Wintertime is White Style time

12 Dec 2014

(Antoine Bizet/WhiteStyle2014 photo Bartek Wolinski)

Wintertime is White Style time

Pull out your hats and gloves because wintertime is White Style time! On January 30^th2015, mountain bike pro’s will head back into the Alps for the first FMB World Tour event of the season. The silver event held on snow is the first time fans can see what the riders have been working on during the off-season. With a course made completely from snow, White Style is no walk in the park. You can expect to see some big names this winter in Leogang.

(Nicholi Rogatkin/WhiteStyle2014 Photo Christoph Laue)

Standing at the bottom of the course, looking up at the chain of huge snow kickers, it’s hard to believe that when the floodlights come on, the athletes will start flipping, spinning and whipping their way down. Over the last 9 years White Style has been a salvation for mountain bike fans looking to escape the winter months and enjoy some rad slopestyle action.

(DarylBrown/WhiteStyle2014 Photo Christoph Laue)

The riders’ field is still not confirmed, but you can expect a heavy line up of athletes eager to throw down their best tricks. This is a pre-season opportunity for athletes to not only get the first FMB ranking points in the bag, but also warm up for the upcoming season. Getting focused and tuning into competition mode also requires practice. In the past, White Style has surprised us more than once. We have seen big tricks go down like Pavel Alekhin’s (RUS) backflip double tailwhip in 2013 and rookie riders like Nicholi Rogatkin (USA) breakthrough into the pro scene.

(NicoScholze/WhiteStyle2014 Photo Christoph Laue)

This year was Antoine Bizet’s for the taking. The Frenchman put together an impressive run, finishing off with a double backflip to seal the victory. His win at White Style was his first ever victory at an international contest. Rising talent Nicholi Rogatkin celebrated his second place and Swede Anton Thelander secured third.