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FISE WORLD DENVER: Round Up

Above: daily atmosphere highlights from FISE World Denver.

Words, photos and videos by Robin Pearson

FISE was once a normal contest in the same location every year, building a massive following, with HUGE crowds and a fearsome reputation. Montpellier gets fully lit up by FISE every year, that’s no secret. The population of the city more than doubles when the contest happens.

After a few FISE World events, we’re now in the middle of the FISE World Series – a proper global BMX competition series with points gained throughout defining the final standings. Croatia was the first stop, followed by Denver, Colorado, and then Edmonton, Canada this coming weekend.

Local Colorado breweries provided some fine beverages.

I was invited out to Denver to get a feel for the way a FISE event is run, capture some of the atmosphere and party with the riders. It’s a good recipe but it was better than I expected. A small part of me expected FISE to be more commercial, more corporate and less honest, less BMX. This wasn’t the case. It’s bang on – a legit BMX event, fully led by the sport and not compromised by sponsors. It was extremely impressive and I can see why it’s got such a good rep from all the riders.

The course in Denver was obviously very pro. Big jump boxes, big quarters, big transfers… But it also looked like really good fun, with plenty of different options keeping the riding varied. To suit the location, the course was assembled slightly tighter than usual, which made for more fast-paced runs and kept the crowd interested.

Without being anything resembling the likes of Nitro Circus, the ramp setup and the riding it produced was well suited to the crowd – but it was also a very focused BMX contest. It seemed like a great balance between – dare I say it – a crowd pleasing ‘show’ and a legit BMX competition.