Metal Mulisha Athlete Rob Adelberg started his 2016 Night of The Jumps Season with a bang, grabbing back to back second place finishes and solidifying himself as a World Title Threat.
The second European Championship round produced another great spectacle in Austria to end the weekend of competition on Sunday. For the sixth time the NIGHT of the JUMPs FMX riders have converged on Linz, this year with two contests and probably the most spectacular contest seen on Austrian soil.
After the event the previous day where some of the hardest tricks in Freestyle Motocross were thrown down, on Sunday the riders went even further. The crowd were treated in qualifying to Double Grab flips, Hart Attack Flips, 360 and Surfer Take-Off to Tsunami Flip. However to reach the final it would be the reigning World Champion, Maikel Melero also with Remi Bizouard, Rob Adelberg, Petr Pilat, Pat Bowden and Jose Miralles.
Six riders competed in the LifeProof Best Whip contest. Austrian Thomas Wirnsberger, Bizouard, Bianconcini and Miralles who wanted to break the supremacy of the Whip Finalists from Saturday. However Filip Podmol and Pat Bowden would again stand taller with their incredible whips. This led to a re-match from the duel the day before. However on Sunday, the Australian would prevail with a huge whip going almost 180 degrees to win the LifeProof Best Whip to collect his first international trophy ever.
The Maxxis Highest Air would also come down to the wire. After being dismissed from the season opener last night, “El Loco” Miralles came back against the two opponents who had all jumped over the 9.00 metre height, but Jose won because he had cleared previous heights one time less than Massimo and Melero.
The final pointed to a four-way battle between Petr Pilat, Rob Adelberg, Remi Bizouard and Maikel Melero. The Czech European Champion showed a flawless run of technical tricks including the Candybar Flip and also Side-saddle take-off to Saran Wrap Flip to Side Saddle lander. The Aussie, Rob Adelberg countered with the California Roll, Cliffhanger Flip and Ruler Flip and pushed the Czech rider from the Hot-Seat. In his final run, Melero opened with a Double Grab Flip and finished with the California Roll to 1-hand lander and also pushed Adelberg from the seat.
Now it was time for first place qualifier Remi Bizouard to try prevent a double victory for the Spaniard. The Frenchman showed a clean run with the Ruler Flip, Cliffhanger Flip but in the Double-Up, instead of throwing the Volt, he brought a Hart Attack Indy Flip. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to take the win and it was clear the victory would go to Melero and for Remi it secured a third place.
After the first two competitions, Maikel Melero is leading the European Championship with a maximum points haul of 40 points. His closest competitor is Rob Adelberg with 36 points.
The next round of European FMX Championships will take place at NIGHT of the JUMPs in Munich on 23rd of April 2016. For now, the riders travelling from Linz will go directly to the next round in Switzerland for the FIM Freestyle Motocross World Championships which will be the first round for 2016 in the St. Jakobshalle in Basel on Friday and Saturday
