Bart de Jong
The secon stop of the 2015 FISE World Series is taking place in Chengdu, China this weekend. Today the riders had their first taste of the course in the smoggy city. Hot and humid as expected but we take that over cold and wet any day. The ramps were dry and open for abuse to make sure everything is dialled for tomorrow's open qualifier which is on the schedule for 16:15hr local time. Twenty riders in the pro class will make it to the semi finals on Saturday but from the looks of it, not many more than that are around in China. But the level is extremely high as we saw Drew Bezanson (CAN), last year's World Series winner Daniel Dhers (VEN), England's Alex Coleborn and many others on the course. We hear some are on their way even so this will certainly go off on Friday and the rest of the weekend.
The ramp set-up is compact but fun with multiple lines that should provide a good show. Next to the pro class, there will also be an amateur contest, junior comp and girls class competing in Chengdu. At the opening ceremony a lot of people showed up which is promising for the days to come.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.