• Country

Speed and Jumps at the 4X ProTour

By Adam Marsal

After a very successful JBC 4X Revelations in 2013 and 2014 the JBC 4X Revelations were back once again. JBC is an annual race which is part of 4X Pro Tour world series which takes place every summer in Jablonec nad Nisou in the northern part of Czech Republic. 

Revelations 2015 brought over 11,000 spectators to the venue built by Tomas Slavik, who moved the limits of 4X racing to another level with this massive track. Tomas is not only the builder and organiser but primarily a respected rider, double world champion and winner of the recent JBC events (you can read our older interview with Tomas about 4X here).

His participation in this year’s competition was unsure until the last moments because Tomas suffered illness and five weeks before the race, injured his ankle after a failed landing. However Tomas is tough and he made it. Not only did he take part in the race but he won it! You can see more in the action video made by Fullface Productions.

Photo: Jan Kasl © RedBull, www.jankaslphoto.com

Four-cross (4X) is a relatively new style of mountain bike race. Four riders race downhill on a prepared BMX like track, simply trying to get down first. In recent years the tracks have been rougher and less like those used in BMX. Four-cross was added to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup and the UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships in 2002, replacing dual slalom. It was removed from the World Cup following the 2011 series. A replacement world series, the 4X Pro Tour, was launched in 2012.