Pump track has been under the UCI flag since 2019. This means that the winner of this weekend can wear the well-known rainbow jersey for a year. Pump tracks are becoming increasingly popular and are popping up like mushrooms, there are already 39 tracks in the Netherlands. A month ago, the riders were able to qualify for the World Championships during the preliminary round in Eindhoven. Here, among others, well-known BMX star Merel Smulders has managed to get a ticket to Portugal.
The World Championship
This year's World Championship is in the town of Parque das Naçõe in Lisbon. Participants from more than 25 different countries participate in this. The competition starts with the preliminary rounds, from which the 16 fastest riders follow, who will compete against each other in the knock-outs. In the end, the best two remain and they face each other in the final. During the final, it is determined who can ride in the rainbow jersey for a year.
Winners Dutch qualifiers
The best 4 riders of the Dutch qualifier of both men and women have qualified for the World Championship. This year Olympic medalist Merel Smulders came first in the women's competition and Frenchman Eddy Clerté in the men's race. Last year Niels Bensink took the first prize. He won with his girlfriend Drew Mechielsen, who also took first place. In 2020, a wildcard was awarded to Manon Veenstra. Due to the Corona measures last year, the 2020 World Championship was canceled and the
Claudio Caluori explores the city of Lisbon with Eddy Clerte, Niels Bensink Tommy Zula, Payton Ridenour and Drew Mechielsen as we hit day 2 in Road to Lisbon series and head closer to the World Final on Sunday for the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships!
The Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships heads to Lisbon, Portugal on the weekend of 15 to 17 October 2021. We catch up with Tommy Zula, Eddy Clerte, Niels Bensink, Payton Ridenour and Drew Mechielsen.
34 Men and 11 Women registered for the 2021 Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships qualifier in Brussels, Belgium. Riders from Belgium, Netherlands, Latvia, France, Switzerland were racing the newly built Velosolutions pump track for a spot at the upcoming World Champs in Lisbon, Portugal. There was a fairly even split across BMX and MTB and a few Freestyle riders joined the fun. Aiko Gommers was absolutely unstoppable in a stacked Women's category, unbeatable in every single round saw her secure her World Final ticket with her best time of the day in at 11.622 with Olympian Elke Vanhoof taking home 2nd spot on the podium in the Women class.
In the Men's category, a small mistake saw top qualifier Mateo Colsenet take a fall in top 16, leaving Latvian rider Kristaps Veksa to take home his World Final ticket after his third place in the German Qualifier last weekend. Second place behind Veksa was Belgian rider Elias Verbinnen.
Next up qualifiers:
11 Sept. Leogang, Austria
18 Sept. Eindhoven, Netherlands
19 Sept. Jössefors, Sweden
25 Sept. Schüpfheim, Switzerland
Riders from Uruguay, Chile and Columbia line up for an explosive race at the foot of the imposing Osorno volcano in Chile, and New Zealand joins the list of qualifier races on April 28th. With near perfect weather conditions in the idyllic setting of the Kotaix Bike Park in Puerto Varas, the fastest
riders from Chile, Uruguay and Columbia respectively battled it out at a blistering pace which saw MTB reigning supreme in a field of elite riders. The demand for being a part of this experience is surely growing - one of the competitors even embarked on three days of travel to secure his participation in what is fast becoming a crowd favorite on the Red Bull Pump Track World Championship race calendar.
It came down to a dead heat split second finish for Bruno Lavagnino in the male category. The Chilean
The first qualifier of the 2018 Red Bull Pump Track World Championship took place on the Indonesian island of Bali. An international field of riders took to the Velosolutions Pump Track at the Amplitude Skate and Bike Park to try and secure their spot at the World Final.
First ever Velosolutions Asphalt Pumptrack in Austria! Located in Neunkirchen, it was built in September 2016.