FMBA Announces Trailblazing Winners of the 2023 Best Trick Award
December 20, 2023The Freeride Mountain Bike Association (FMBA) is thrilled to unveil the winners of this year’s Best Trick Award, celebrating male and female riders unafraid to push boundaries, catalyzing a new level of advancement in the sport.
All freeride mountain bike athletes holding an FMB World Tour or Amateur Men’s License were invited to submit a video to showcase their most remarkable trick performed at a FMB sanctioned Dirt Jump or Slopestyle event of the current World Tour season. Exceptions apply to athletes participating in Diamond Level events during this season unless they have received a wildcard invitation, and to tricks executed at events without an official judged score and rank.
The FMB Judges Panel, consisting of accredited judges, ex-athletes, and advisors, assessed all submitted tricks based on difficulty, progression, creativity, execution and hype value. The feature on which each winning Best Trick had been performed on, has also been considered towards end results. In addition to prize money, all winners will receive a 2024 FMB World Tour license and a social media feature on the FMB channel.
Here are the winners of the FMB Best Trick Award across all five categories:
- Gold Level Male – Christian Arehart (USA)
- Silver Level Female – Patricia Druwen (GER)
- Silver Level Male – Gaelen Slaney (AUS)
- Bronze Level Female – Alma Wiggberg (SWE)
- Bronze Level Male – Viggo Westerlund (SWE)
Christian Arehart not only grabbed the Best Trick Award at the Gold Level, but also made history at the Big White Invitational by stomping a Front Flip Superman Seat Grab, as the first person to ever land this trick in a competition.
In the Silver Level category, Patricia Druwen, recently named “Female Red Bull Rookie of the Year”, landed a Backflip Double Bar Spin at Züri Dirt Contest, securing her a gold medal at the event and the Best Trick award for the second year in a row. Gaelen “Lenny” Slaney triumphed with a Front Flip Suicide No-Hander at this year’s Birell BikeFest in Slovakia, securing the Best Trick Award in the male category.
The Best Trick Award for both the men’s and women’s Bronze Category go to athletes from Sweden. Alma Wiggberg put down a 360 Bar Spin/Truck, while Viggo Westerlund showed off his exceptional skills with a 360 Bar Spin to Downside Tail Whip at the Fyrhuset Bikefight in their home country.
(c) Petter Persson
(c) Petter Persson
Grant “Chop” Fielder who was judging this year’s FMB Best Trick Award alongside Jakub Vencl, Anton Thelander, and Conor Macfarlane, was particularly impressed by the female athletes: “Yet again, our judge panel is blown away by what we’ve seen, especially in the women’s category. Patricia has barged her way to the top spot with her never-before-seen moves!” Overall, the judges were also amazed by the level of creativity and advancement displayed in all categories. Already having his eyes on the next year, Chop said: “We continued to be floored by the level in bronze and gold during the 2023 season. We can’t begin to imagine what 2024 season will be like.”
Find the videos of the 2023 Best Trick Award winners here: