First Track on Water
X-Fighters 2014
Guess what? All riders competing on the first floating course in FMX history must be able to swim in order to compete.
When the world's most prestigious FMX tour returns to Munich, Germany, on July 19 the world's top riders will be performing their breathtaking tricks on the lake of Munich's famous Olympic Park.
Yes, you read that right, "...on the lake..."!
For the first time in FMX History the full track will be built on a lake with swimming pontoons, which are supported by a scaffolding substructure. Believe it or not, but this revolutionary idea will not limit the track in any way. To give the track an overall length of 520m (1700ft), the designers planned more then 450 pontoons to have enough space for the 3,600 tons of dirt, which will shape the track. Once it is all set-up by 4 heavy duty cranes, the riders will find 4 regular jumps, 1 super-kicker, 2 quarterpipe and 2 gap-jumps to play with. As if all that would not be enough the track will brake another course layout standard by having a linear instead of a the usual box shape style.
Click here to see how they did it.
The ingenious structure weighs as much as 12 Boeing 747s and the linear layout will demand outstanding rhythm, stamina and focus from the riders.
After a game-changing contest in Madrid on June 27 – which saw Frenchman Thomas Pagès launch back into overall contention with the first-ever Bike Flip in freestyle motocross competition – no contender can settle for treading water at the Red Bull X-Fighters stop in Munich. With every rider pushing the limits, there’s still no clear favorite in the fight for the series podium; those who don’t go all out on history’s first floating FMX track will be destined to sink in the standings.
Until Pagès delivered his revolutionary run in Madrid, this season belonged to New Zealand’s Levi Sherwood, whose stellar performances in Mexico City and Osaka proved he was back to the form that made him the 2012 world champion. But Pagès, who took the title from Sherwood in 2013, came roaring back from a slow start to this year with an inspired first-place performance at the season’s midway point in the Spanish capital. Executing a gravity-defying double backflip, Australia’s Josh Sheehan was right behind, leaving Sherwood in third place at Las Ventas bullring despite near-flawless runs.
Pagès won in Munich in 2012. Can he use the momentum from Madrid to incorporate his massive tricks into fluid runs once again? The contender who does may ride the wave all the way to the championship as the World Tour moves to its final stop in Pretoria, South Africa this August.
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