The “Kona International Rookie Games” have nominated the unofficial downhill rookie world champions 2015
The pros will have to wait until September in Andorra, the next generation already had its main event of the season – the “iXS International Rookies Championships”, the unofficial downhill youth world championships for the U17, U15 and U13 classes. Nearly 250 racers representing 16 nations showed off their enormous potential, top-notch bike-skills and demonstrated that downhill racing is about to become more international in the future. The 6 world champions come from 5 Countries and have already singed up for the MTB Festival Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis 2016.
“Super! Nothing else, just super,” that’s how the new U17 DH world champion Moritz Ribarich commented on his title win after the race. The Austrian secured his win with the fastest time of the day (3:10:474 min) ahead of Jan Flor (3:15:424 min) from Germany and British Jack Tennyson (3:16:303 min). The slightly adapted downhill course was dusty, slippery and technically demanding for all competitors. The youngest of the field held their own well by tackling this difficult track and U15 victor Janosch Klaus of Switzerland proved that with the sixth fastest time of the day (3:23:380 min), Valentina Höll, U17 world champion made it to an overall 17th.
At the pulse of the time
In its second installation, the festival has become even more international and has drawn 250 top motivated talents between the ages 11 through 19 from 16 nations along with their families to Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis. At very high summer temperatures somewhere around the 30-degree Celsius mark over the whole weekend, multiple competitions of gravity mountain biking took place. All finals were broadcast live on pinkbike.com, so everyone who did not make it to the Tyrolean valley could witness the enormous potential of those young mountain bike riders from all over the world, and the necessity of events like this.
The “Kona International Rookie Games” – Europe’s only MTB youth-festival – are devoted to support the new mountain bike blood and took place for the second time in liaison with the MTB Festival Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis from August 6th trough 9th 2015. The “iXS Rookies Cup” was on the schedule as well as the FMB bronze event “Rookie of the Year Slopestyle” and the “Dakine Pumptrack Challenge”.
The second “iXS International Rookies Championships” nominated the unofficial downhill world champion of the U17, U15 and U13 classes. The talented offspring could make some experiences in a relaxed atmosphere and the “Family Challenge” provided some well-deserved entertainment for the parents as well.
Today´s results you find here:
Pinkbike Replay of the iXS Internationale Rookies Championships: PINKBIKE-REPLAY
For all results of the MTB Festival Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis please visit: bikepark-sfl.at
Photocredit: Felix Oesterle