FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 2 | Page 94

It was great to see the return of Switzerland’s Mat Rebeaud to the X-Fighters in Japan. Mat has had some heavy injuries to deal with over the last few years. Both the fans and his fellow riders were stoked to see him back on the bike and ri pping up the course in Osaka. The FMX veteran put in a solid run which oozed the smooth, floaty style that he’s known for. The highlight of his run was a sick 540 Nac Nac off the quarter pipe, which was enough to seal him a very respectable 5th place. The riders’ next chance to earn points toward the overall title will come on 27th June, when the series returns to the iconic Las Ventas bullring in Madrid, Spain. T £ Levi continues to raise the bar 94 | FreestyleXtreme p. Predrag Vuckovic and frankly unbelievable Bike Flip - he claimed that the spec of the ramp and landing were not right for his trick. It is worth mentioning that other riders such as Kyle Loza and Travis Pastrana have dedicated years to this trick with no success, so when Tom does throw it in a competition it will be something pretty special! p back to contents One of the biggest shocks over the weekend was France’s Thomas Pagès, who was tipped by most people to win in Osaka. Tom said he didn’t feel comfortable on the course and decided to sit out of the competition. He felt that due to his riding style, the set-up of the ramps and the level of difficulty of his unique tricks, the risk of injury could be too high. Even though the second quarter pipe on the course had been brought in especially for Tom so that he could throw his recently unveiled,