Riga, 23rd October 2010: 8,000 spectators turned out for the Latvian Grand Prix of this season’s NIGHT of the JUMPs / FIM Freestyle MX World Championship at the Arena Riga. There was plenty of anticipation surrounding the encounter between reigning champion Remi Bizouard, current championship leader Libor Podmol making his comeback, and winner of the Suzuki NIGHT of the JUMPs in Cologne, Brice Izzo.

Muscling in on qualifying, which had been billed as a three-way battle of the current FMX icons, was Spanish torero Jose Miralles who made a clean run to go into the final in third place. Brice Izzo emerged strongest from the preliminary round, putting himself ahead with a perfect Stripper Flip. Libor Podmol made light of his injuries, laying on a tour de force of all his best stunts that earned him second place in qualifying. World champion Bizouard had to settle for fourth. Following him into the next round were Brody Wilson and an impressive Petr Pilat.



Catching the eye amongst the German contingent were Fabian Bauersachs and Hannes Ackermann. Alastair Sayer at last produced another of his underflips – long time no see. The third Czech contender on the evening, Martin Koren, also thrilled the audience. Unfortunately, Massimo Bianconcini took a severe tumble but was soon back on his feet.

In the Race & Style contest, Brice Izzo just edged out Martin Koren. In the Highest Air category, Africa’s high-jump specialist Alastair Sayer emerged victorious with a jump of 8.5 metres.

With all this action in the arena, there was no particular need to whip up a frenzy for the grand finale. Even so, Latvian contestant Martins Alexandrovics brought the Arena Riga to its feet with the first ever backflip from a local FMX hero. The six finalists lapped up the adulation of the crowd and pumped themselves up for their runs. It turned into a genuine six-way battle as the FMX riders pulled every trick they had out of the bag.

Petr Pilat’s side saddle take-off flip to side saddle landing boosted him up to P5. Meanwhile, Brody Wilson wowed the judges to go second. In the final, Remi Bizouard came up with his best ruler flip, but even that wasn’t good enough for a place on the podium. Libor Podmol, who was doggedly chasing every single championship point, would certainly have ended up there if he hadn’t taken a fall in his Underflip Indy in the double-up. Brice Izzo’s run that included a stripper and Superman Seatgrab Flip would certainly have finished the day on top if he had (incredibly) not forgotten an item in his programme. Even so, he still claimed third position on the night.




Victory in the Grand Prix of the NIGHT of the JUMPs in Latvia went to Spaniard Jose Miralles who was performing a Superman Seatgrab Flip Indy for the first time in public. This triumph in Latvia rocketed the Spanish rider to the top of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championships. Just two points behind are Brice Izzo and Libor Podmol in equal second. So the rest of the season promises to be very exciting.



Next weekend, the NIGHT of the JUMPs moves to Mannheim (Germany) for the UEM Freestyle European Cup. The next championship points are up for grabs on the weekend of 20th/21st November in Ostrava (Czech Republic).