In Wuppertal, Germany, Mat Rebeaud beat X Games winner Jeremy Lusk, also securing the Red Bull X-Fighters overall title. Now he’s ready for the ultimate fight: the head-to-head with Travis Pastrana at the season final in Warsaw.
Mat Rebeaud, 26, is the FMXer of the year. Since the opening event in Mexico City he’s pretty much dominated the Red Bull X-Fighters unchallenged, winning four of five contests to date; the last one on August 16. His victory in Wuppertal was particularly valuable. On the toughest course of the year he triumphed in front of 15,000 spectators, a handful among them being his closest friends – Rebeaud’s Swiss home is only a few hundred kilometers away. But the victory meant a lot more to him for another reason. In any case, only two weeks after the X Games 14, he managed to exact revenge on the FMX winner Jeremy Lusk. And in the overall table as well, he eliminated all doubt: Rebeaud can no longer be robbed of his title. According to a happy Rebeaud, it was ‘… a great season.’Showdown with last year's winner
He’d love to wrap up the ‘great season’ with a victory at the series final in Warsaw. Yet a spry early retiree could still mess up the season-end party. Because this year Travis Pastrana lived up to his resignation a bit more consistently than in 2007. But not quite literally. On September 6, Travis, 24, is mounting his bike at the FMX Supersession one more time, thus making the finals of the Red Bull X-Fighters series a duel between the best rider of the year and the best from years passed.
Duel not affecting the overall table this time
Although he concentrated fully on rally driving in 2008 – he’s currently leading the Rally America table, and won gold at the X Games Rally race – Travis is more than capable of winning the final in Poland. Yet taking Rebeaud’s overall win away like he did last year might be a little difficult. He’ll have to level out 480 points, which, with a maximum point score of 100 per event, is pretty much the same as a mathematical double backflip. But imagining a Travis competing without any ambitions to win is a difficult task. ‘I’m just in it to have fun,’ he says, playing it down just a little. But we know which part of the podium he has fun on most.
Mat Rebeaud
Mat Rebeaud
Travis Pastrana
