Marko Mrđenović, aka “Lord Leopold” and the Huscija Crew of Pula, Croatia recently released a new DVD "What The Deal". The video is stacked with cutty, crusty, Croatian street goodness. If you're a fan of no frills street riding, this is for you.
Doing annual events for more than 15 years shows dedication. That's exactly what Pannonian Challenge is about. The 19th edition was put together by hard working enthusiasts at the permanent park at the Drava river. With full stands during the finals and temperatures around the 30 degree mark, not only the action was hot. Riders like Justin Dowell, Daniel Dhers, Jack Clark, Irek Rizaev, Marin Rantes and Michael Beran made sure the riding was on point and with Catfish on the mic it soon became a party. The President of Croatia even came over to the skatepark to see the action and as every time, the intentions are to make the event bigger and better. The 20th edition should be on your calendar already because the atmosphere around the entire event is just top notch. With parties happening in the old town on a daily basis even the entourage will find a way to have a good time.
Let's focus on the BMX Park contest here where 33 riders signed up to do a 2-run qualification round followed by a 16-men final. It's amazing to see how the level of riding is going up all the time. With the big park available we saw a bit of street riding combined with park riding by some but most focused on the park section which had a new super wide jump box that was well liked. With the Best Run counts format we saw the riders go for all their bangers. With 60 second runs there was plenty of time to show it all. Things heated up when Michael Beran and Daniel Dhers raised the bar. Justin Dowell took his first run as a scratch but came back with the Twix and more to score 5th place with run 2.
Pannonian challenge has announced its best edition yet. For four days Osijek will be the center of extremely good fun. One of the biggest European extreme sports festival, Pannonian Challenge, brings together more than 20 000 visitors from all over the world every year. This year, the festival will be
bringing even better sports and music program to Croatia. All the visitors of the festival, which is being held in Osijek at a slightly earlier time of year than previous years (from May 30th till June 2nd) will enjoy the performances of the best BMX, INLINE and SKATE athletes accompanied by a great musical
My 2017: Marin Ranteš 
Hometown: Varaždin, Croatia
Sponsors: Red Bull; Oakley, Buzz Sneaker Station; BIM sport; Elite BMX Shop
Do you remember the first BMX event you went to this year and how did it go?
Marin Ranteš: Simple Session was my first competition this year. I was really happy to be there because it was hard to get there for me. On the first practice before prequalification I almost broke my ankle. It got huge and colorful but this didn’t stop me. I rode pre-qualification and transfered in 1st place to the normal qualifications. Didn’t sleep for next 3vnights, I was putting ice all day and all night
Results Pannonian Challenge #18, Osijek, Croatia.
Pro Park:
1. Logan Martin (AUS)
2. Marin Rantes (CRO)
3. Erik Figar (CZE)
4. Matej Zan (SLO)
5. David Janac (CZE)
6. Jan Hanzlik (CZE)
7. Senad Grosic (AUT)
Pannonian Challenge bringing the extreme elite to Croatia: Live on FATBMX (June 10th, starting at 18:00h)
Pannonian Challenge bringing the extreme elite to Croatia. Whether it's inline, skate or BMX, Pannonian Challenge covers it all. One of the biggest European extreme sports festivals is celebrating its 18th B-day, and bringing some of the best riders to its all-black skate park.
Logan Martin, Michael Beran, Kostya Andreev are just some of the names who are going for the title at Pannonian Challenge, trying to beat the audience's cheering for the national hero - Marin Ranteš.
Skate day, scheduled on Friday June 9, has its own heroes, who find this city a second home. Designed by the local BMX riders, the park awaits to see some of the best tricks of the season.
Inliners will, as usual, open the festival's sports part - with Joe Atkinson and Joey Egan bringing their world-class skills to Osijek's Copacabana part.
But, don't forget, the festival prides itself on its nightlife skills, as well, and riders claim it's one of those festivals you rarely sleep at.
Watch the BMX finals live on fatbmx.com on June 10 from 6pm.
Pic by BdJ
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.