The fourth Vienna Air King will unite the worlds best dirt jump riders once again on 4/5 April for one of the most spectacular events on the mountain bike calendar.

Last year 45 riders from 13 countries took part and some 85,000 spectators turned out for the event, which Brit Sam Pilgrim, last year’s winner, describes as “the coolest comp.”

He adds: “Because it’s the first dirt event of the year, you get to see all your friends and ride in a great place. The jumps are always super fun and I never can wait to get to the event and start riding.”

Beside a star studded lineup of talent, rookies can apply for the Vienna Air king to become one of the additional riders. Head to the website if you’re interested.

The course this year will be no less challenging than should be expected from the organisers. Riders are plunged into the action immediately with an 8m high starting tower, launching into a huge step-down, followed by three large dirt jumps with wooden take-off ramps and a quarter pipe at the end of the track – huge air virtually guaranteed.

During last year’s Vienna Air King, the riders showed tricks that have never been seen before in Austria, like Sam Pilgrim’s Superman Backflip, or even have never been pulled at any international dirt jump competition worldwide, like the 360-Double-Tailwhip from Benny Korthaus – that trick won him the Panasonic-Best-Trick-Competition.

The top 12 riders attending include:

– Sam Pilgrim UK
– Mike Smith UK
– Martin Söderström SWE
– Linus Sjoeholm SWE
– Bartek Obukowicz POL
– Trond Hansen NOR
– Benny Korthaus GER
– Amir Kabbani GER
– Alexander Etzold GER
– Rob Jauch GER
– Yannick Granieri FRA

– Mischa Breitenstein CH

More at www.vienna-air-king.at

Here’s an example of what to expect, in a video from the 2008 event.