Swatch Rocket Air: Matt Jones is the first to fly into the year 3000
Rarely has the battle for victory at the Swatch Rocket Air been as dramatic as in the year 3000, where the organizer Flying Metal Crew beamed the riders and visitors alike. After taking it easy in the first final run, England's Matt Jones unpacked the hammer in the second run and took the lead with a monster run ahead of his compatriot Sam Pilgrim - where he would end up. Because neither Sam Pilgrim, Thomas Genon nor Nicholi Rogatkin managed a flawless run. As a result, none of these three riders were able to record a third victory at the Swatch Rocket Air. Matt Jones is only the fifth winner of the 9th Swatch Rocket Air after Rogatkin, Genon, Pilgrim and Martin Söderströmm. He relegated Alex Alenko and Sam Pilgrim to 2nd and 3rd place.
From a Swiss perspective, the 17-year-old Swiss high-flyer Lucas Huppert from Niederweningen, ZH, ensured the biggest success in years: With two convincing qualifying runs, he was the first local rider in a long time to qualify for the final, where he promptly became a crowd favorite. In the end, he finished the competition in 8th place out of 20 finalists - his best result on the FMB World Tour!
The organizing Flying Metal Crew is delighted that the whole event went off without a hitch. With the content, visual and technical implementation of the "Swatch Rocket Air 3000" motto, the organizers have once again outdone themselves and demonstrated real passion with great attention to detail. Hardly any other slopestyle course on the FMB World Tour is as well built, safe and unusual as the one in Thun, which the crew under Ramon Hunziker realized. All the more reason for riders and spectators to be excited about what the crew will come up with for the 10th edition from May 3-4, 2019.
The Swatch Rocket Air produced many astonished and smiling faces over the weekend, and all of the futuristic action probably impressed every one of the 10,000 or so visitors. If you want to see even more flying cyclists, Solothurn is the place to be from May 4 to 6. The Bike Days will host an FMB Silver event there, with riders such as Rocket Air winner Matt Jones and Nicholi Rogatkin providing high-level, adrenaline-filled competitions.
Note: This content has been automatically translated from German. Please report any incorrect translations.