Graz Freestyle MX | Kawasaki’s Bizouard Out Stunts Melero (Video)

NIGHT of the JUMPs in Graz, Austria, Results / Video of Top Three Runs

Eleven riders from seven different countries and three continents lined up on Sunday for the fourth competition of the Freestyle MX European Championship at the NIGHT of the JUMPS in Graz.

Spectators in the Stadthalle were anxious to see if Maikel Melero could repeat his victory from the previous day and possibly overtake Podmol in the European Championship standings.

Firstly though, the contenders had to get through qualifying. Maikel Melero did best, securing first place in the prelimnary round, followed by the two Frenchmen Brice Izzo and Remi Bizouard.

Podmol muscled his way into the fourth position in the final with Jeremy Rouanet and Joel Brown completing the field of starters in the finals. Luc Ackermann was within a whisker of going through but did not quite make it this time.

However, to ease his disappointment, the 16-year-old gave Maikel Melero and Kevin Ferrari a good run for their money in Maxxis Highest Air. The young German nosed into second place with 7.50 meters but had to admit defeat to Melero, who jumped 7.80 meters, winning all of the weekend‘s Maxxis Highest Air competitions.

The Rockwell Watch Best Whip contest again turned into a scrap between the two Frenchmen Bizouard and Rouanet, and once again, the three-time world champion emerged triumphant.

The final was an absolute peach of a showdown. Firstly, Jeremy Rouanet executed incredible Flatliners and Shaolin Flips, then Australian Joel Brown countered with superb triple combos and a Seatgrab Indy Flip, clinching fifth place.

Libor Podmol mounted a tremendous offensive, performing his Underflips, his new Tsunami Flip and the Cliffhanger Backflip to No Hand Landing. That should have earned him a podium at least.

However, it was not enough to fend off the challenge from the two Frenchmen. Remi Bizouard was the first to overtake the Czech rider with a Ruler Flip, Turntable and Cliffhanger Flip. Then it was the turn of Brice Izzo to outclass him with an Underflip, Tsunami Flip and Triple combo.

Maikel Melero hoped to see himself crowned supreme champion in Graz by clinching wins on the day in the high jump and freestyle competitions and the Spaniard was in front until his very last trick of the competition. However, he made a mess of the double up and left his hand on the handlebars during his Double Seat Grab flip.

That meant he performed the Superman Seat Grab flip twice on his run, dropping down into fourth place as a consequence. And so, Remi Bizouard took the honors from fellow French rider Izzo and Podmol in third place.

Podmol continues to lead in the overall Freestyle MX European Championship after securing third place. Currently on 70 points, the Czech rider has a short lead on Bizouard (68 points). Melero follows in third place.

The FMX riders now have a break until March 6 when the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship gets under way at the NIGHT of the JUMPS in Berlin. April 26 will see the return of the European Championship in Munich. Austrian fans can look forward to being amazed by the NIGHT of the JUMPS once again in January 2015 when the riders return to Linz and Graz.

Attached above is a video featuring the top-three runs from Bizouard, Izzo and Podmol.

Graz Freestyle MX / NIGHT of the JUMPs – Final Results

1. Remi Bizouard            FRA    FFM        Kawasaki    379 Points

2. Brice Izzo            FRA    FFM        Yamaha    369 Points

3. Libor Podmol            CZE    ACCR        Yamaha    364 Points

4. Maikel Melero            ESP    RFME        Yamaha    361 Points

5. Joel Brown            AUS    MA        Yamaha    347 Points

6. Jeremy Rouanet        FRA    FFM        Yamaha    342 Points

Results Qualification

1. Maikel Melero            ESP    RFME        Yamaha    342 Points

2. Brice Izzo            FRA    FFM        Yamaha    336 Points

3. Remi Bizouard            FRA    FFM        Kawasaki    331 Points

4. Libor Podmol            CZE    ACCR        Yamaha    330 Points

5. Joel Brown            AUS    MA        Yamaha    290 Points

6. Jeremy Rouanet        FRA    FFM        Yamaha    289 Points

7 Luc Ackermann            GER    DMSB        KTM        271 Points

8. Kevin Ferrari            ITA    PZM        KTM        223 Points

9. Ondrej Zaruba            CZE    ACCR        KTM        221 Points

10. Nikolay Ivankov        RUS    MFR        Yamaha    203 Points

11. Ales Liemann            CZE    ACCR        KTM        183 Points

Results Rockwell Watch Best Whip Contest

1. Remi Bizouard            FRA    FFM        Kawasaki

2. Jeremy Rouanet        FRA    FFM        Yamaha

Maxxis Highest-Air

1. Maikel Melero            ESP    RFME        KTM        7,80 Meter

2. Luc Ackermann        GER    DMSB        KTM        7,50 Meter

3. Kevin Ferrari            ITA    PZM        KTM        7,00 Meter

Freestyle MX European Championships Ranking (after 4th contest)

1. Libor Podmol            CZE    ACCR        Yamaha    70 Points

2. Remi Bizouard            FRA    FFM        Kawasaki    68 Points

3. Maikel Melero            ESP    RFME        Yamaha    64 Points

4. Brice Izzo            FRA    FFM        Yamaha    62 Points

5. Joel Brown            AUS    MA        Yamaha    40 Points

6. Petr Pilat            CZE    ACCR        KTM        32 Points

7. Luc Ackermann        GER    DMSB        KTM        23 Points

8. Jeremy Rouanet        FRA    FFM        Yamaha    20 Points

9. Massimo Bianconcini        ITA    PZM        KTM        19 Points

10. Maxime Gregoire        FRA    FFM        Yamaha    16 Points

11. Kevin Ferrari            ITA    PZM        KTM        15 Points

12. Leonardo Fini            ITA    PZM        KTM        14 Points

13. Nikolay Ivankov        RUS    MFR        Yamaha    14 Points

14. Ondrej Zaruba        CZE    ACCR        KTM        13 Points

15. Ales Liemann            CZE    ACCR        KTM        10 Points

16. Fred Wasner            FRA    FFM        Yamaha      6 Points

17. Martin Koren            CZE    ACCR        KTM          5 Points