That’s A Wrap On The 2021 FMB World Tour Season

Well riders, it’s hard to believe it, but that’s a wrap on the 2021 FMB World Tour Season.

We knew this year was going to be big when Highline Slopestyle saw Harriet Burbidge-Smith take strides towards more representation for women in freeride, as Australia’s first female competitor in Slopestyle.

From the pros continuing to progress the sport, pushing themselves to their outermost limits, to up-and-coming riders making the ultimate impression on the international mountain biking community, this year has been impressive, to say the least.

While this by no means captures the infinite feats that were accomplished by riders over the course of the past 12 months, we have rounded up some highlight moments that truly represent the sport of mountain biking.

Diamond level competition returned to the calendar with Crankworx Innsbruck where the 2020 Red Bull Rookie of the Year, Garret Mechem, showed off his skills on the world’s stage.

Highland Mountain Bike Park hosted its first ever Slopestyle Series, bringing together a group of enthusiastic athletes to kick off summer in the Northern Hemisphere! This set expectations high for the remaining two events and… spoiler alert… they were far surpassed.

The Davos Dirt Jam got things rolling on the Swiss Dirt Series – a three-part dirt jump series hosted across various scenic locations in mountainous Switzerland – and promoted the next generation of riders in a constructive, competitive environment.

The Züri Dirt Contest – the second installment of the Swiss Dirt Series – featured an action-packed, two-part weekend event, a highlight of which was Kathi Kuypers and Gemma Corbera taking part in the men’s qualifying runs.

Red Bull took over the mountain biking community two weekends in a row, with Denmark’s Red Bull Copenride and Poland’s Red Bull Roof Ride.

Red Bull Copenride saw Tim Bringer introduce two “World’s First” in competition with his flair-drop and flair-whip, while Nicholi Rogatkin pulled out a 1440 for the second time ever in a FMB competition. However, Emil Johansson brought it home with a jaw-dropping run that featured an opposite 360 tailwhip, alleyoop double barspin, and backflip double tailwhip.

If you can believe it, the following weekend was even crazier with the Godziek brothers finally seeing their dream track come to life, as 28 competitors dropped into a Slopestyle course that started at the top of Katowice’s International Conference Centre. More than 20,000 spectators showed up to Poland host its very first FMB Gold level event and turn the city’s center into a mountain biking mecca.

The second event of Highland Mountain Bike Park’s Freebird Slopestyle Series brought in more than double the number of young riders seen only a few months ago, making it very clear that mountain biking is a growing and ever-evolving sport. The same weekend in late August also saw the About You Pangea Festival and the Muret Bike Show bring together riders in Germany and in France, respectively, for FMB Bronze level events focused on promoting upcoming talent.

As event organizers of the Freebird Slopestyle Series put it, already looking ahead to the 2022 season and beyond, these festivals have been a “pretty big success,” and we would have to agree.

The FMB World Tour overtook Germany during the first two weekends of September when four festivals – 10 Jahre Mimo Dirtjam, 4 Bikes Festival, KMC Dirtwies Ride, Heldentag – took place simultaneously and brought all the vibes a rider could ever dream of. To quote those that took in the experience these back-to-back biking weekends brought, it was “no filler all action.”

The Crankworx World Tour introduced world-class riders to the expert workings of Brett Rheeder and Matt MacDuff during Crankworx British Columbia when the dynamic duo unveiled their newly designed Slopestyle course. Built with “features that allow the rider[s] to focus on their runs, rather than the course itself,” Crankworx BC brought some of the best Slopestyle action we’ve seen in a long time.

Crankworx Rotorua, the final Slopestyle event of the year, ended the 2021 FMB World Tour season on the highest of high notes as Emil Johansson took what was rightfully his after an incredibly impressive season – the infamous Triple Crown of Slopestyle. Johansson finished his season as the second ever rider to earn the award (Nicholi Rogatkin took it in 2018), while also walking away as the Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Champion.

Chance Moore took home the fan-voted 2021 Best Line Award after dropping into an absolutely epic run featuring four hits that were simply… flawless. Following Moore were Lukas Skiöld and Kaidan Ingersoll in second and third place, respectively, with their impressive runs that got us stoked for what’s to come during the 2022 season.

Alejandro Bonafe was named the 2021 Red Bull Rookie of the Year after committing to raining hard and racing harder in what was undoubtably a very challenging, very daunting season. Bonafe had a lot to say about the past 12 months and how it got him to where he is now, plus he’s already looking ahead to next year when he gets to ride with the pros at Crankworx Innsbruck!

That’s all she wrote on the 2021 FMB World Tour Season! It’s been one wild ride this past year, but it has absolutely been for the best with the way that the mountain biking community has continued to show up, support riders, and progress the sport. To say that we’re stoked for next season would be the understatement of the century, but we’re going to anyway because… well… we’re stoked.

It’s not goodbye, it’s see you soon, riders. Here’s to an off-season filled with good vibes, good times, and good riding.