BMX’s newest event Red Bull Featured is coming to Manchester Central this evening where pulling off the most insane trick is the aim of the game.
The former railway station will be turned into one huge track where 16 male and female riders will compete to see who can be crowned a Featured champion.
But how does it all work? Here is a brief explainer on what to expect in this creative competition.
What are the rules?
Riders will be split in two groups of eight where they will take turns before returning to the start when they have completed their go.
Each session lasts 16 minutes with four features for every athlete to tackle: High Air, Sub Box, Quarter Pipe, and Box Jump.
High Air is one of the most daring attempts with a focus on hitting the “highest” possible trick – the rider achieving the most distance from the field wins the feature.
To make things even more interesting each competitor has one wildcard which can be pulled out at any point during the session.
This will allow a rider to have another chance to pull off their best trick on a feature of their choice.
How will it be judged?
While attempting these daring tricks, competitors will also have to think about hitting the six categories.
Each rider will be scored out of 60 for the individual features with difficulty, progression, execution, amplitude and landing making up the score.
The winner of the event will be the rider who has accumulated the most points overall across each of the four features.
Riders will not lose any points for failing with points awarded on the best tricks, allowing for more ambitious attempts.
The judges line-up is headed up by Olympic judge David Cleworth who is joined by Olympic champion Charlotte Worthington, bronze medallist Declan Brooks, and Red Bull pro Danny Dhers.
Worthington spoke to Mancunian Matters the appeal was for riders and fans alike.
She said: “For riders it’s big risk, big reward, and everyone wants to get their name on a world first.
“BMX is a very visual sport, so fans don’t need to know the ins and outs to know that if someone’s upside down, then that’s crazy.”
Who will be competing?
It is a field packed with world champions and some of the most innovative BMX stars out there, including some from close to home.
Team GB’s Kieran Riley is no stranger to winning in this sport with an Olympic silver medal already under his belt, he will be looking to pull off something spectacular.
Teammate Jude Jones will be competing alongside him and is looking forward to showing what he can do on the night.
He said: “Not a day goes by where I don’t think of one of the worlds first that is yet to be ticked off in my brain.”
American Hannah Roberts has been labelled as a ‘leader’ of the women’s side and is a six time world champion who will have something different up her sleeve.
The full list is available here.
Organisers are promising an unmissable event and a great showcase for Manchester as a cycling city.
Main image by Inja Pavlić from Unsplash
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