Munich, October 1st 2014 – After a full season of FMB Diamond Series stops, the grand final went down last Monday, on the red sands of Utah at Red Bull Rampage. The Spaniard Andreu Lacondeguy can call himself the new Red Bull Rampage champion. But it was also a battle between Trek C3 Project team riders, Brandon Semenuk and Brett Rheeder for the FMB World Tour overall title. In the end Brandon Semenuk took his third title after 2011 and 2012. For Trek, Semenuk’s third and Rheeder’s fifth place was a double win. The performance of their all-star team has also rewarded them with the first ever FMB Factory Team title.
Brandon Semenuk
Canadian triathlon and the final battle at Rampage
The all new FMB Diamond Series was a huge success. Riders went bigger than ever and with 5 of the biggest contests to focus on, they had time to get their gnarliest tricks dialed and send it to the next level.
Brett Rheeder
Heading to the final round, Brandon Semenuk was in the lead and only Brett Rheeder could have stopped him. Both athletes had a less than desirable start at Crankworx Les 2 Alpes. The young Canadian, Anthony Messere took the win at round 1 and led the standings. From there, it was a battle of inches to get onto the podium and move into the top spot. Semenuk pulled back the lead of the FMB Diamond Series standings after round 4, Red Bull District Ride. Separated by Messere, Rheeder was sitting in third heading to Red Bull Rampage. Deciding not to ride, Messere bowed out of the battle for the title, which meant this big mountain event, was Rheeder’s last hope of taking the title. The task was monumental.
Cam Zink
The two Canadians both showed a great performance packed with backflips, 360 opposites and an impressive combination of big mountain and slopestyle riding. The judges scored Semenuk’s second run higher than Rheeder’s, who ranked third after run 1. But due to perfect execution and his smooth and polished riding style, Semenuk finished 3rd place (89.25 points) before Kyle Strait (89.00) and Rheeder (88.50), enough for taking the title once again back home to Squamish, Canada. But there were 2 athletes pulling an even more incredible performance out of their bag: rank 2 went to US-rider Cam Zink (89.50) who also got awarded with the best trick trophy and an extra 5.000 Dollars for his massive and perfectly landed 360 off the huge mammoth drop. But the man of the day was Andreu Lacondeguy. After an absolute convincing first run, judges gave him 95.25 points, more than 5 points ahead of second ranked Zink. Trick wise it wasn’t even the most impressive run of the day, some whips, a backflip. But it was his flow, his style, his smoothness, his speed and the gigantic amplitude of his jumps that made the difference that day. At the end there was no discussion, that the first Spanish Red Bull Rampage champion without a doubt deserved the victory. Congratulations to the big mountain lover from Barcelona!
Andreu Lacondeguy
Here is the Top 5 ranking from Red Bull Rampage:
1. Andreu Lacondeguy, ESP (YT Industries) – 95.25
2. Cam Zink, USA (YT Industries) – 89.50
3. Brandon Semenuk, CAN (Trek Bicycles) – 89.25
4. Kyle Strait, USA (GT Bicycles) – 89.00
5. Brett Rheeder, CAN (Trek Bicycles) – 88.50
Taking into account the seasonal performance and consistency of riding, Canadian “Wunderkind” Brandon Semenuk deserves all the appreciation for winning the FMB World Tour overall title for the third time in the five-year history of the tour. He put his stamp on this sport like no other rider did before on the event circus of organized mountain biking. Congratulations to Brandon Semenuk for an epic season!
Here is the Top 5 ranking of the FMB World Tour season 2014:
1. Brandon Semenuk, CAN (Trek Bicycles), 4.300 points
2. Brett Rheeder, CAN (Trek Bicycles), 3.808 points
3. Anthony Messere, CAN (Morpheus Bicycles), 3.240 points
4. Thomas Genon, BEL (Canyon Bicycles), 2.950 points
5. Szymon Godziek, POL (Dartmoor), 2.500 points
Brandon Semenuk
FMB Factory Team Ranking
For 2014, the FMBA introduced the all-new FMB Factory Team ranking. Just like the FMB Diamond Series, the title was anyone’s for the taking. Canyon Factory Freeride Team led the standings right out of the gate with solid victories and podiums by Thomas Genon, supported by Anton Thelander and Peter Henke. Mid-way through the season, the tables started to turn. Enter, the Specialized team. Martin Soderstrom returned to the saddle and the ripping rookie, Nicholi Rogatkin, was on fire! Specialized moved into first after the Colorado Freeride Festival with both riders standing on the podium. Sadly, Martin Soderstrom’s reoccurring injury cut his season short. With both Canyon and Specialized weakened due to rider injuries – Trek C3 Project was unstoppable! Team riders, Semenuk, Rheeder, Cam McCaul and Tom Van Steenbergen began stacking up the points at the Diamond events and dominated the rest of the tour. After Anthony Messere’s big scores at the Diamond events and Mitch Chubey’s top ten result from Red Bull Rampage, the Morpheus team was also in for the team award battle and in the end finished in second place. With Cam Zink’s Red Bull Rampage points and some good results in the recent Diamond events from Yannick Granieri, the YT Industries F***ing Good Times team shares third place and ended up tied with the Canyon Factory Freeride Team. The final points came in at Red Bull Rampage and the Trek C3 Project team was officially announced the 2014 Factory Team Champions. For the full FMB Factory Team results, click here.
Here is the Top 5 ranking of the FMB Factory Team Ranking:
1. Trek C3 Project (5700 points)
2. Morpheus (3398 points)
3. YT Industries F***ing Good Times (3334 points)
4. Canyon Factory Freeride Team (3334 points)
5. Specialized (3196 points)
6. Diamondback (2548 points)
See you next year for season 6
Red Bull Rampage was the fulminant finish of the action-packed fourth season of the FMB World Tour, with a lot of innovation such as the introduction of the Diamond Series and Factory Team Ranking. The FMBA member board wishes all riders a good and healthy off-season and is looking forward to season 6 in 2015!
Watch the replay of Red Bull Rampage at FMBWorldTour.com.