Open Dutch Pump Track championships title for Raymon van der Biezen. By BdJ

Jun 24, 2014

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 9227 times

Pump tracks have been around for years but are gaining popularity. Gaining speed out of obstacles is something that Dylan Clayton mastered in the late eighties already but nowadays you can see kids pump around a track on their BMX bike, skateboard, scooter, inline skates, MTB or whatever vehicle the creative heads at the toy companies come up with. The mobile pump tracks from iCycle are pretty awesome. Three truckloads were unloaded at the Kurenpolder in Hank, The Netherlands for the Open Dutch Pumptrack

championships. Twan van Gendt and Joost Wichman put together a plan for the event and picked a date. With tons of events happening in the same weekend the line to get a lap in on Saturday wasn't very long. There's always a positive if you look for it. The glass is half full. The event in Hank had two identical pump track set-ups next to eachother, the blue line, and the red line. Both saw riders carve the grippy bowled turns and get maximum speed out of the bumps. Riding these things is super fun.

On sunday the chains came off the bike to avoid any cheating. The final event was between Joost Wichman and Raymon van der Biezen. MTB vs BMX. The former 4X World Champ versus the BMX Olympian. When the gate dropped all eyes were on the two. The crowd that surrounded the course got into it. At the finish line it was Raymon van der Biezen who won the Open Dutch Pumptrack title and a decent check for having an afternoon of fun.

We can see these type of events happen in the middle of a city. It's possible to create a pump track in any shape or form that works as long as it is dry. The elements fit through any door so indoors is also possible. Anyone can ride these things and the speed and race elements keep it entertaining. It's not the last time we've heard about these things.

BdJ