4X Pro Tour 2013

Feb 25, 2013
by Tyler Maine  
2013 will see season 2 of the 4X ProTour visiting 5 venues to see who will become the overall 4X ProTour Champions.

After what can only be described as an amazing first season of racing, 4X bounced back bigger and better than ever after the UCI removed it from the World Cup Series at the end of 2011. 4X ProTour organisers Chris Roberts and Scott Beaumont worked all the way through last winter to create the 4X ProTour and inject a new feeling of passion and enthusiasm for the sport that had not been seen before.

Full support from all the riders and teams in 2012 gave the 4X ProTour a perfect start and for the second year it is back with a great line up of venues and tracks that will challenge the riders at every stop.

4X Pro Tour 2013 image by Charles Robertson

About 4X
4X racing is the only head to head Mountain Bike race format that continues to deliver the action and excitement that the general public can engage with. TV companies continue to love the simple format and action that the sport delivers. Races consist of 4 riders, and see them racing on a track full of jumps, banked corners and natural terrain. The top 2 riders in each race move onto the next round. A process of elimination from 64 riders whittles them down to the final where the winner is crowned.

Riders
The 2012 4X ProTour Champions will be back in 2013 to defend their titles. Tomas Slavik and Anneke Beerten were the king and queen of the tour in 2012 with consistent results that gave them the overall crowns. Who will they be up against in 2013?

In the men’s Michal Prokop will be hungry to get his hands on the title, David Graf has committed to the entire Tour after riding BMX for the last 2 years and will be a huge threat. The old guys Joost Wichman and Scott Beaumont bring experience and are always in contention. European Champion Felix Beckeman will wow crowds with the biggest MTB whips once again. Finally the Mechura brothers bring raw horse power to every round and always battle for the finals.

In the women’s there is some great news from Caroline Buchanon. The BMX Olympian and USA Pro women’s number 1 in 2012 will compete at a few ProTour rounds in 2013. Katy Curd will be looking to add consistency for next year as will Lucia Oetjen. Celine Gros rode amazing in 2012 and will be confident of even better in 2013.

Venues:
The season will kick off at one of the finest 4X tracks in the whole world. ‘Sunny Meadow’ in Szczawno Zdroj is set in parkland in the centre of a town in western Poland. The entire town supports 4X and on race night, be prepared to see over 8,000 spectators lining the course screaming for the riders.

Round 2 in Fort William is one of the best stops. If you haven’t been to Fort William before, then believe the hype. It is an awesome weekend and is one of the venues that simply have to be included on the 4X ProTour.
A week later we will be in Val Di Sole in northern Italy at the longest track on the Tour. Since the track was first used for the World Championships in 2008, this track has provided more passes and action than most other venues. Look out for plenty more fireworks at this, one of the rider’s favourite tracks.

Round 4 will be the first of 2 new venues for the ProTour. JBC Bikepark has been developed and built by 2012 4X ProTour Champion, Tomas Slavik. The track looks awesome and includes a section of the track that will run through the trees over roots, grass and off cambers. Close to a city, this race will be huge.

The finals will take place in Leogang, home of the 2012 World Championships. Guido Tschugg built this track and it features some of the biggest jumps on the Tour. A real challenge for the riders with multi lines, huge jumps and a bridge. A fitting venue for the finals.

Of course as most of you will now know, the 4X World Championships in 2013 will be held in Leogang on the weekend of September 21st/22nd. Working with Leogang for the past few weeks, this event will now become a week long 4X festival with the 4X ProTour finals taking place on September 15th, then rider clinics, practice sessions, media sessions and filming taking place throughout the week with all the stars of 4X in the build up to the World Championships.

So with a mixture of tracks on the calendar for 2013, consistency, bravery and skill are going to be rewarded with the overall titles. Here are the venues and dates for the 4X ProTour 2013:

Round 1 – Szczawno Zdroj, Poland – 4th May -
Round 2 – Fort William, Scotland – 8th June
Round 3 – Val Di Sole, Italy – 15th June
Round 4 – Jablonec, Czech Republic – 4th August
Round 5 – Leogang, Austria – 15th September

Keep up to date on our website.

4X Pro Tour 2013 Logo


Author Info:
brule avatar

Member since Mar 27, 2001
3,581 articles

29 Comments
  • 54 1
 OH GAAAAD!!! Not Protour!!!!
  • 16 0
 ^^ pure gold.
  • 8 3
 ^^ pure pure gold
  • 32 1
 Awesome that 4x lives on. But needs stops in north america!
  • 20 2
 i think we should discard UCI for a year... and see what happens.. its not about sponsoring and commerce.. its about riding.. the one thing MTB always had over other sports..

understand me right ! we need sponsors..sort of.. but they should not be albe to run or manipulate things..
uci board member : what 4x aint making enough money.. lets discard the whole thing.. Facepalm
  • 6 0
 ^Agreed! Definitely needs a stop SOMEWHERE in North America. I want to watch a race!!

The UCI dropping 4X may have been the best thing for the sport in Europe and those who can travel there to race. Seeing as how each of these races sees over a hundred pro racers. But all of us here that used to race gated MTB's are S.O.L. Frown
  • 2 0
 Hope to see more tour dates in Europe. One stop in germany would be great. MTB does not need the UCI. The sport is big enough to carry out races... No need for the doping union
  • 1 0
 for the leogang race do you reckon they will ride last years dh world champs track that thing was practically a 4x track...
  • 8 0
 i like it, how the whole racing thing is illustrated with a shot of awesome whipping action. Södestrom in front?
  • 4 0
 Would love to see a round of this coincide with the Sea Otter. Would be an (even more) epic event. And, the jump in the pic is a perfect example of a race-style takeoff and landing. The slopestyle booter at the Beech Mtn national championship slalom course the last two years made no sense. Great for style, but crappy for racing.
  • 4 0
 I agree with bailing on uci. If the sport has even half the numbers of people, it would still be a good show. Someone like redbull or monstor could always pick up the tab also.
  • 6 0
 But will there be TV or streaming coverage?
  • 3 2
 Must be nice for all the Europeans. Their able to go to these events in their own back yard. Where as the North Americans and even some of the Southern Americans have to travel way to much for these races. Should just reneme it to the 4X European tour.
  • 7 2
 Only if the U.S stop to call "world series" sports that only americans play...... Razz
  • 1 0
 I agree with this as well. As in Baseball, you have a World Series Which only have the Blue Jays that are in Canada. It would be nice if the World Cuo included teams from around the world. But there is another series for this.
  • 5 0
 I agree, the Miss universe pageant should have contestants from other galaxies, not just planet earth.
  • 1 1
 The World Series was named after the sponsoring New York newspaper called 'The World'. Nothing to do with international event.
  • 4 1
 WTF is wrong with you people who don't like 4X??? It's one of the bet forms of MTN racing period. Closest thing to moto in our sport.
  • 3 1
 I think the decision to replace dual slalom with 4x was wrong and by scrapping it only 7 years later UCI seems to admit it.

To me the whole concept of 4x is a bit far fetched as it'll never be the 'ultimate' form of racing on a certain terrain: you want huge jumps and groomed tracks? Nothing beats race bmx. You want fast, loose riding on natural terrain? Watch downhill. 4x is kinda in between, which resulted in sub par tracks- just looking at the number of crashes and collisions proves my point.
  • 4 0
 Now our beloved friend PROTOUR is laughing at our face...hahaha!!
  • 4 0
 Gravey come back!!!! Please!!!!!!
  • 2 0
 These sound like some pure awesome venues!!!!! So stoked!!!
  • 1 0
 We would love to take the 4X Pro Tour to North America, build a track and we will come.
  • 3 0
 I`m so going to Leogang.
  • 2 0
 yeah, this is going to be sick!
  • 3 0
 4X is so fun!!!
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