The Red Bull District Ride held in Catania last July 14 - 15 was a success any way you look at it: the world's best 32 riders battled along a 1-kilometer track that wound from the Sicilian city's historical center to the screaming applause of fans during both the 2 qualification runs and the final run in the presence of MTV's Catanese VJ, Paola Maugeri.
From the starting gate in Piazza Dante, the track ran through the city's streets and alleys with a series of increasing challenging obstacles designed to make the best use of the city's unique architecture and offer the riders the best chance to show off their skills. A half-pipe was set up in Piazza Università with numerous accesses that included an extremely demanding mini-ramp that carried the riders right up to the half-pipe's upper rim! The finish line in Piazza Duomo held the dirt district with 4 ramps and a dirt landing pad for a guaranteed spectacular show! This is where the kids pulled their best stunts and appeared to have the most fun of all. And it was right here that Paul Basagoitia was announced the District Ride winner as the only one who dared finish the final jump in his set with a tail-whip (a 360° rotation of his body with a 360° rotation of the bicycle itself) Those watching were unable to believe their eyes, and even the rider himself looked amazed at the feat he had just succeeded in pulling off to the congratulations of all the other competitors around him. Not even the perfect front flip on the same jump by Lance McDermott, the winner of the Dainese Dirt Jump Contest, was enough for a victory, however, and Lance had to settle for a 3rd place finish behind the youngest athlete competing in the event, 17-year old Andreu Lacondequi from Barcelona.
The event concluded Sunday evening with a big party on the beach for a moment of well-deserved relaxation after 2 exhausting days spent jumping from 9 in the morning to 8 in the evening, and now everyone is waiting for the Super-final to be held in Nuremberg on August 4-5.

Check out these videos from the Red Bull District Ride:
- Paul Basagoitia's jumps
- Andreu Lacondequi's jumps

But the Red Bull District Ride offered even more: on Saturday, Dainese sponsored the first “Dainese Dirt Jumping Contest” reserved to the youngest riders present. From 12 to 13, a qualification round was held in which the 10 competing riders put on a show for both the panel of judges and the applauding Catanese audience that drove them to risk more and more. In the two final runs held at 8.30, the judges awarded the Spanish brothers Andreu and Luis Lacondequi, the American Cameron McCaul, the English Lance McDermott, and the Australian Darren Pokoi, who spends 6 months a year from April to October travelling around Europe between one contest and another, and then returns Down Under where Spring is just beginning so that he can go on jumping all year round!
Thousands flocked the square to watch the 5 best riders perform mind-boggling acrobatic stunts, and at the end of the 2nd run, victory went to 20-year old Lance McDermott from Manchester after a truly spectacular run in which he astonished the crowd with a back-flip in his first jump and a front-flip in the second.

Check out these videos from the Dainese Dirt Jumping Contest:
- Dainese Jump Qualifier
- Dainese Jump Final