45,000 spectators crammed into Nuremberg for the final of the District Ride series. The event is now split across two weekends, the first in Catania, Sicily on 15/16 July, and the final last weekend (4/5 August).
A longer course, bigger obstacles and more creative lines pushed the 21 invited riders from around the world to their limits. Brit Gee Atherton put in a great ride to grab 6th place but it was last man down, Cameron McCaul who most convinced the judges. A barrel roll, bar spin, nofooted cancan, another barspin, a 360, another barrel roll, another 360, another barspin followed by yet another 360, an indian air seatgrab, a nofooted cancan with a tailwhip, completed his winning ride. First place in the bag and a not-so-unreasonable €6,500 prize.
Paul Basagoitia, winner in Catania, also rode strongly, and took the overall series title. To say he was happy with his prize of a brand new Ford pickup truck would be an understatement: “I can hardly believe it. I am absolutely stoked! The truck is killing it! I didn't dare to even think about winning the car before the contest.”
The great thing about the District Ride was that it takes place in a city centre, bringing mountain biking to the masses. It's a lot easier to get a big crowd if you take the event to the people rather than trying to get all the people to the event. The District Ride format involves a course built to take advantage of the location, so pre-existing features like steps, banks and walls are combined with specially-constructed ramps, ladders and the like. The course is divided into "districts", which you can think of as being like sections in a trials comp. Points are awarded for tricks, style and the ever-evasive "flow".
Nuremberg was split into six districts. First riders navigated through the drop district, with the choice of a big castle wall drop or the Marzocchi quarter pipe. Next up, downtown district with box jumps and a rail drop. This led into the wing district, where riders could make full use of a couple of mini-ramps to get some impressive airtime. Street district suited the urban riders taking part, before the Step up'n' Down district with a curved wallride and a the big BRAUN-sponsored box. A catwalk linked this section with the final section, the dirt district. A line of huge dirt jumps gave the riders no excuse for pulling some final sick moves.
Full results
- 1. Cameron McCaul 34,1
- 2. Paul Basagoitia 32,3
- 3. Darren Berrecloth 30,7
- 4. Kyle Strait 28,3
- 5. Andreu Lacondeguy 27,8
- 6. Gee Atherton 26,8
- 7. Timo Pritzel 26,1
- 8. Adam Hauck 24,2
- 9. Amir Kabbani 23,7
- 10. Lance McDermott 17
www.redbulldistrictride.com for more.
