The Qashqai Urban Challenge Moves to Cologne

After three incredible events in Newcastle, Milan and Madrid, the Qashqai Urban Challenge is moving to Cologne (GER) for the fourth stop of the tour. Riders will be challenged on the Park course to an array of ramps, wedges, box jumps and drops. The course construction is underway and in two days the riders will show up in Cologne’s Mediapark to practice on the course that has been designed specifically to test the riders in a park environment. Benny Korthaus and Marius Hoppensack are two local German park specialists who will be lighting up the course in Cologne with fresh style and big tricks. Both riders have been dominating German contests, so it will be exciting to see how they fare against the world’s best riders on their home turf. Two other invited riders for the Cologne event are expected to be top finishers: Adam Hauck and Phil Sundbaum. They are considered some of the top riders in this discipline, and after claiming best trick titles at previous Qashqai events, they are hungry for podium appearances. The Cologne course is set in the Mediapark, with the rider’s hotel overlooking the course and allowing them to plan out their runs from the hotel balconies! In addition to the tour riders, the following specialists will be invited to Cologne for the fourth stop of the Qashqai Urban Challenge: 1. Adam Hauck (USA) 2. Phil Sundbaum (USA) 3. Damjan Siriski (CZE) 4. Marius Hoppensack (GER) 5. Carlo Dieckmann (GER) 6. Benny Korthaus (GER) 7. Cameron Zink (USA) 8. Pierre Grawitter (GER) 9. JD Swanguen (USA) 10.Hendrik Tafel (GER) The fourth event could mix up the overall order quite a bit, as most of the riders in the top ten are not park specialists. We can expect to see an exciting event in Cologne. Even more importantly, this event could have a huge impact on the overall scores. After Cologne, the riders will have only one more Qashqai event to secure their spot in the overall top five! Qashqai Urban Challenge Overall Results: 1. Paul Basagoitia 55 pts Kona (USA) 2. Darren Berrecloth 50 pts Specialized (CAN) 3. Andreu Lacondeguy 42 pts Kona (ESP) 4. Lance McDermott 40 pts Scott (UK) 5. Ben Boyko 31 pts Norco (CAN) The contest in Cologne’s Mediapark begins on Friday at 4pm with the first qualifying round and best trick contest. Saturday will follow with the second round of qualifying which will decide the top twelve riders to advance to the finals. Visit the Qashqai Urban Challenge website (www.nissan-qashqaichallenge.com) with information about each city, the events, rider bios about the invited tour riders, results and rankings. Videos of the action can also been viewed on Freecaster.tv from the Newcastle and Milan stops of the Qashqai Urban Challenge. To check out the action directly, go to: www.play.freecaster.com