Six riders advance to the FMX qualifying event, in addition to one newly announced wildcard, joining 10 athletes invited directly to the final qualifiers of the Nitro World Games.
The Nitro World Games FMX lineup includes athletes from across the planet. Chile’s Javier Villegas, the first non-European rider to win the FIM FMX World Championship, topped the leader board during pre-qualifiers.
Christian Meyer, who came in second, is an up-and-comer from Spain (first place in the 2015 X Pilots FMX Tour; 2014 Spanish FMX Championship winner). Meyer also trains at a second home in Argentina.
Alastair Sayer – an X Games medalist who started riding in the Kalahari Desert in his native Botswana before his sixth birthday and has raced on the South African circuit – claimed third.
Australia’s Jarryd McNeil, took fourth. McNeil, with three X Games gold medals to his credit (including two golds this year) now wants to show the world the full extent of his skills.
Center of Gravity winner Kyle Demelo from Canada and Metal Mulisha member Cal Vallone from the U.S. round out the qualifiers. These six will join a hand picked Top 10 list of riders, chosen by an independent panel of industry leaders and former athletes, in the next phase of the competition.
Joining the pre-selected invitees and pre-qualifiers as a wildcard selection is veteran rider Steve Mini (Australia). These 17 athletes will clash at Rice-Eccles Stadium on July 15 – the day before the Nitro World Games. Only the eight highest scoring riders will advance to the inaugural Nitro World Games event on July 16.
FMX FINAL QUALIFIERS
Rob Adelberg (AUS)
Maikel Melero (ESP)
Libor Podmol (CZE)
Levi Sherwood (NZL)
Kyle Demelo (CAN)
Christian Meyer (ESP)
David Rinaldo (FRA)
Dany Torres (ESP)
Taka Higashino (JPN)
Steve Mini (AUS)
Alastair Sayer (RSA)
Cal Vallone (USA)
Adam Jones (USA)
Clinton Moore (AUS)
Josh Sheehan (AUS)
Javier Villegas (CHI)
Jarryd McNeil (AUS)
Nitro World Games is the next phase of Nitro Circus’ multi-year partnership with NBC Sports Ventures. Fans outside the U.S. can watch the July 16 final on Nitro Circus’ worldwide webcast.