Brett Rheeder soars at Vienna Air King 2013

This year’s winner at Vienna Air King comes from Canada and his name is Brett Rheeder. He convinced the judges with two extremely diverse winning runs. Next to him on the podium, was Belgian Rider Thomas Genon (2nd) and Sam Reynolds from the UK (3rd). On Saturday Pavel Alekhin from Russia won the Panasonic Best Trick with a brand new, never seen before trick.

This year’s edition of VIENNA AIR KING was without a doubt the biggest and most successful in the history of the event. Despite a slight chill, there were stable weather conditions and the massive dirt jump course built on Vienna’s “Rathausplatz” was ridable throughout the competition.

During the finals riders had three runs of which the average from their top two made the final result. It was obvious that Brett Rheeder felt at ease on the course as he laid down tricks like a 360 barspin from the drop-in, a stylish flipwhip, a 360 opposite bar- to barspin back and a super clean flipwhip opposite in his winning runs. With such technical and diverse runs it should be no surprise that the judges awarded him with the win. Overall, it is difficult to imagine that Brett Rheeder or any of his fellow competitors could put together a better overall run. The Canadian rider from Toronto said: “I’m stoked to win my first FMB World Tour 2013 event, it’s a great way to start the year. I had a great time in Vienna and I’m looking forward to the next events.”

Brett Rheeder took a comfortable victory ahead of Belgian rider Thomas Genon, although the young Belgian did put together stunning runs. His best run featured a 360 barspin from the drop-in, a double tailwhip, a huge frontflip and a 360 double tailwhip on the final jump. His performance made the crowd jump and shout with excitement.

The UK’s Sam Reynolds did what he does best and once again made it onto the podium. His jaw dropping runs included a backflip table top from the drop-in, followed by a backflip no-hander, a flipwhip and finished with a spectacular 720 spin on the last jump.

After the pre-qualifications on Friday it became obvious, even for the untrained eye that the athletes were going to put on a world-class contest packed with the biggest tricks. Moreover, three pre-qualifying riders particularly impressed the judges with their performance. Tom van Steenbergen (CAN), Elof Lind (SWE) and Matt Jones (GBR) all made it to the finals and their progression really highlights the dynamics of freeride mountain biking. 16 year old Tom van Steenbergen from Canada became the youngest ever VIENNA AIR KING finalist.

On Saturday afternoon, one athlete in particular electrified the atmosphere during the Panasonic Best Trick contest: Pavel Alekhin! The Russian showman chose to premiere the first ever backflip barspin to barspin to tailwhip right here at VIENNA AIR KING. With this amazingly complex trick he won the Panasonic Best Trick contest and went home with the 1,000 Euro prize money and a Panasonic camera. Adrian Tell (NOR) shocked and awed the crowd and his competitors with a flawless Cashroll also during the one hour Jam Session. Daryl Brown (UK) also made a lasting impression, reaching unbelievable heights as he boosted off of the kickers. The wildcard for Red Bull Berg Line went to Anton Thelander. The Swedish rider who placed 5th was the highest ranked finalist not already invited to the upcoming event in Winterberg, Germany on May 19th.

The chilly spring weather did not stop 120,000 visitors from coming to visit the ARGUS BIKE FESTIVAL. This turnout is the highest on record. Most of the visitors were attracted by the promise of great mountain biking action and they were not disappointed.

Voilà! Here are the results from the finals of VIENNA AIR KING 2013:

1. Rheeder, Brett
2. Genon, Thomas
3. Reynolds, Sam
4. Bizet, Antoine
5. Thelander, Anton
6. Söderström, Martin
7. Henke, Peter
8. Alekhin, Pavel
9. Lind, Elof
10. Jones, Matt
11. Zejda, Tomas
12. Van Steenbergen, Tom

The VIENNA AIR KING has officially kicked off the FMB World Tour 2013 in Europe and from the action shown in Vienna, it is clear that the battle for the overall world title will be a thrilling one. The organizers and sponsors of the event are thankful to the spectators and are already looking forward to the next edition.

More information can be found on the official VIENNA AIR KING website: www.vienna-air-king.ator on the VIENNA AIR KING Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/viennaairking

You can find more information about the FMB World Tour on: www.fmbworldtour.com