FISE World Series Montpellier. 20th edition.

May 11, 2016

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 2925 times

If you want to get a spot to watch the BMX events at the FISE in Montpellier, France, you better show up early. Before you know it there is no more empty spot on the riverbank or at the Spine mini to watch from. The FISE has always been an event about the crowd and it's safe to say that there is no other BMX contest on the schedule that draws more people. The multi sport event brings a BMX Flatland contest, BMX street comp, Spine contest and for the first year the official UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup was added to the program. Next to the regional contest, the FISE also pays attention to the amateurs classes, girls and masters, plus it's possible for any pro rider to sign up and compete. The event started on Wednesday and the last comp ended on Sunday 8 May.

A record breaker: On Thursday alone, 160.000 people found their way to the riverbed in Montpellier. It was a record breaker in the FISE books and already at Amateur Park in the morning the banks had filled up with people who wanted to see the riding on the park course. The first Pro final happened on Friday night. In front of the

town hall the Fise Spine Mini was built up. Qualifying the night before had to be called off because of the moisture in the air that made the ramp wet and slippery. With the finals being planned at night the next day the organisation got creative and put heaters underneath the ramp to solve the problem. It worked amazingly well. The riding seriously was off the hook and the bar gets raised year after year. Tech rider Kostya Andreev (RUS) got 5th place, Pat Casey (USA) fakied to 4th while the first podium spot was for Mr. FISE himself Mark Webb (GBR). Mark knows what the crowd wants to see and put on the Webbie Show for them. Daniel Dhers (VEN) ticked off his 60-trick final runs one by one to get second place but it was Australian Logan Martin ending up on top with his solid and clean riding.

Pro flatland: Pro flatland qualifying took place on Matthias Dandois' birthday. After the entire crowd sang a happy birthday song to Matthias, he could start his run and rode flawless. One of the rules is that when for some reason (rain) the finals cannot be run, the qualifying results are the deciding factor and will be used as the end results. In Matthias' advantage, the final event on Sunday was cancelled after making many attempts to fight the rain. However he would have loved to put on another good show for the massive crowd that showed up to see flatland. Co-organiser Alex Jumelin (FRA) got second and Joris Bretagnolles (FRA) got third making it a French podium for Pro flatland.

Street riding: The BMX Avenue Streetline contest has become an event for street riders to look forward to. When the skateboarders had left the course, the BMX riders took over on the many obstacles. 30 minute sessions were had on four different parts of the course. When the half hour was up, riders moved to the next section for another 30 minute riding session. It gave the people on the grass bank a two hour action packed street show by some of the best riders in the world. Courage Adams (ESP) was killing it leaving his mark on every part of the street area. He won two out of the four sessions and became the big winner in Montpellier. Joris Coulomb and Sullyvan Guaincetre won one each.

And the rain came:
After four days of sunshine the rain came in on Sunday afternoon. Even the heaters underneath the Park course and the 20 volunteers with squeegees, wind blowers, torches and towels couldn't win and had to give up. This meant that the 24-man semi-final scores were used as the end results for the first ever UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup. England's Alex Coleborn came out on top on Saturday and is now leading the 2016 standings heading into World Cup stop two to be held in Croatia 21-23 July 2016. Last year's FISE World Series champion Logan Martin (AUS) was stuck in 6th place in the semi and was looking forward to step it up on Sunday but has to deal with his current position for now. 5th place went to Kevin Peraza (USA) for his original riding and the big smile on his face while doing so. 4th place and just missing out on a podium spot was Kenneth Tencio from Costa Rica who miraculously stayed on his bike for two full runs and brought tricks that only he can do. Mike Varga (CAN) did 810-s over the hip and 360 double tailwhips to barspin over the box to get third place just behind FISE veteran and multiple X-Games winner Daniel Dhers. With over 130 pro entries the first UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup showed good potential and was a good fit for the 20th edition of the FISE in Montpellier.

Pics by BdJ