DAY 2 highlight

Another day of pure sunshine and adrenaline in Edmonton, Alberta for the second day of the FISE World Series Edmonton stop. 

Even though Mother Nature was a bit on the difficult side today, we did manage to crown our first winner, as the women opened the pro competitions with the UCI BMX Freestyle park finals. 

 

UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup Women Final

It’s the American Hannah Roberts who took the win in today’s event, with her sheer determination to get back on the highest step of the podium after finishing third in the last FISE stop in Budapest. Her solid first run and enormous second run combined really truly in her favor in the eyes of the judges. Her versatility and ability to throw tricks on every feature say a lot about her talent and mostly, her bike control. The most impressive in all this? She took the win on a borrowed bike, as the airline lost her luggage on the way to Edmonton.

She was followed closely by Chile’s Macarena Perez, who threw down a perfect a tailwhip on the quarter pipe, and Nikita Ducarroz from Switzerland, who showed speed, height, and momentum but unfortunately falling on her biggest trick, a 540 on the quarter pipe. 

“This was one of the best girls contest we’ve had for FISE. The girls are progressing very fast and it’s a healthy competition: they are very close in their riding skills. Each girl has different tricks, but they are just as difficult as the other girls’.” - David “Hank” Cleworth, Head Judge.

 

 

 

 

Deception on the men’s side of things for today in BMX Freestyle Park and Mountain Bike Slopestyle: there was too much wind to complete the competition, which means that all riders from the semi-finals are automatically going to finals. This promises to be very interesting finals for both sports!

 

Skateboarding

It may have been windy, but the day was blessed with gorgeous sunshine, which meant that the skateboarders had a full day to ride and compete. We had very high energy on the street course during the Open Skateboard Street Contest qualification. As the sun started to set, the skateboarders took over the giant BMX park, to show Edmontonians all their best moves, during the Best Trick Contest.

 

BMX Freestyle Flat Pro Semi-Final

 

Another night, another awesome show.  No big surprises in tonight's semi-finals, but a very high riding level, as expected. Everybody truly had their stuff together: knowing that difficulty and originality are what make a difference in the results, we knew we could expect an amazing show. 

It's the defending 2016 champion Matthias Dandois who took the lead in the semi-finals, keeping his focus at maximum level while still having fun with the crowd. His long combos and classic "Matthias" tricks made everyone understand why he is the defending champion. Will he keep the bar as high tomorrow? Only time will tell.