Pictured (above): Nico Scholze // Credit: C A Greenwood
‘Cordova Flip’, ‘Backflip Barspin’, ‘Cliffhanger’. For married couples of a certain vintage, these are mere staging posts on a path towards completing the Kama Sutra. For others, like the riders at Audi Nines 2020, they’re part of a week of world firsts; a week they’ll never, ever, forget (please stop thinking about the Kama Sutra, we’ve moved on).
Between the 7th and 13th of September, a collection of the world’s best mountain bikers gathered in Germany’s Hunsrück-Nahe bike region for a landmark event on the calendar. Audi Nines, of course, always serves up the good stuff and this year’s showcase was certainly no different.
The German rider Nico Scholze landed the first Cordova Flip on a downhill bike, Italy’s Diego Caverzasi completed a Backflip Barspin to Cliffhanger, and Swedish powerhouse Emil Johansson dominated the contest runs winning Best Freeride Line and Ruler of the Week (decent week for Emil).
If you don’t know what a Cordova Flip is, it’s basically an incredibly daring manoeuvre adapted from the vroom vroom world of freestyle motocross. It involves the rider executing a painful-looking backbend while hooking their feet on their bike’s handlebars – all while doing a backflip. No small feat (we’ve certainly never come close to landing one).
On the subject of his epic achievement, Nico had this to say: “It feels amazing to be the first person to ever put down the Cordova Backflip on the downhill bike. I really like freestyle motocross tricks, and I hope we have a couple more attempts, maybe next year.”
At Audi Nines 2020, Italian rider Diego Caverzasi became the first human to land to a Backflip Barspin to Cliffhanger on a hardtail bike, while Austria’s Daniel Ruso put down a Frontflip Toboggan on his downhill bike. Daniel’s fellow countryman Peter Kaiser nailed a Backflip Barspin to Superman Seat Grab on a hardtail.
“I love this event, I love the crew”
Adolf Silva’s Cali Roll was only the second one ever landed on a mountain bike, the Spaniard proving that he was back to his high-flying best after an injury put him out of action last year. Chuck Antoine Bizet’s Opposite Cash Roll on a downhill bike and Paul Couderc’s innovative Footplant Flip into the mix, and it’s fair to say that this year’s event was one for the ages (especially when you factor in the obstacles and challenges posed by the ‘Big C-19’ pandemic).
“I love this event, I love the crew,” said Diego Caversazi. “We have so much fun together, filming whatever we want, whatever we like to try. It’s such a good time.”
Bring on next year. Bring on the 2021 event.
Behind The Nines – Inside The Bubble
If you’d like to get an insight into what it takes to put on an event like Audi Nines in a crazy, unpredictable, year like 2020 check out this interesting behind the scenes video below.
Audi Nines 2020 – Full Contest Results
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