With more than 500,000 spectators attending over five days of competition - that also included skateboarding, roller, scooter and breakdance – competitors in the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup had plenty of fans in the stands.
The Urban Sports Summit held simultaneously in Montpellier brought together 250 influential people who also witnessed the action.
Flatland Women: pride for Preuss
Although the number of participants in the Women’s Flatland was not huge, the riders who did get to compete had an experience they’ll never forget; riding in front of a big audience on the UCI World Cup stage is one for the memory books. It was the most experienced Flatland rider in the group who handled the pressure best. Germany’s Julia Preuss laid down a solid 2-and-a-half-minute run for the win and 1000 UCI Ranking points, with the French pair of Jeanne Seigneur and Mélissa Droll in second and third.
Flatland Men: Japanese domination!
If the 2019 Flatland finals in Montpellier weren’t crazy enough, welcome to 2022 – this time it wasn’t just the crowd who had goosebumps! The riding was at a higher level than ever through the qualifications, semi-finals and into the finals.
Flatland has always been a popular discipline in Japan and the top four in Montpellier all came from the Land of the Rising Sun. That didn’t mean it was easy to beat the likes of home favourite and UCI World Champion Matthias Dandois, Terry Adams (USA), Viki Gomez (ESP) and Thailand’s Poosa-art Pakphum, considered amongst the world’s top riders. But the Japanese riders brought new tricks to the Flatland stage – and ruled. Progression and style are key and the show was incredible. Kio Hayakawa received one of the highest scores ever given for Flatland at a UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup, beating his compatriots Yu Shoji and Moto Sasaki into 2nd and 3rd places respectively.
Park Women: Villegas upsets the odds
Less than a year after BMX Freestyle Park’s success at the 2020 Olympic Games, the gold, silver and bronze medalists from Tokyo all reached the finals in Montpellier. It wasn’t going to be an easy job for the UCI judges to pick the podium in France. It was a surprise winner who emerged: Colombian Lizsurley Villegas managed to lay down such a great first run in the finals that it left everyone else trying to reach her score… and no one could!
Villegas’ twin sister scored 5th place in Montpellier while multiple UCI World Champion Hannah Roberts (USA) had to settle for 4th. Tokyo’s bronze medallist Nikita Ducarroz (Switzerland) flipped and 360’d her way to the podium (3rd) while Germany’s Lara Lessmann’s impressive run got her the silver spot. Olympic Champion Charlotte Worthington (GBR) came 7th.
Park Men: hometown rider boots podium
The very last event slot at the FISE was reserved for BMX Park Men, and for good reason. The riding has reached its highest ever level, and any one of the 12 finalists could have made the podium.
When riders pull the run that they want to, it is a joy for both them and the spectators whose enthusiasm helps boost them to the next level. The runs performed by the top nine in Montpellier might have won any other major competition.
When Frenchman Anthony Jeanjean rolled in for run number one in front of his home crowd it was another of those goosebump moments. Jeanjean ended up in 3rd place, behind Olympic Gold medallist Logan Martin (Australia). Victory went to 2019 UCI World Cup winner Rimu Nakamura, of Japan. It was Jeanjean’s first UCI World Cup podium, a good omen for the man who has his sights set on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.