It’s Back: The FMB Diamond Series 2016

Mar 7, 2016
by FMB World Tour  
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The FMB Diamond Series is back! As we speak the top FMB athletes are jet-setting across the globe to New Zealand for the initial FMB Diamond Series stop at Crankworx Rotorua. This season, the FMB Diamond Series ranking will be made up of five events: all four Diamond stops and, the best result from a Gold event, taking place right before the last Diamond stop. The top eight athletes from 2015 are pre-qualified for the Diamond Series and the season finale will return to the home of slopestyle, Red Bull Joyride at Crankworx Whistler. Supporters can follow all the live action from New Zealand this weekend on Red Bull TV.

The 2016 world title battle will commence at the first Diamond event, Crankworx Rotorua on March 12th. With the first points on the board, it will become clear who put in the extra effort in the off-season. Athletes will then have eleven weeks to fine-tune their tricks before the second stop, Crankworx Les Gets (FRA). The third event will be shortly after at Swatch Prime Line (GER) as part of the MASH Action Sports Festival at Munich’s Olympic Park. While in previous years, the season finale was held at the infamous Red Bull Rampage, this season, the showdown will be held at the fourth Diamond stop and the mecca of slopestyle: Red Bull Joyride at Crankworx Whistler.

Wolisphoto

Diamond stops are the toughest, biggest and most competitive events in the sport. However, Gold events are also crucial for having a well-rounded season, which is why the fifth result counting towards an athlete’s standing in the Diamond Series will be from a Gold event. Their best result from any Gold event held before the finale at Crankworx Whistler will count for the overall result. Supporting progression is a major goal of the FMB World Tour. Which is why this is also a great opportunity for upcoming riders, who might not yet be invited to Diamond stops, gain experience competing against the very best in the sport. Heavyweight Gold events, like the newly upgraded Swatch Rocket Air (SUI) and long-standing contests, 26TRIX in Leogang (AUT) and the Colorado Freeride Festival in Winterpark (USA) are all confirmed. The FISE World Series will bring three Gold events to the tour this year as well, including MTB contests in Montpellier (FRA), Chengdu (CHI) and Edmonton (CAN). The latter two events, however, take place after the Diamond Series finale on August 20th.

FMBA

The top slopestyle athletes are gearing up for another epic throw down at the world’s toughest events. After a remarkable 2015 season, will Thomas Genon be able to stay on top? Maybe Brett Rheeder will break through and bring home the world title he has come so close to clinching in the past. Or perhaps trick machine, Nicholi Rogatkin will ride to the top. The FMB Diamond Series is their proving ground.

Competing in the FMB Diamond Series, athletes’ efforts will count towards the most elite world ranking in the sport. The top 8 Diamond Series riders from last season are automatically invited to compete at all 2016 Diamond Events. The remaining spots will be decided based on the FMB World Ranking – taken four weeks before each Diamond event as well as deserving wildcards.

Athletes that are not pre-qualified for the Diamond stops will have to secure their invitations at the Gold and Silver events, the FMBA will hand out two wildcards for each Diamond Event. With the inclusion of a Gold event result in the FMB Diamond Series, there is plenty of motivation to climb the rankings. More information about Silver and Bronze events can be found on the FMB World Tour website. A full FMB World Tour calendar will be published soon.

Like the newly upgraded Swatch Rocket Air (SUI) and long-standing contests, 26TRIX in Leogang (AUT) and the Colorado Freeride Festival in Winterpark (USA) are all confirmed. The FISE World Series will bring three Gold events to the tour this year as well, including MTB contests in Montpellier (FRA), Chengdu (CHI) and Edmonton (CAN). The latter two events, however, take place after the Diamond Series finale on August 20th.

The breakdown:
➢ FMB Diamond Series comprises of 5 results: 4 Diamond events plus 1 Gold event result prior to August 20th 2016.
➢ Season finale will take place at Red Bull Joyride at Crankworx Whistler.
➢ Silver and Bronze event applications are still open. Hosts can apply here
➢ Follow RBTV for Live event broadcasts
➢ Athletes can still register for their FMB license, here.

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MENTIONS: @FMBA / @rasoulution / @officialcrankworx



Author Info:
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Member since Mar 1, 2011
143 articles

26 Comments
  • 38 14
 Glad to see rampage isn't on there. It's a great event to watch but puts a ton of pressure on slope-style guys to ride some of the gnarliest freeride lines in the world
  • 36 2
 I'm sad to see it not on there, it's the FREERIDE mtb tour, not just Slopestyle. They need some more big bike events on there for the true freeride guys.
  • 10 0
 Smb? Slopestyle more than big mountain or freeride
  • 4 0
 @Gvus2001 They could definitely go that way as well, If it was all gnarly big mountain stuff like rampage and then only joyride (where we were seeing injuries/falls like rampage) I would have said that. It's really just a "one of these things is not like the others" sort of deal
  • 3 2
 @j12j ya I see what you are saying, just wish it was balanced. Maybe add some of the fest series events to the diamond series to go with the three crankworx stops and it would be perfect.
  • 5 2
 Not to mention that the judges suck at rampage
  • 16 0
 Edmonton! Let me get that #AlbertaBoy
  • 2 0
 hahahaha its lit! honestly town is the last place i expected a freeride/slope event, but hey I'm happy its within an hour and half from me!
  • 5 0
 We need a REAL freeride mountain bike world tour. Nothing wrong with FMB as a series, it's just that it's slopestyle, not freeride.

If there could be a big-mountain type of tour, with events similar to Rampage, that would be fantastic.

Again, slopestyle is great, but we also need more big bike competitions, with natural terrain and minimal grooming/trail work.
  • 8 0
 is there any news about rampage ?
  • 3 23
flag MTB-Colada (Mar 7, 2016 at 17:12) (Below Threshold)
 Isn't it once every two years only?
  • 6 0
 Should be this October. Just not part of the FMB this year.
  • 4 0
 Haha, OK, my bad.
  • 4 0
 @MTB-Colada since 2012, Rampage happens every year. As ridehard84 mentioned, usually around October.
  • 3 0
 I think it is ok for Rampage to be separate from the FMB tour. Rampage is an event that you have to want yourself as an individual. This way the level of controversy should drop quite a bit. I agree forcing the other riders to participate is putting people at risk who may not want anything to do with risk at that level. The good part about this change, is that the only riders you will see in "Rampage" are the individuals who actually want to be there.
  • 7 1
 Gold event in Edmonton!!!?? Stoked.
  • 1 0
 I think FMB finally made some much needed changes. I love Rampage, but it was a poor fit with the rest of the series. As a fan, I'd like to see more events included in the series. Requiring the champion to only attend five events over six months never really allows the excitement to build. On the other hand, making the Gold events mean something again is a huge step in the right direction.
  • 4 0
 Nice to see that 1 Gold event is mandatory so the big names don't skip them completely like in previous years.
  • 3 0
 First ever Fmb event in Alberta and its a gold in Edmonton?!? lol ok!
  • 1 0
 Excited to see what the season brings! Hopefully we get some young guys that surprise us.
  • 2 1
 Why the hell is it in edmonton...you have bc so close, you know with actual mountains
  • 1 0
 Its because a couple hundred thousand people came out for red bull crashed ice. Edmonton showed that we will support events like this. Guess we got this for 3 years!
  • 1 0
 Rampage now caps off the Fest Series. Looking for Big Mountain Freeriding, watch the media coming out of the Fest Series.
  • 2 1
 Edmonton is on the roster. We're sending gaps over the potholes.
  • 1 1
 Crankworx fmb tour







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