Bike
The biggest event in pump track racing reaches its finale in Santiago, Chile. Read all about what you can expect from the event and get all you need to know about this exciting form of bike racing.
The discipline of pump track racing continues to go from strength to strength. The bike sport, which sees riders go bar-to-bar or against the clock through the rollers and berms on a tight asphalt track, is now in the fourth year of organised competition through the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships.
Qualifying events take place around the world throughout the year, culminating in a World Championship final that features the best pump track racers on the planet. In 2021, the final took place at the Parque das Nações in Lisbon, Portugal. This year's World Championships will be heading to Chile and the Sante Fe Bike Park in the capital city, Santiago.
Like other UCI cycling disciplines, the men's and women's winners are awarded a rainbow stripes jersey that only they can wear should they compete in a registered UCI pump track competition in the next year.
01
What is pump track and how do you ride it?
A pump track is essentially a circuit of rollers, banked turns and jumps that loops back on itself. The circuit is ridden by the momentum of 'pumping' on the bike instead of regular pedalling. Riders use the track features to gain speed and attack the track with the aim of going as fast as possible.
Pump tracks are a very good way of learning basic bike skills. A BMX or a mountain bike are typically ridden on pump tracks, but you can ride almost anything on it. For Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championship events, most racers take to the track on BMXs, dirt jump bikes or mountain bikes. At this level, bike setup is important in getting marginal gains out on the track. Tyre pressure, wheel size and suspension settings all play a part.
02
How do you qualify for the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships finals?
The Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships finals are the culmination of series of qualifying events, where athletes have raced on tracks across the world to see if they can get a coveted place in Santiago and win the rainbow jersey.
In 2022, qualifying events saw visits to Italy, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, Czech Republic and many more countries. The top four men and women from each country qualifier event have the right to race at the finals in Santiago should they wish to go.
At last year's finals in Lisbon, 59 competitors arrived in Portugal from 19 countries, including riders from Lesotho, Argentina, Colombia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Italy and Belgium.
03
Where exactly are finals taking place?
Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships will be taking place at the Sante Fe Bike Park in Santiago, Chile. Located in Las Condes, Santiago, the Santa Fe Bike Park project will have the biggest Velosolutions Pump Track course in Latin America as well as trails, dirt jumps and a skills zone nearby for bikers of all levels to enjoy.
The pump track in Santa Fe has a length 262m and it will feature 34 rollers and have two 180 degree right-hand turns, three left-hand 180 degree turns and another two 90 degree left-hand turns.
04
The racing format
There are two formats used for racing under Red Bull Pump Track World Championships rules. There's the more commonly seen head-to-head battle and also a time trial format. The time trial format is used if the track doesn't allow two athletes to race at the same time.
The World Championship finals in Santiago will be contested using the time trial format, essentially flying laps with the time starting and stopping when the rider crosses the finish line. Each round is run in an open session format and each individual athlete will have the chance to do as many laps as possible during the session to better their time, usually two to three runs.
All riders will compete in the first round, with the lowest number plates starting first. The top 16 times advance to the 1/8 finals, where the start position is determined by the placing from the first round, with the fastest going first.
From here, the process repeats itself and the top eight will advance to the quarter-finals. The same happens to select the four riders who will compete in the semi-finals, at which point things change. The fastest two from the semi-finals make it through to the Main Final, while the remaining settle for the Small Final.
In both the Main Final and Small Final, riders only get one shot at a fastest run, with the slowest rider from the first round starting first.
Men and women will have separate competitions, meaning the UCI will award two rainbow jerseys at the end of the contests.
05
Who will be competing at the 2022 finals
Reigning world champions, Belgian Aiko Gommers and France's Eddy Clerte, are in Chile to defend their women's and men's titles respectively.
Other names to look out for include, in the men, last year's bronze medalist Thibault Dupont and Crankworx festival regulars Niels Belsink and Bas van Steenbergen. For the women, 2020 World Champion Payton Ridenour is on the start list, as is Switzerland's Christa Von Niederhäusern. These two finished second and third to Gommers in Lisbon last year. Former BMX race world champion Caroline Buchanan is also slated to start in Chile.
06
What happened at the 2021 Worlds?
The 2019 winners Tommy Zula and Payton Ridenour, both from the US, weren't able to make it back-to-back wins [there was no 2020 Worlds]. In the men's event, Eddy Clerte sealed gold, with Philip Schaub from Germany in silver position and Thibault Dupont claiming the bronze medal.
In the women's event, Aiko Gommers stormed to the gold medal. Ridenour took silver and Christa Von Niederhäusern of Switzerland had to make do with bronze.
07
Where can I watch the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships finals?
The 2022 Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships will be broadcast live via the Velosolutions YouTube page and Pinkbike.com from 8pm UTC.
You can learn more about Red Bull Pump UCI Track World Championships right here.
