The Audi Nines 2019 – Event Wrap Up

28 of the world’s best Freeride and Slopestyle MTB riders from 11 nations took part in the 2019 edition of The Audi Nines, which was hosted in a secluded stone quarry location in Germany. Course builders spent weeks preparing one of the most spectacular mountain bike venues ever seen!

Riders had five days of action-packed media sessions on the course’s challenging and new features, from a rideable Satellite Dish to a skate-style plaza nicknamed “The Space Station.” The Freeride and Slopestyle lines were similar to last year’s event but had been tweaked and included a few new features that gave riders more opportunity to progress through their runs. One of the standout additions was the insanely massive “Perfect Hip” which was built into the bottom section of the quarry and sent riders to unimaginable heights.

Sam Reynolds

Some of the week’s highlights included mind-blowing tricks like Nicholi Rogatkin’s Twister No Hander and Corked 1440. Daniel Ruso’s world first Backflip Superman Indy Seatgrab to Barspin on a hardtail. Bienvenido Aguado’s Tsunami Frontflip, Tom Isted’s Double Barrel Roll, and 15 year old Jackson Goldstone’s Double Backflip – Watch this all below…

On the Friday evening the course was beautifully lite up for a night shoot session which resulted in some of the most incredible photos ever taken at Audi Nines.

Max Fredriksson

Then it was time for the public contest day. Thousands of mountain bike fans packed the slopes of the venue as the Audi Nines welcomed the general public to witness an exclusive showcasing of MTB excellence in this extraordinary setting.

Nico Scholze

Erik Fedko

The riders wowed the crowd with sessions on the venue’s Big Air jump, Freeride and Slopestyle lines, and the iconic “Perfect Hip”. When the dust cleared a handful of champions had risen to the top, with Germany’s Nico Scholze and Erik Fedko taking the win in the Big Air (Big Bike) and Best Line (Slopestyle) contests respectively, while USA’s Nicholi Rogatkin placed 1st in the Big Air (Hardtail) event and Spain’s Bienvenido Aguado claimed the title of Best Line (Freeride).

Nicholi Rogatkin

Bienvenido Aguado

The day’s excitement ended with a rousing session on the massive hip, where riders soared to astounding heights above the monumental feature. Tom Isted set a highest mark for the week when he launched to a height of 7.1 meters above the takeoff of the Perfect Hip — the highest air on a hip on a mountain bike of all time.

Tom Isted

The Audi Nines 2019 Results

Best Line – Freeride
1st Bienvenido Aguado Alba
2nd Sam Reynolds
3rd Emil Johansson

Best Line – Slopestyle
1st Erik Fedko
2nd Nicholi Rogatkin
3rd Lukas Schäfer

Best Trick – Big Bike
1st Nico Scholze (Backflip Tsunami)
2nd Bienvenido Aguado Alba (360 Indian Air Seatgrab)
3rd Lukas Knopf (Frontflip)

Best Trick – Hardtail
1st Nicholi Rogatkin (Cork 1440)
2nd Erik Fedko (Backflip Double Barspin to Tailwhip)
3rd Yura Starosta (Cork 720 Invert Table)

Best of the Week
Highest Air – Tom Isted
Best Style of the Week – Erik Fedko
Best Trick of the Week – Bienvenido Aguado
Ruler of the Week – Tom Isted

Photos by Audi Nines / Markus Fischer, Syo van Vliet and Klaus Polzer.