THAILAND PUMPS IT UP WITH WORLD-CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER
The first-ever Red Bull Pump Track World Championship is set to take place on six continents — except Antarctica, where there’s no real human settlement. Thailand is among the 20-plus countries where at least 24 qualifier events will be held from March to August to determine the best pump track riders for the final competition in Switzerland. It is widely known that Austria-based Red Bull is the major sponsor of numerous extreme sports competitions around the globe. The new world series — co-organised by Velosolutions, one of the world’s leading pump track builders — is definitely taking pump track racing to a new level. For Thailand, where much of the public doesn’t even know what a pump-track is, to have such a big event taking place here is great news. You’d think the sport would be more popular here, considering that we have one of the world’s best such biking venues, located in the border town of Aranyaprathet, Sa Kaeo province. For those not familiar with the sport, a pump track is a purpose-built looping bicycle course made up of rolling jumps and banked turns that allow riders to gain momentum and speed as they move up and down the slopes by shifting their body weight instead of hammering away on the pedal. Skilled riders can go very fast and even send themselves high in the air, skipping several rollers at a time. Even with no pedalling, efficient pump track riding requires not just skill but also decent fitness. Pumping for a minute on such a course can be more physically demanding than riding for the same amount of time on a downhill trail. In the Red Bull Pump Track World Championship, depending on the design of each venue, racers will compete either in time-trial format, as in downhill racing, or in a head-to-head battle. The number of racers for each qualifier event will be limited to 100, from which 32 male and eight female riders will be selected from seeding runs. The four fastest riders will be entitled to take part in the grand final, which will take place in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on Sept 7, simultaneously with the UCI MTB World Championships. Only the top winner of the qualifier will be awarded a sponsored trip to the Swiss showdown. The Thai qualifier will take place, of course in Aranyaprathet, which boasts a world-class pump track designed by Velosolutions. The date is June 23. Riders of all nationalities are welcome, as long as they are 16 years or older. Entry fee for this global event is only 150 baht. For details about the race and registration, visit red bull pump track world championship. com. For more information on the race venue in Aranyaprathet, check out the Pump Track Thailand page on Facebook.