FMBA Makes Changes to the FMB World Tour

PRESS RELEASE: FMB World Tour

The FMB World Tour is heading into its ninth season and we are looking forward to tight competition this year. The instalment of the Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championship (SWC) has also brought a couple of additional changes to the FMB World Tour. Apart from introducing the first preliminary calendar of the new season and the FMB Wildcard Events for the SWC, other changes have also been made.

Preliminary Calendar
The FMBA anticipates that over 35 events will be a part of the FMB World Tour this year. Event organizers have already been signing up and we are stoked to see some events return to the tour and others premiere this year. If you have an event on the cards for 2018 and would like to sign-up to be a part of the tour, then go to the FMBA website to send off your application to the FMBA. If you are an athlete and just want to get out there and ride, then check out the preliminary calendar for the 2018 season below to see which events are still coming up or head to the FMBA website where the calendar will consistently be updated in the coming days and weeks with new events, that will be joining.

March 24, SWC Event, Crankworx Rotorua Slopestyle in Memory of McGazza, NZL
March 24, FMB Bronze Event, Diverse Night of the Jumps Tauron, Krakow, POL
April 28, FMB Gold Event, Swatch Rocket Air, Thun, SUI
May 5, FMB Silver Event, FMB Big Rise, Shenzhen, CHN
May 6, FMB Silver Event, Bike Days, Solothurn, SUI
May 12, FMB Gold Event, FISE Montpellier 2018, FRA
May 20, FMB Bronze Event, Outdoormix Festival, Embrun, FRA
May 26, FMB Bronze Event, Birell BikeFest 2018, Kalnica, SVK
June 16, SWC Event, Crankworx Innsbruck Slopestyle presented by Kenda, AUT
June 24, SWC Event, Crankworx Les Gets Slopestyle, FRA
July 7, FMB Gold Event, Big White Invitational Slopestyle hosted by Tom van Steenbergen, Kelowna, CAN
July 8, FMB Bronze Event, Big White Amateur Contest, Kelowna, CAN
July 14, FMB Gold Event, GlemmRide Slopestyle, Saalbach, AUT
July 14, FMB Bronze Event, Dirtpark Belsen Contest Vol. 7, GER
August 12, FMB Gold Event, OMarisquino, Vigo, ESP
August 18, SWC Event, Red Bull Joyride at Crankworx Whistler, CAN
November 4, FMB Gold Event, FISE Chengdu, CHN


FMB Wildcards for Slopestle World Championship Events
FMB athletes will be keeping a close eye on the select FMB Gold Events, where FMB Wildcards will be awarded a place at the SWC this season. These events will offer at least one FMB Wildcard at their contest, which will be awarded to the best-placed athlete that is not yet qualified for the following SWC event. The FMB Wildcard winners will be communicated after the respective cut off date of the SWC Event, which is six weeks prior.

Overview of FMB Wildcard Events 2018

1. Crankworx Innsbruck, AUT, June 16:
2 FMB Wildcards at Swatch Rocket Air, Thun, SUI, April 28

2. Crankworx Les Gets, FRA, June 24:
2 FMB Wildcards at FISE Montpellier, FRA, May 12

3. Red Bull Joyride at Crankworx Whistler, CAN, August 18:
1 FMB Wildcard at Big White Invitational, Kelowna, CAN, July 7 & 1 FMB Wildcard at GlemmRide, Saalbach, AUT, July 14


License structure
The FMBA has made it even easier to be a member and get to know what it is like to be part of the FMB World Tour:

1. FMB World Tour License
The FMB World Tour License makes it possible for athletes to compete at all FMB World Tour Events if they are qualified for the respective event level. Every athlete with this license will be listed in the FMB World Ranking. The FMBA has also reduced the cost by 50 Euros, offering the ticket to the FMB World Tour Ranking for 100 Euros this season. If you want to compete at Gold and Silver Events this season and get your hands on vital points in order to climb the ladder, then this is the license you will need to reach your goals.

1. FMB Free Amateur License
For athletes, who just want to compete at Bronze Level Events this year, the FMB is offering a free sign-up. Coming with no cost whatsoever, an athlete who registers for this license will be listed in the global amateur ranking. The best amateur at the end of the season will receive his FMB World Tour License for the following year so he can take the next step to compete and collect points for the FMB World Ranking.

Sign up for your license here: https://fmba.memberpro.net/main/body.cfm?menu=register


Points Structure
From this year onwards there will be 14 riders qualifying for SWC events. To ensure that young and proven talent still has a fair chance of moving up the FMB World Ranking, the FMBA has adjusted the points breakdown at FMB Gold and Silver Events. Gold Events will play an even bigger role in the future, as riders will be able to shake up rankings considerably by competing at these contests and taking away more points than previously. From this season onwards a win at Gold events will be rewarded with 100 points more than in the past and will be the equivalent of a sixth place at an SWC Event. The FMB World Tour Ranking already reflects these changes for the past 52 weeks. We are sure that young and talented athletes will take advantage of this and are super excited to see who will be the next to break into the elite of Slopestyle mountain biking.

Keep your eyes peeled for further information about live webcasts and calendar updates on www.fmbworldtour.com

Photos by Richkphotography, Dominik Bosshard, Cédric De Rodot