NIGHT of the JUMPs Milano, March 5th 2005

THE NIGHT THE ROOKIES STOLE THE SHOW!

From the first event of the year, everyone could see that it was just a matter of time before Andre Villa would pull it all together and top the podium. His Holyman to Hart Attack Rocksolids and Big gap flip combos showed he was ready to fight with the big-guns.

Just eight months ago he was seriously considering quitting FMX competition after missing the cut at the IFMXF qualifier in Berne Switzerland. Two weeks ago he racked up a 3rd and a 2nd in Vienna. Tonight, the Norwegian rookie brought all of his ammunition to battle and fired out a perfect run - outgunning Matt Rebaud (Switz) for a nailbiting win. IFMXF number 1 Ailo Gaup (Nor) sat out of the event today, but will hopefully be ready to make his return at round 6 tomorrow.

Third in the final was Busty Wolter (Ger), 4th Derek Burlew (US), 5th Nick de Wit (SA) and 6th was another rookie - Martin Koren (Czech). Koren won the pre-qualifier contest earlier in the day from 8 wild-card riders – fighting for the final 2 spots in the main programme. He was stoked to make the final 6 in only his 2nd IFMXF contest.

Other heart stopping firsts in Milan were the first backflips on dirt for 2 local heroes. Massimo Bianconcini and Alvaro Dal Farra finished 9th and 12th in the main event in front of a packed audience of their screaming countrymen. Bianconcini also racked up a first place in the whip contest, ahead of Wolter (2nd ) and Rebaud (3rd ).

The step-up event saw Jimbo Verburgh (Bel) winning it from Derek Burlew at a height of 6,80m. Third was the super skilled Rebaud.

The half-time mini-bike show was once again mental! Three young US riders brought their brand of burly riding to Italy. Kelly Tedder was busting the biggest airs and doing transfers on the full size FMX landings. David Wurst threw down some solid tricks too, but it was Travis Hart who once again brought the house down with backflip one-handers and a huge 360 over the FMX super kicker ramp.

Round 6 of the IFMXF ‘Night of the Jumps’ series takes place tomorrow (Sunday 6th March) in the Milan Forum. With Ailo’s imminent return, Rebaud swearing revenge for tonight’s defeat, Burlew threatening to pull out something special and the two local boys ready to concentrate on more than backflips tomorrow - a whole new dose of drama awaits us.


NIGHT of the JUMPs Milano, March 6th 2005

VILLA BRILLIANT AGAIN – BUT AILO JUST A BIT BETTER!

At round 5 of the IFMXF ‘Night of the Jumps’ series on Saturday Andre Villa (Nor) put in the ride of his career and sealed his first IFMXF series win.

On Sunday (round 6) he returned with the same flair, guts and extension that had blown the roof off the Milan Forum a day earlier, but amazingly it was only good enough for 2nd . All thanks to his experienced countryman, Ailo Gaup, who returned to competition today and showed why he has topped the IFMXF rankings for over 18 months.

Third after a few uncharacteristic mistakes was Swiss wonderboy Matt Rebeaud, crashing on his final jump. American Derek Burlew showed that a flawless run without backflips can still be competitive and finished an impressive 4th. Fifth was Busty Wolter (Ger) and 6th was Nick de Wit (S.Afr).

Another Norwegian (Oystein Kjorstad) showed that he is heading back to his old form with his first big-gap backflips onto dirt and just missed the final, placing 7th . Local boy Alvaro dal Farra sat out round 6 after injuring his shoulder in a spectacular crash on Saturday night, his countryman Massimo Bianconcini finished 11th in the main event and 2nd in the Whip contest. First in the Whip contest was Burlew, with Rebeaud rounding out the top three.

The Highest Air went to Matt Rebeaud, Burlew was 2nd and Jimbo Verburgh (Bel) 3rd .

The half-time mini-bike show unleashed some more 50 madness on the Italian audience. The big airs, backflips and 360s abruptly came to an end when Travis Hart stalled a backflip combo trick and crashed to the ground, injuring his ankle. Luckily not too seriously though and he will be back in action next week at rounds 7 and 8 in Bremen Germany.