Wildcard Riders Picked For X-Fighters

FMX fans and the Red Bull X-Fighters sports committee have made their choice of who to send to the 2017 Red Bull X-Fighters in Madrid – Fred Kyrillos from Brazil and Christian Meyer from Spain will be the two Novilleros (wild card riders), finalising the rider roster for the world’s most prestigious FMX competition.

In the end, it came down to a tight battle between two Brazilians, Fred Kyrillos and 37-year-old Claudio “Claudinho“ Rocha. Kyrillos, a two-time Brazilian FMX champion, came out on top as he mobilised his fans to the max and picked up 13,841 fan votes. The 31-year-old rider from São Paulo has been riding Freestyle Motocross since 2005 and has performed well in high-level competitions in the past.
The Red Bull X-Fighters sports committee selected Spanish wild child Christian Meyer as the second Novillero for this year’s Red Bull X-Fighters event in the legendary bullfighting ring Plaza De Toros De Las Ventas on July 7th. The 20-year-old from Alicante duly impressed FMX followers with a wild riding style and some of the biggest tricks at his debut at the Red Bull X-Fighters stop in Athens in 2015. This year’s competition will be his first Red Bull X-Fighters appearance in Madrid’s Plaza De Toros de Las Ventas and his bag of difficult tricks has been expanded in the past two years.

More than 20 FMX riders from 11 nations and four continents have sent in their videos and pictures for the Novilleros competition. 

Fred Kyrillo’s Entry Video

Chris Meyer’s Entry Video

With these two Novilleros, the amazing rider field for this year’s competition in Madrid has now been finalised. Tom Pagès (FRA) is leading the pack, trying to win for the fifth time in a row in front of more than 20,000 ecstatic fans. But former Red Bull X-Fighters champions Clinton Moore (AUS), Josh Sheehan (AUS), Levi Sherwood (NZL) and local heroes Dany Torres and Maikel Melero are determined to beat him and are practising hard to be in top form on July 7th. Former Red Bull X-Fighters’ event winners Rob Adelberg (AUS), Taka Higashino (JPN), Adam Jones (USA) and Australia’s latest trick machine, Harry Bink, round out the field of the ten qualified athletes besides the two Novilleros Kyrillos (BRA) and Meyer (SPA).

Rider list:

1. Tom Pagès (FRA)
2. Clinton Moore (AUS)
3. Josh Sheehan (AUS)
4. Levi Sherwood (NZL)
5. Dany Torres (ESP)
6. Rob Adelberg (AUS)
7. Maikel Melero (ESP)
8. Taka Higashino (JPN)
9. Adam Jones (USA)
10. Harry Bink (AUS)
11. Fred Kyrillos (BRA) (Novillero voted by the fans)
12. Chris Meyer (ESP) (Novillero selected by the sports committee)

Watch it live!
Red Bull X-Fighters Madrid will broadcast live on redbullxfighters.com and Red Bull TV on July 7th.