FMB Diamond Series: Round 2 this weekend

·        LIVE webcast on www.fmbworldtour.com : Finals on Saturday, June 27^th at 4:45 pm (CEST)

·         The second round of six FMB Diamond Series stops

·         Stacked rider line up with top 10 athletes from 2014 already pre-qualified.

·         Check out the Swatch Prime Line teaser here: https://youtu.be/AzPIu6JX7Sg

Munich, June 23^rd 2015 – Round 2 of the FMB Diamond Series brings the world to Munich, Germany for Swatch Prime Line! After round 1 in New Zealand and a three month break, the top FMB contenders are reenergized, and have even more tricks dialed-in to show off at the first European Diamond Series event this season. Brett Rheeder currently leads the standings after Crankworx Rotorua – but close behind, Nicholi Rogatkin and Thomas Genon are eager to jump ahead here in Europe. You  can watch the top athletes drop in for Swatch Prime Line, live on fmbworldtour.com on Saturday, June 27^th from 4:45pm (CEST). Take a look at the event trailer here: https://youtu.be/AzPIu6JX7Sg

Some of the riders have been attending FMB Gold and Silver events across Europe, while others have been focusing hard on dialing in their best tricks for round 2 of the FMB Diamond Series. Here, the current ranking leader, Brett Rheeder could secure his position even more with a win, or his closest rivals, Nicholi Rogatkin and Thomas Genon could jump ahead and put the pressure on the only X Games MTB Slopestyle Gold medalist. Once again, the top 10 athletes from the 2014 Diamond Series ranking are automatically qualified for Swatch Prime Line, so the competition could not be on more of a knife-edge. Here is the rider line up:

Deeply missed in the line up is Martin Soderstrom who unfortunately broke his leg. We all wish him a fast recovery. Anton Thelander is no stranger to Olympia Park after winning Red Bull Phenom here just 2 years ago – he will replace Martin as first alternate in the line up. A keen addition to the list is BMX legend Ryan Nyquist, who after a strong performance at 26TRIX not 2 weeks ago has secured the event wildcard from Olympia Park Munich. The German crowds are excited to see this legendary athlete take on Swatch Prime Line. Also at 26TRIX, Tom van Steenbergen won the FMB Wildcard and will certainly strengthen the Canadian force. Reigning Champion, Louis Reboul will return to defend his title, but can he win again on this bigger and longer course? Swatch Pro Team athlete and former World Champion, Sam Pilgrim will also be in Munich to throw down for the crowds.

On Friday June 26^th, 24 invited riders will be cut down to 12 during qualifying. Then the finals on Saturday will give the athletes 2 runs to go big, be victorious and claim some big points towards the FMB Diamond Series standings. The contest is another chance for the FMB Factory Teams to climb the standings. Currently Specialized lead the way, but with Martin Soderstrom out, can American rider Nicholi Rogatkin keep them ahead or will the Canyon Factory Team take over the lead? With a strong Canadian presence, maybe we will see TREK C3 Project move in front. You can follow the rankings on www.fmbworldtour.com.

Save the date and tune in for the live webcast. Here are the viewing times:

SATURDAY, 27 JUNE, 4:45PM CEST

SATURDAY, 27 JUNE, 7:45AM PDT

SATURDAY, 27 JUNE, 10:45AM EDT

SUNDAY, 28 JUNE, 0:45AM AEST

SUNDAY, 28 JUNE, 2:45AM NZST

Useful links:

Check out the new FMB World Tour teaser here: http://youtu.be/G72oFgGHsoM

More information about the FMB Diamond Series can be found on the FMB World Tour website:  http://www.fmbworldtour.com

For news and updates follow FMB World Tour on: www.facebook.com/fmbworldtour & www.twitter.com/fmbworldtour as well as Instagram!

FMB Diamond Series 2015 Event Calendar

Last year was the debut of the FMB Diamond Series, comprising of the five biggest events around the world. Brandon Semenuk took his third FMB World Championship title last year, but riders like Brett Rheeder, Anthony Messere and Thomas Genon were close behind. Now, a new season is on the horizon and it’s time for the 2015 battle to commence. To learn more about the 2015 FMB Diamond Series events, click here

Alongside the renowned Diamond events, Crankworx Whistler Slopestyle (CAN) and Red Bull Rampage (USA), three more contests, Crankworx Rotorua (NZL), Swatch Prime Line Munich (GER) and Crankworx Les 2 Alpes (FRA) are all on the schedule.

The top 10 athletes from the 2014 FMB Diamond Series are automatically qualified for the Diamond events and a shot at the 2015 world title. The next eight athletes will be selected in order of the world ranking – taken three weeks before each Diamond event. This means that for the remaining eight riders, Gold and Silver events are an important step to qualify or keep their spot into the Diamond Series stops. Six more riders will then be invited: the event host can give away five wildcards and the FMBA can grant one wildcard to a deserving athlete. The top 10 pre-qualified athletes for the 2015 FMB Diamond Series are:

Athletes that are not pre-qualified for the Diamond stops will have to secure their invitations at the Gold and Silver events. Heavy weight Gold events, such as FISE Montpellier (FRA), 26TRIX (AUT) and the Colorado Freeride Festival (USA) are also confirmed. The Silver event Vienna Air King (AUT) will be celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year. More Gold, Silver and Bronze events are still to register and one of the riders’ favorite, the Bearclaw Invitational (CAN) is still to be confirmed - so there is much to look forward to!

• Click here
• FMB Diamond Series: 2 events in Europe, 2 stops in North America, 1 brand new event in New Zealand
• For more information about the FMB World Tour 2015 event structure click here
• here
• All the action from the FMB Diamond series will be broadcasted live on and

Next FMB Diamond Series event: Crankworx Rotorua, March 29^th 2015 (Rotorua, NZL).

Useful links:

More information about the Diamond Series can be found on the FMB World Tour website:  www.fmbworldtour.com

For news and updates follow FMB World Tour on: facebook.com/fmbworldtour & twitter.com/fmbworldtour and Instagram.com/fmbworldtour