FMX European Championship

Rounding off the second of two double bill FMX European Championship weekends in Austria, those magnificent men on their flying machines delivered yet another unparalleled display of trick cycling.

And once again, the youngsters in the line-up – Filip Podmol and Luc Ackermann – made it through to the final. Podmol junior qualified with an Underflip, a Surfer Tsunami Flip and various other tricks learnt from his big brother to take a sensational fourth place. Luc had problems again with his Cordova Flip but still managed to squeeze through into the final in sixth. Unfortunately for him, he then had a crash landing in the Lifeproof Best Whip Contest and could barely manage a couple of show jumps in the second part of the main event.

The battle for top spot was a two-way contest between Remi Bizouard and a top-qualifying Maikel Melero. Remi delighted fans and judges in equal measure with his usual precision and assured style. An exquisite Ruler Flip saw him safely past Pilat.

But then the reigning world champion from Spain struck back. Melero had clearly been struggling in the previous European fixtures, but on Sunday, he was back to form with a new triple combination: a One-hand Takeoff One-Hand Seatgrab Rock Solid to No-Hand-Landing. And with a perfect Doublegrab Flip on his last jump, the judges were convinced that he merited the victory.