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Italy, you beautiful thing! Thank you for hosting at your new, incredible venue @vittoriapark_official , we could not have asked for a more immaculate setting for the Italian Qualifier. In the Women’s category it was current World Champ Christa von Niederhaeusern who took no prisoners and showed exactly why she is wearing those rainbow stripes by securing her 1st place on the podium in a time of 20.438 against newcomer Zoe Feuvrier from France. It was a third place for Slovakia’s Kristína NOVÁKOVÁ and a 4th for Sara FARINA.

Local rider Mattia Costerman secured his place in Argentina in a time a time of 18.630 against

With a high level racing on the Velosolutions Pump Track setting the tone for the day and with more than 65 riders registered riders, and some heavy hitters on the start line, the racing was intense with the like of @alecbobster, @rezende500, @pedroburns and @brunolavagninomtb leaving everything on the track to fight for the 4 spots in the Men’s category. But it was the current World no 2 @alecbobster that took the top place on the podium, his fastest time of the day coming in at 23.799 secs in his semi-final run. 2nd place went to @brunolavagninomtb with a 3rd place for @sebamendez154

In the Women’s category, after some great and exciting riding, it was local and legend of a rider @reny_urrutia that took home the ticket to Argentina, with a second for Isidora Garcia and a 3rd place

It’s was an insanely windy and cold day for May on the 295m long and technical Velosolutions Pump Track in Middelkerke. It was a Belgian double podium with AIko Gommers and Didi van Tiggel taking the tickets to Neuquen. Very little separated Aiko and Robyn at the end of the finals, Aiko finished her final run in a time of 32.560 and Robyn came in with 32.654. In the Men’s it was Didi van Tiggel and Anaia Istil all day long with Didi breaking that 29 seconds of the day with a time of 28.473. Timo Windau took the 3rd place in 30.560 against Max van Eijndhoven’s 34.979. Newcomer, youngster and definitely one to watch for the future was Zika Decoster.

Results

Germany, it sure was good to be back for the first race in a busy schedule of European Qualifiers! Füssen never disappoints and what a day of racing. Thrills, spills and thunderstorms we saw it all  at skatebikepark. A first place finish and a ticket to Argentina for Tristan Borel and newcomer from Germany Alina Beck. Second place for Belgian rider Didi van Tiggel and current UCI pump Track World Champ Christa von Niederhaeusern with a third for Philipp Schaub who is back from injury and @kmadarasova from Slovakia.

Women's Category

1. Alina BECK

Thank you China. What an excellent way to kick off the 2023 race for the rainbow stripes! The monster of a @velosolutions Pump Track in Deqing played host and 425m in total length of track set the scene for the showdown today. In the Men's category, local rider Chen Jiayang took the winners ticket to Argentina with a time of 45.71 against Japan's Tetsuya Furuno. Tesuya's final lap time came in at 46.64 sec. It was a fierce battle between the two riders all day long, but that number 1 belonged to Chen after a very long day of racing.

In the Women's category the trip to Neuquen in November belonged to Zhao Wanting. She was the fastest qualifier and consistently kept that lead right through to the end to take the top step on the podium.

Results:

The new season of the UCI Pump Track World Championships is kicking off soon, 4 weeks to go to the first race day!

The below dates are already open for registration:

-Deqing, China on April 29th
-Paris, Texas USA on April 29th
-Fussen, Germany on May 6th
-Middelkerke, Belgium on May 13th
-Hawick, United Kingdom on May 21st
-Saint Laurent de la Salanque, France on May 21st
-Vittoria Bike Park, Italy on May 28th
-Shenyang, China on July 29th
-Loureira, Portugal on July 29th
-Thal, Switzerland on September 2nd
-Isaberg, Sweden on September 9th
-Heipark, Czech Republic on September 16th

A few more races that will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

While in Switzerland for the MXGP we also managed to find a Velosolutions pump track in the town the Grand Prix was held. This one was actually huge and had two sections; one for beginners and a longer one for more advanced users. The fence around it defined the spot and keeps lunatics in cars or other large vehicles out of the pump track. Sounds strange, but we've seen photos.....

Once again the Velosolutions pump track was well designed with no flat sections or misplaced turns. The triple turn was cool as well as you were leaning into that turn three times and generated speed at the same time to jump the three doubles right after it.

It feels like every town now needs a Pump Track. It is in fact a good way to keep rolling. From youngsters to the the old dawgs. It draws new riders into the scene and keeps the veterans on the bikes because they feel they can handle a roller or two. The design is important to keep rolling. If the design fails, pump tracks get boring quickly. There are no challenges left other than the stopwatch. But who rides like that? Pump Tracks ar fun when they are challenging. Can I manualy the entire section, can I clear the jumps, can I find transfers, is that gap possible, can I generate enough speed to go from one line into an other? Can a section be used as a miniramp? Is there a run-up to use a turn as a quarter pipe? Does the pump track offer possibilities for a race? One by one, or two at the same time?

Uganda. 40kms south of Kampala as the crow flies, close enough for a bodaboda ride from Entebbe costing as little as 2,000 shillings, on the shores of Lake Victoria lies the rural village of Zziba. Here lies the story. One of smiles, sport, the development of Kasanje Cycling and making a difference in a small community with support from Pump for Peace.

Pump for Peace is a global initiative from Swiss-based Velosolutions, focused on providing sporting facilities and opportunities in underprivileged communities, making cycling and action sports more accessible than ever before. No matter your race, gender or religion, sport has the power to unite communities around the World, and the charity was founded on this belief.

Philip and I spent a weekend in Switzerland for the MXGP in Frauenfeld. We decided to bring the bikes because we had Sunday off and if we would arrive early enough on Friday we would be able to check out first spot(s). The 8 hour trip went well and we caught enough daylight for us to explore Winterthur. We had checked in at the IBIS in Winterthur and took the bikes out of the van. Google had informed us that a pump track was only 3.1 kms away. It was dry so we decided to ride there. On the way it just felt good to be on the bikes. Traveling by car has its perks as you can take pretty much all you want with you.

We headed in the direction of the pump track and stopped to check the phone from time to time making sure we had not taken a wrong turn. The last bit was a bit desolated and lead through the woods but we managed to find the place. No one was there and on first sight it was a good sized pump track. But something was strange. The concrete/asphalt reminded us on the roughest surface that Romford or Southsea has to offer. It was strange to be on a pump track with such rough surface. Polar opposite of what the Velosolutions pump tracks are like.

We did not bring our helmets/gloves which was stupid but it was just more convenient pedaling to the place like that. Key was to stay on the bike as a crash would definitely scrape you up.