Team Czech Republic wins the huge NIGHT of the JUMPs season finale and Luc Ackermann takes the top step of the podium.
On Saturday, Zurich experienced a gigantic season finale of the NIGHT of the JUMPs 2023. The 8,000 visitors in the Hallenstadion were served a Freestyle Motocross spectacle that left them breathless after three hours of extreme sports. For only the second time, the world’s longest running Freestyle Motocross sports series brought its extreme athletes to Zurich. In 2019, the FMX athletes celebrated their premiere in the Hallenstadion. For the first time, the NIGHT of the JUMPs brought the Freestyle of Nations to Switzerland’s largest city. Team World competed against the teams from the Czech Republic and Spain in various disciplines in Freestyle Motocross.
The sympathies of the visitors were clearly for Team World, where the local Swiss rider, Mat Rebeaud was the team captain, as well as the Australian Nitro World Games winner Harry Bink and German FMX World Champion and X Games winner Luc Ackermann.
FMX 2006 World Champion Rebeaud was also the first Team World rider to enter the Freestyle Contest. With his all new Stark Varg electric bike, he showed a solid run, which he completed with the Switchblade Flip. There were 46 points for this. For Team Czech Republic, Rebeaud’s old World Championship opponent and 2010 World Champion Libor Podmol started. With Supercan Flip or the Cliffhanger Flip, the older of the two Podmol brothers collected 70 points and won the Freestyle Heat 1 ahead of Spain’s Pedro Moreno, who scored 51 points with Superflip and 1-Hand Nac Underflip.
Afterwards, the Czech whipmaster Matej Cesak had to warm up. Together with Luc Ackermann, he flew in by helicopter from the famous Nürburgring track in Germany, where both were still jumping for Red Bull at lunch time that day. However, the helicopter landed late and so Matej could no longer train. But no problem for the Czech rider, who was also invited to the Best Whip Contest at X Games. With four test jumps, he went cold into the competition, pulled the flattest and biggest whips to win the trophy.
Team “Espania” got off to a massive start in Freestyle Heat 2. Marc Pinyol ignited an FMX fireworks display with Tsunami Flip, Frontflip and California Roll. He won this round with 74 points. Cesak scored 64 points with Lazyflip, Clicker to Superflip and Seatgrab Flip without having trained a single one of these tricks here in the Hallenstadion beforehand – madness. Finally, the Australian Harry Bink was able to finish a run without a fall for the first time at the NIGHT of the JUMPs. With Tsunami Indy Flip and Hartattack Indy Flip he scored 61 points.
At the side of Luc Ackermann, however, Bink was able to triumph in the Synchro Contest. They won it with massive tsunami flips and good synchronicity ahead of Team Czech Republic with the Podmol Brothers. Spain only came in 3rd place after Marc Pinyol’s horrendous crash on the Front Flip in synchro with Pedro Moreno’s backflip.
In Freestyle Heat No. 3, five-time FMX World Champion Maikel Melero from Spain showed a spectacular run. Tsunami Flip, California Roll, Front Flip, Seatgrab Indy Flip plus a no-hand front flip as a double up trick. This earned him the highest score of the day so far with 78 points. Filip Podmol wanted to defend his third place in the overall standings with massive tricks and extensions. He would succeed with tricks like the Cliffhanger Flip, Switchblade Flip, Tsunami Flip, Clicker Indy Flip and Hartattack Flip. But it got exciting again, because he couldn’t pull off the Doublegrab Flip as the last jump and very narrowly avoided a huge crash. With 70 points, however, he secured bronze in the World Tour Championship.
Afterwards it was the turn of the German FMX World Champion and X Games winner Luc Ackermann. And he had already had a long day, with the Nürburgring and helicopter journey behind him. But the spectators pushed him so much that the exertions were not noticeable. Holygrab, 360, Clicker Superflip, Tsunami Flip, Frontflip, Cliffhanger, Seatgrab Flip and as a crowning finale the Double Backflip. The Swiss completely freaked out and celebrated Luc, who also received the highest rating with 86 points. Thus, the German Freestyle Terminator was also confirmed as World Tour Champion 2023. With five victories in five contests, he scored the maximum number of points of the NIGHT of the JUMPs season (100 points). Maikel Melero secured second place (86 points) ahead of Filip Podmol (66 points) with his run.
Finally, Luc Ackermann was able to win the Best Trick together with Harry Bink and the Swiss MTB star Lucas Huppert.
However, the day’s victory in the Freestyle of Nations went to Team Czech Republic ahead of Team World and Team Spain in third place. Thus, the team from the Czech Republic around Filip Podmol, Matej Cesak and Libor Podmol also won the Tour in the nations classification.
The 2023 NIGHT of the JUMPs season is over. After the winter break, the new tour starts on April 13th with the NIGHT of the JUMPs in Munich. The Swiss fans can also rejoice. On September 7, 2024, the extreme athletes will return to the Hallenstadion.
Zurich – 09.09.2023
Results
Overalls
- Team Czech Republic 386 Points
- Team World 360 Points
- Team Spain 348 Points
Freestyle Motocross Run 1
- Team Spain – Pedro Moreno 51 Points
- Team Czech Republic – Libor Podmol 70 Points
- Team World – Mat Rebeaud 48 Points
Freestyle Motocross Run 2
- Team Spain – Marc Pinyol 74 Points
- Team Czech Republic – Matej Cesak 64 Points
- Team World – Harry Bink 61 Points
Freestyle Motocross Run 3
- Team World – Luc Ackermann 86 Points
- Team Spain – Maikel Melero 78 Points
- Team Czech Republic – Filip Podmol 72 Points
Whip Contest
- Team Czech Republic – Matej Cesak 100 Points
- Team Spain – Marc Pinyol 80 Points
- Team World – Harry Bink 65 Points
Synchro Contest
- Team World – Ackermann/Bink 100 Points
- Team Czech Republic – F.Podmol/L.Podmol 80 Points
- Team Spain – Moreno/Pinyol 65 Points
Best Trick
- Team Germany –Ackermann/Bink/Huppert 85 Points
- Team Czech – F. Podmol/Cesak/Zielinka 67 Points
- Team Spain – Melero/Pinyol 49 Points
Final NIGHT of the JUMPs World Tour Single Ranking 2023 (after five contests)
- Luc Ackermann (GER) 100 Points
- Maikel Melero (ESP) 86 Points
- Filip Podmol (CZE) 66 Points
- Marc Pinyol (ESP) 60 Points
- Matej Cesak (CZE) 50 Points
- David Rinaldo (FRA) 48 Points
- Petr Pilat (CZE) 33 Points
- Dany Torres (ESP) 32 Points
- Libor Podmol (CZE) 21 Points
- Kai Haase (GER) 18 Points
- Harry Bink (AUS) 17 Points
- Brice Izzo (FRA) 10 Points
- Pedro Moreno (ESP) 8 Points
- Pepa Aaron (CZE) 7 Points
- Mat Rebeaud (SUI) 7 Points
Final NIGHT of the JUMPs World Tour Nations Ranking 2023 (after five contests)
- Czech Republic 85 Points
- World 70 Points
- Spain 70 Points