THE RED BULL METRO PIPE GATHERS THE WORLD’S BMX ELITE

Mar 23, 2012

Written by Bart de Jong

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12 tons of wood, a team of 8 specialists, 2 weeks of assembly, a thorough design of the track by European pioneer Axel Jurgens in close collaboration with Spaniard Sergio Layos, one of the top BMX riders in the world, and several months of planning have transformed an ordinary metro station into a colossal half pipe. To that end, the constructors have used Finnish fir tree wood and naval plywood - the best for these events in terms of flexibility -, that will be recycled once the event is over.

In just 48 hours, anyone who may wish to attend this free event will have the chance to enjoy what it’s arguably going to be the most powerful BMX competition of 2012. It’ll also be the most peculiar, as it’s going to be the first one held in a metro track. The Chamartín station in Madrid will make BMX history with the Red Bull Metro Pipe. Another peculiarity of the competition that will make it a bit more difficult is the essential requirement of participating in pairs.

To participate in Saturday’s Open Session, all pairs that have registered to the event via redbull.es/metropipe will have to go through a level test. 40 pairs will be selected and then they’ll all have a single 10-minute heat each to prove they’re worthy of one of the 3 Wild Cards at stake that grant access to Sunday’s Pro competition. Those three pairs that will get the most points will get the Wild Card.

On Sunday, the 11 finalist pairs (8 professional pairs, previously selected, and the three aforementioned amateur pairs that got a Wild Card on Saturday), will have a ten-minute heat each that will decide the 4 semifinalists. The winners will be chosen by a judging panel that will take into account the execution, creativity, use of track and the coordination between the members of each pair.

List of pairs in the Pro competition:
- Sergio Layos (SPA) - Rubén Alcántara (SPA)
- Kriss Kyle (GBR) - Jason Phelan (GBR)
- Alessandro Barbero (ITA) - Alistair Whitton (GBR)
- Naran (ESP) - Michael Beran (CZE)
- Tom Dugan (USA) - Joseph Tazzwell Frans (USA)
- Kevin Kalkoff (FRA) - Stefan Lantschner (ITA)
- Axel Parke (SWI) - Adrian Malmberg (SWE)
- Simone Kid (ITA) - Diego Matías Navarro (ARG)

Schedule:

- SATURDAY 24th March (10:00am to 7:00pm):
Level test - Outdoor car park (Chamartín Station) Open Session - Track 1 platform (Chamartín Station - Madrid Metro)

- SUNDAY 25th March (10:00am to 2:00pm):
Pro competition - Track 1 platform (Chamartín Station - Madrid Metro)