The 2022 Red Bull Pump Track Qualifier Catch Up
24th June 2022
The 2022 Red Bull Pump Track Qualifier Catch Up
24th June 2022
The UCI Red Bull Pump Track World Championships qualifiers are now in full swing, with riders across the globe looking for a spot in the World Championship Finals in Santiago, Chile from the 18th – 20th November, and a chance to take the coveted UCI Rainbow stripes from Eddy Clerte and Aiko Gommers, the 2021 World Champions.
There are a whopping 25 qualifiers lined up this year and the series kicked off in Bariloche, Argentina on March 5th, with Chile’s Sebastian Mendez taking the men’s class and Argentina’s Rocio Fernandez wrapping up her ticket to the finals in the women’s class. We covered the Argentinian opening round HERE, so jump over for all the results and photos, but we’ve got some catching up to do, so here’s a quick rundown of the events since Bariloche …
Italy: Ponte Buggianese | 14-15 May
Photos Andrea Gianaph
The opening European round of the year happened in Ponte Buggianese in the Tuscany region of Italy, not a bad place to ride your bike. The ‘Bike 360’ park is all things to all bikes with a cyclo-cross racetrack, freeride tracks, dirt jumps, a drop zone, two camps for training and an MTB school … and a Velosolutions Pump Track. 60,000m2 of biking heaven.
In the Women’s category Kristína Madarásová took the win securing her ticket to the World Championships against the fastest qualifier Christa von Niederhäusern with only a 0.008 difference in a nail-biting final run.
Alessandro Bassi took the honours against Mattia Costerman after a small mistake from fastest qualifier Thibault Dupont in the men’s semis. The mistake left Dupont in third place for the day, but that’s still a plance at the finals in November.
Men:
1. Alessandro BASSI
2. Mattia COSTERMAN
3. Thibault DUPONT
4. Nils VON NIEDERHÄUSERN
Women:
1. Kristína MADARÁSOVÁ
2 Christa VON NIEDERHÄUSERN
3. Christelle BOIVIN
4. Michaela HÁJKOVÁ
Spain: Ainsa | 21 May
Photos Cesar Uliaque
The medieval hilltop village of Ainsa served as backdrop for the Spanish qualifier race along with the incredible mountain panoramas of the Pyrenees and Peña Montañesa beyond. The Velosolutions track covers a total area of 1,250 square metres, with some with very steep wallrides to add some extra interest.
Not content with his third place in Italy, French rider Thibault Dupont arrived in Spain with the intent of winning the paid trip to Chile. He led the field all day long with the fastest times from the get-go, securing his ticket to the World Championships. Young Slovakian MTB rider, Tommy Miskolci showed impressive pace after his 5th place in Italy to grab the second step on the podium in Spain.
In the Women’s category, Spanish rider Aina Gonzalez Grimau dominated, securing her trip to Chile in November for the big showdown.
Men:
1. Thibault DUPONT
2. Tommy MISKOLCI
3. Adrián GONZÁLEZ GRIMAU
4. Luis Eduardo HIDALGO ARMAS
Women:
1. Aina GONZALEZ GRIMAU
2. Ruth FRUTOS ROMEU
3. Maïa PLESSIS
USA: Gaston County | 21 May
Photos Brian Hall
The tight and technical Velosolutions Pump Track in Gaston County, North Carolina, played host to the first US qualifier of the year. The track, surrounded by forest in the 344-acre George Poston Park, is a perfectly sized inverted symmetrical track, ideal for head-to-head racing which has always produced some tense battles … this was the third time the series rolled into Gaston County.
Some heavy hitters turned up here including past World Champion Tommy Zula who is on a mission to reclaim the title. Zula took the win with a fastest time of 19.243 in the final against BMXer Alec Bob. On the women’s side of the draw, it came down to Rachel Mydock against Emily Hayes, who has plenty of experience of the format. After a long battle it was Mydock who took the win and is now planning her November trip to South America.
Men:
1. Tommy ZULA
2. Alec BOB
3. Brady KINCHELOE
4. Louis KAMINSKI
Women:
1. Rachel MYDOCK
2. Emily HAYES
3. Caitlyn FARMER
4. Kristie FRANKLIN
Belgium: Genk | 5 June
Photos Krew Collective
Sport Vlaanderen Genk, located on the doorstep of the Hoge Kempen National Park played host to the Belgian qualifier, the second visit to Belgium for the Red Bull Pump Track qualifiers. The pump track was built in 2019 by Velosolutions and is the first asphalted track in Belgium. It’s a single track with a total length of 250m making for a long, technical ride on race day.
The event in Genk, brought tension, the current World Champion, Eddy Clerte and rain, lots of rain. So much rain in fact that the event had to be brought to an early end and for the first time the final results had to be based on qualifying times! Never take it easy in the qualifying laps!
Canada’s Niels Bensink, so said the commentator, had a blistering qualifying time of 21.965 which earned him a fully paid trip to the Worlds. W1 Eddy Clerte’s qualifying time landed him in third, we now expect to see him turn up at another qualifier looking for the win.
Danielle Vrenegoor was quickest in the women’s category and will be joining Bensink on the plane heading south.
Men:
1. Niels BENSINK
2. Didi VAN TIGGEL
3. Eddy CLERTÉ
4. Wannes MAGDELIJNS
Women:
1. Daniëlle VRENEGOOR
2. Sanne WINTERS
3. Lies’L SCHEVENELS
There is still plenty of opportunities to throw your hat into the pump track ring starting this weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland …
UK, Edinburgh – 25 June
USA, Paris Texas – 2 July
Canada West, Langford – 3 July
Sweden, Are – 9 July
Germany, Berlin – 6 August
USA, St Charles County – 6 August
Switzerland, La Neuveville – 20 August
Norway, Harstad – 27 August
Netherlands, Eindhoven – 27 August
Canada, Lac-Delage – 1 September
Czech Republic, Heipark Tošovice – 17 September
World Championships, Santiago, Chile 18 – 20 November
