FMB World Tour 2013 Kicks Off!

Jan 17, 2013 at 5:18
by FMB World Tour  
• The X-up Freeride Festival (Silver level) held in Warnervale, NSW Central Coast is the first FMB World Tour 2013 event: January 18th -20th, 2013
• Riders are returning to White Style (Silver level) to challenge Sam Reynolds for his defending title at this first Euro event in the FMB World Tour 2013 calendar: February 1st, 2013
• FMB World Tour Rider registration 2013 is online: www.FMBWorldTour.com
• ISPO Munich will once again host the FMBA European Judging Clinics on February 4th-5th, 2013
• Complete official FMB World Tour 2013 calendar to be released in February 2013.



Last year the world’s best professional and amateur riders came together to compete for FMB World Tour ranking points. For the PRO’s, the chase for the golden CamelBak Better Bottle was closer than ever, with the leader changing several times throughout the season. In the end, it was on the red dirt of the Utah desert that Brandon Semenuk was announced FMB World Tour Champion 2012.

This year, the FMB World Tour circuit is more global than ever! For the first time in FMB World Tour history the season will begin outside of Europe with the Australian X-up Freeride Festival. This first official event is set to be pure freeriding fun. It will feature the main Slopestyle competition as a FMB World Tour Silver event, a Best Trick competition as well as the unofficial Australian 'Whip-off Championships' and a high jump competition.

The guys behind the organization of the X-up Freeride Festival have done a great job in putting together an action packed schedule with a true festival atmosphere. You can learn more about this event on the FMB World Tour website.

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White Style is a great new addition to the FMB World Tour 2013. It is the only event to host the world’s best freeriders on a course made out of snow! Don’t think though that the course designers went easy on them just because it might be a bit slippy. Oh no! Super-sized snow jumps will give the riders enough airtime to show off their wintertime developments and progression for the first time in 2013. More details about White Style are available on the FMB World Tour website.

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By the end of January we will already see the first FMB World Tour ranking points. Who will take the early lead? At this point it is anyone’s game but an early lead could prove crucial for a season victory, as the competition gets tougher and tougher throughout the season.

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The FMBA will release the full FMB World Tour 2013 calendar in February. Keep your eyes peeled for all event dates to keep on to top of the up coming action this season!

Aside from these great kick-off events the FMBA advisory board is coming together to discuss further developments for the FMBA and FMB World Tour. The FMBA is constantly in search of ways to keep the progression of freeride mountain biking moving forward and is dedicated to representing the voice of mountain bikers worldwide. On February 4th-5th the annual FMBA European Judging Clinics will be held at ISPO Munich. This intensive two-day course is aimed at ensuring FMB World Tour judges represent a high judging platform in the world of competitive sports.

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Member since Mar 1, 2011
142 articles

25 Comments
  • 19 3
 i really wish they would change the name, this is kinda the opposite of freeride still though gonna be sweet!
  • 12 2
 The term "freeride" definitely seems to spark controversy in this community, largely due to interpretation of meaning. Some even argue that it is dead altogether. Those are purists - even PURE freeriding isn't dead, but the term certainly has been expanded to include all sorts of Freestyle disciplines. I gather that your comment signifies that you believe freeride to be on completely natural terrain with no competitions or reason to be out there other than your freedom to fulfill your own desire to go big? I believe this was the original meaning...

It was then expanded to mean downhill trails that have manmade jumps, gaps, drops, skinnies, teeters etc.- I believe this to be freeride too. Now the broad definition even includes a highly manmade course in a competition environment, with no skinnies or teeters or any of that. That is completely the opposite of the original meaning, but I am O.K. with the expansion of the definition because we are all united and if we could reach this level of riding, we would compete too!
  • 9 0
 freeride: to ride and feel free - Chris Lawrence
  • 6 0
 I agree I think that freeriding is basically the term for the trail just in between full DH and straight up Dirt jumps.
  • 4 0
 Chirs Lawrence - judge at Redbull Rampage
  • 3 0
 Freeriding is pretty much dirt jumps, slopestyle, and DH
  • 2 1
 The way I look at it is Freeride is the middle between Downhill and Dirtjumping, and Slopestyle is the middle between Freeride and Dirtjumping, but thats just my thoughts.
  • 3 0
 Dirt jumping, Slopestyle and Big Mountain are the three types of free riding competitions. DH is a race judged by time. Free Riding is a means of expression and is thus judged by style. You are given a course and are free to do what you want on that course. No matter how many cashrolls you do on DH course you will be judged by the clock.
  • 1 2
 There's nothing free about riding the same trail as everyone else. If I drift my car down the street, I'm not freeriding, I'm just following a course. Even at Rampage, once you've practiced that line and built features on it, it's not freeride.
  • 2 1
 Freestyle/Freeride. Same thing. That's what this is. Freeride isn't an intermediary class. It's all that has class. It's all of the classes. It's the ruling class.
  • 1 0
 injuryprone: i suppose it all depends on your definition of freeride, to me a freeride line should be unique and gnarly, and probably take place in the mountains, because mountain bikes are the only vehicles that can conquer that terrain, and because the natural features of the mountain mean you can't build the same thing twice, making everything unique. imo rampage is totally freeriding, because the riders get to choose/build their own lines, making it about doing something different. also because the riders have lots of freedom (lol FREEdom) and because the course can only be tackled on an mtb. to me the more bmx and mx style stuff, while completely awesome, is in a different category because it goes on in a more controlled environment and could be hit on something other than an mtb. but this is just my opinion.
  • 13 0
 Hope they're all gunna be streamed on pinkbike, need something else to keep me entertained until world cups start!
  • 6 0
 I agree... life has been dull with out the craze world cups stir.. GO SAM HILL!
  • 5 0
 I really hope Sam Reynolds does well next year after a good start in 2012 Smile
  • 4 1
 This season must be awesome! Can't wait! =)
  • 3 0
 Bigger, Burlier, Better! FMB riders we are expecting big things this year!
  • 2 0
 Anyone know if this is being livecast and if so where/what stream?
  • 1 0
 Why hasn't there been any coverage of the X-up Freeride Festival??
  • 1 0
 what if it were freestyle not freeride??
  • 1 0
 Then it would be BMX or FMX not Free Ride MTB, Free Ride Snowboarding, Free Surfing or Free Skiing. It is not meant to make sense. It is a colloquial form of terminology that was originally taken from other sports cause it didn't have a name. It seemed good at the start cause there were no freestyle tricks then I think some unknown guy threw a no foot can at Rampage and they were n't gonna change the name then. The same Free Riders competed in the first slopestyles. As to how Dirtjumping got thrown in too? I dunno better ask John Cowan or Timo Pritzel.
  • 1 0
 Chris Lawrence gay or strait?
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