad fall in training on Friday. Cliffhanger, Ruler, and Hart Attack Flip proved just the ticket to give him victory on a perfect final run.

After this thrilling final, Bizouard (38 points) replaces Podmol (36 points) at the top of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship table. Melero on 34 points follows in third position.

Riders now have two weeks to work on new tricks before the next World Championship points are awarded at the NIGHT of the JUMPS in Berlin, March 16th-17th.