Urban DH Grasse 2016

The 3rd Urban DH Grasse Edition has been successful and Tomas Slavik won this edition with a record time.Tomas needed to be really fast to beat all the others good riders; national champions of Belgium, Finland, and the best French riders in Enduro, DH, and Dirt, but also Ben Moore, the winner of the Urban DH of Singapore this year.

The Orange Bikes rider explained his race:

"Returning back to the UK from the final of the City Downhill Tour in Mexico was a cool, but I was keen to get cracking with the next race. I then heard that there would be an Urban Downhill race in Grasse, which is held every year by Xtrem Events. After watching a couple of course previews, I was dying to get down there and put my Alpine6 to the test," He said.

"It only took one practice run to realise that this was a pretty immense course, and very well planned out by the organisers. The weather was an added bonus to the day, as it kept raining and drying the course. This was a big factor in the conditions, that changed numerous times throughout the day. It was also nice to see Remy Metailler back on his feet, since his back-breaking crash in Taxco just two weeks previously," Ben continued.

"The spectators across France are always some of the best in the world, and Grasse certainly lived up to that expectation. They lined the streets in numbers, and were incredibly vocal - almost to the point of distraction! As for the race itself, it was great to be in the mix with some very close racing with some fantastic bike riders, namely Tomas Slavik who had a great weekend and a well-deserved win," he added.

"The track in Grasse was absolutely amazing. It had all the features that good urban track needs to have like narrow parts, big jumps, wallride, stairs and especially the high-speed section which was absolutely crazy in France. It was my first time here and it was hard for me to beat the French racers because they really knew the track well after three years racing here on a very similar track, and of course French racers are always fast. In the final run I was really pushing it through the rain and darkness.... it was absolutely crazy, but I loved that! Took a win by 3 seconds and I'm really happy after such a long day to come down in the first spot it was the last race in 2016 for me. I'm very happy to end up my successful season like this, standing on the top spot. Now a few weeks off and on January 21st it starts all over again, but to be honest I can't wait! Big props to all racers and organizers - you all did a great job and I'm looking forward to coming next year!" - Tomas Slavik