Two huge days of competitions in Poland ended on Saturday in spectacular fashion at the NIGHT of the JUMPs World Championships, especially with the return of David Rinaldo who was dealt a cruel blow of being stranded at home the previous day, following airline pilot’s strikes. The 2013 World Champion got off to a cold start after arriving only one hour before show-time and missing the official practise, but David was given one test jump per ramp in front of a sold out Krakow Arena before commencing his qualifying run.
And what happened next was nothing short of unbelievable. Rinaldo laid down almost all of his huge technical tricks, including one of the biggest Double Hart Attack Flips ever seen. David landed in 4th position and directly into the final, a feat that has never happened before in the history of the FIM Freestyle MX World Championships, with a rider coming into the finals without prior training. But this was not enough for Rinaldo, and in the final the Frenchman shocked the entire competition as he threw down his California Roll and Double Hart Attack Flip in the run, and finishing his run with a second body varial, the “Volt”. After premiering the Volt for the first time in competition, it also impressed the current Championship leader, Maikel Melero. The reigning World Champion had two major mistakes in his final, and had to be satisfied with a 5th place. After testing the “Volt” for the first time yesterday and crashing out of the final, despite slight injuries, Podmol put together a good qualifying run and again reached the final round. But before he could start, there was a special celebration to commemorate the Czech rider’s 100th World Championship competition. The record then seemed to be an additional motivator, and Podmol would again try the Volt in the final. This time he was able to land the trick clean and sealed his 2nd place on the podium. With only Rob Adelberg remaining, the winner from the first round, he was the only rider to intercept David Rinaldo’s party. The Australian showed all of his tricks, including the California Roll, but it was not enough on this day and he finished in a respectable 3rd place. And this concluded the night’s sensation. David Rinaldo came, he saw, he conquered. And all without training. The 13,000 visitors to the sold-out arena in Krakow celebrated the NIGHT of the JUMPs athletes well after the awards ceremony. In the championship standings, Maikel Melero is still in the lead, however the rest of the competition are closer to moving up to him. The FMX Pilots now have a short break before the next event on the coming weekend, where NIGHT of the JUMPs will land in Tours / France for the first time on 28th of March, 2015. After one of the best competitions seen in Krakow, one can only wonder as to what new tricks they can pull out of their hat. Text and pictures NIGHT of the JUMPs FACTS FIM Freestyle MX World ChampionshipKrakow, 21st March 2015 – Runde 4Results NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final1. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 412 Points 2. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 407 Points3. Rob Adelberg AUS AMA Yamaha 401 Points4. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 366 Points5. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 361 Points6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 354 Points Results Qualification1. Rob Adelberg AUS AMA Yamaha 348 Points2. Maikel Melero ESP RFME Yamaha 347 Points3. Libor Podmol CZE ACCR Yamaha 347 Points4. David Rinaldo FRA FFM Yamaha 342 Points 5. Remi Bizouard FRA FFM Kawasaki 341 Points6. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha 314 Points7. Hannes Ackermann GER DMSB KTM 299 Points8. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 298 Points9. James Carter USA MA Honda 291 Points10. Luc Ackermann GER DMSB Husqvarna 263 Points 11. Marcin Lukaszczyk POL PZM Yamaha 195 Points Lifeproof Race & Style Contest1. Brice Izzo FRA FFM Yamaha Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM Maxxis Highest-Air1. Massimo Bianconcini ITA PZM KTM 8,00 Meter 2. Jose Miralles ESP RFME KTM 7,50 Meter