BACK ON THE STREETS

After a three-year hiatus, the crèmedelacrème of slopestyle returned to the German city of Nuremberg for the Red Bull District Ride. The course started with a drop out of the old castle. From there, riders made their way through four distinct ‘districts’ before hitting the final mega ramp, designed by Martin Söderström.

“Blasting through a super-old town over cobblestones was awesome,” says UK rider (and previous event winner) Sam Pilgrim. “The last jump was the standout feature, because it was probably the biggest ever seen at a contest. The landing was huge and the feeling of flying was sick!”

After landing the world’s first tsunami flip at the 2014 event, Polish rider Szymon Godziek stepped it up again with another contest first, stomping a backflip Superman one-handed seatgrab, before Nicholi Rogatkin stole the show with a 1,440-degree spin. The US rider has been pushing the bar all year, and he won both best trick and the main contest. Not far behind, though, was Swedish newcomer Emil Johansson, whose silky-smooth style was enough to win him second place and the FMB World Series overall title.

Mountain bike freeride has finally stepped out of the shadow of BMX and FMX and is breaking new ground. We’ve no idea where it’s going to go next, but there’s no doubt that it’s going to be absolutely mental!