Pumptrack racing at hungary and globally
The sport of pumptrack is a series of competitions at home and abroad, offering exciting competition and a community experience for all ages.
Pumptrack racing in our country
The Pannon Pump Track Cup Series was launched in Hungary in the spring of 2023, after a long preparatory period. In March 2023, the organisers received the accreditation of the Hungarian Cycling Federation for the event series, which already refers to the national character of the event with the word “Pannon” in its name. The first season consisted of a total of six points scoring rounds, which then concluded with a more informal end-of-season experience in October 2023. Although pump track as a cycling discipline is still a very young sport globally, the Pannon Pump Track Cup Series already has an enthusiastic and cohesive community of hundreds of people in Hungary, which is growing with each round of the competition.
The competition series has a multi-focus: it aims to reach out to the youngest children (up to two and three years old) and introduce them to the world of cycling, while also providing a continuous competition opportunity for older, more advanced users. This is why it is common to see three- and four-year-old children competing on the same course, or even “senior” riders who are no longer active. It is not a minor goal of the organisers to create a good atmosphere and a pleasant atmosphere at the competitions, so that the individual rounds are a great experience for the family members, relatives and friends accompanying the competitors.
The competition is simple: participants have to complete the designated track (usually 1 – 1.5 laps) on the pump track hosting the round. The race is timed, so no subjective (trick, style) criteria are taken into account in the scoring. There are eleven age groups (U5 to SENIOR (39+)), so everyone can compete in a category of their own age on the pump track. The youngest competitors will compete in unisex categories, while the older ones will compete in gender-specific categories.
On 2 September 2023, the first Pump Track National Championships in the history of Hungary took place in Etyek, which represents the highest classification in the Hungarian racing system. Only competitors with a valid competition licence were judged, so within a few months of the start of the series, the Hungarian pump track community had several Hungarian champions wearing the national jersey, a huge step forward in the wider recognition of the sport at home and abroad.
The Pannon Pump Track Cup Series has continued in 2024, with nine rounds of competition. This year, the organisers registered nearly a thousand competitors, who were able to compete in Pápá, Kecskemét, Etyek, Hatvan, Villány, Mohács, Pécs, Venice and several districts of Budapest. A new feature this year was that competitors with a valid licence could collect points for their placings in each round, so that by the end of the series there were nearly 100 competitors in the overall standings.
Of course, as usual, beginners and hobby pump trackers were able to compete in any race without any restrictions, and many of them even gave the licence riders a thrilling moment.
As we approach the end of the 2024 year, the current season is being wrapped up and experiences are being summed up, while the organisers are working hard to prepare the 2025 Pannon Pump Track Cup Series, which is expected to expand to ten points rounds. New venues are planned for next year, and the organisers are looking forward to welcoming everyone who has got the urge to pump track while reading the above!
Pump track racing globally
The sport of pump track is not only popular among amateurs, but is also gaining more and more attention on the international competition scene. One of the biggest and most spectacular events is the Red Bull Pump Track World Championships, which was first held in 2018 and has been an annual event ever since. The aim of the event is to bring together the world’s best BMX and mountain bike (MTB) athletes to test their skills on pump track courses. The 2018 world championships took place in Arkansas, where 67 of the sport’s top riders competed for the world title.
The results of the World Finals confirmed the international status of the sport of pump track, with David Graf of Switzerland winning the men’s event and Christa von Niederhäusern of Switzerland winning the women’s event, demonstrating the technical knowledge and precision required to perform at the highest level. Graf and von Niederhäusern have set a milestone not only for their own country but also for the whole pump track community by standing out among the world’s best riders.
Source: https://www.redbull.com
In 2019, the Red Bull Pump Track World Championship continued to grow in popularity, with races organised at 25 international venues around the world. The series has become an increasingly global phenomenon, providing an opportunity for competitors from a wide range of countries to compete in the world’s biggest pump track events. The distribution of stations also symbolises that the sport of pumptrack is not only popular in traditional BMX and MTB countries, but has become a global phenomenon.
The first Pump Track World Championships were held in 2009, during the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Canberra, Australia. Although pump track was not as well known and widespread as it is today, the event was an important milestone in the history of the sport. The race in Australia was probably the first event that gave not only the local public but also international riders the opportunity to compete on pumptrack tracks.
The rapid growth of the sport of pumptrack and the global expansion of the competition series clearly shows that pumptrack is not just a training track, but a serious competitive sport that is gaining popularity worldwide. International events such as the Red Bull Pump Track World Championships contribute to the further development of the sport and to the future organisation of similar prestigious events in more and more countries, thus strengthening the presence and recognition of pump track culture worldwide.