October 4/10 14:33 pm - Freeride Mountain Bike Tour Awards First Overall Winner to Zink

Posted by Editoress on 10/4/10
 

The Red Bull Rampage yesterday near Virgin, Utah was a totally worthy conclusion for the first Freeride Mountain Bike (FMB) World Tour ever. The riders impressed the jury with the most spectacular jumps and tricks known in gravity sports in a setting that could not have been any rougher. When SRAM rider Cameron Zink landed the 360 drop on the second try at the Oakley “Icon Sender” it was clear that he could not be beaten.

Zink (USA) had tried the 360 drop on his first run and almost managed to land it – almost being the key word. It was pretty unbelievable that he went back to the starting area at all after such a heavy crash on his first run. Landing the trick on his second try at the “Icon Sender” also landed him the overall win as well as “best trick”. Truly deserving, Zink won’t only leave Utah with the Red Bull Rampage victory in his pocket but also with the title of FMB World Champion. Obviously, he was super stoked: “It feels totally awesome to be the first FMB World Tour Champion in mountain bike history! This weekend I was wearing Ryan Dungey’s signature goggles. Ryan has recently become the youngest AMA supercross champion ever and his goggles just always win championships. And it worked out perfectly for me! Red Bull Rampage, best trick and FMB World Tour Champion; I still can’t believe it!”

After a knee injury forced him to take a long time off, Zink could only take part in a few selected events. “For a while I was doing really awful. There is nothing worse than having to put your entire life on hold. But that’s what it was like for me – because biking is my life and until I couldn’t ride again, it wasn’t a life for me”, he says. All the more impressive is his comeback! After a third place at the Chatel Mountain Style, Zink is the first rider ever to win the Monster Energy Slopestyle at the Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler and the Red Bull Rampage in the same year. Together with an 18th place at the Crankworx Colorado, his excellent rankings helped secure the World Champion title of the FMBA.

Before the Red Bull Rampage, it was clear that only Cam Zink and the Commencal-rider Yannick Granieri could take the first place in the FMB ranking list away from Canadian Brandon Semenuk with a win in Utah. When Yannick Granieri, who had been ranking second in the FMB World Tour until the Red Bull Rampage, did not qualify for the finals last weekend, it was clear that the decision would be made between Zink and Trek-rider Semenuk. Unfortunately, Semenuk was out with an injury so it was up to Zink to score enough points and take the lead. Because of the high degree of difficulty, the world-class riders and other factors, the Red Bull Rampage was a FMB World Tour diamond event. Which meant that with a good rank the riders could score a lot of important points in one event.
In the end, Zink came out on top as the first FMB World Champion. On his second run, Darren Berrecloth seized the opportunity to kick Granieri off the FMB World Tour podium and sent the new Mondraker-rider Andreu Lacondeguy to 4th place at the Red Bull Rampage. For Berrecloth, this was definitely also a great season finish.

At the end of a really successful FMB World Tour, Cameron Zink emerges victorious as the deserved world champion and winner of the Monster Energy Slopestyle in Whistler as well as the Red Bull Rampage in Utah. Until the very end it was not clear who would come out on top since just a single event can reorganize the entire ranking list – as Brandon had to experience himself at the last minute. Next year, some of the best riders in the world will once again travel around the world from one event to another trying to climb up the ranking ladder. We would like to thank this year’s riders to for making the FMB World Tour such a success!

 Press release

Final Ranking