When we got this bit of PR from the Swiss everyone here was like “Fawesome!”. Then we read the smallprint and found out that it’s actually a MINI MegaRamp which, while not actually that mini, is still not Mega. Cheeky, but nevertheless this should still be a pretty sick edition to an already awesome event.

Of course, the snowboarding will be the main draw and with the likes of Mark McMorris, Seppe Smits, Nils Arvidsson and Halldor Helgason you know the shredding will be off the hook. Will Halldor land his Lobster this time?

Over to the Public Relations officer for the full details…

Long a major crowd magnet in the US and never more popular among athletes, MegaRamp skateboarding and BMX will finally touch down in Europe. At freestyle.ch the weekend of 24-25 September, Zurich will celebrate the European premiere of a full mini-MegaRamp skate contest and BMX demo that promises to be a blowout event.

Skateboarders will soon be plunging the depths of the mammoth installation that runs a total 53m in length. Riders drop down the 9 meter high roll-in, cross an almost 8 meter gap and then ride up the 5.5 meter high quarter. The mini-MegaRamp structure is mini in name only! For the first time ever in Europe, a mini-MegaRamp contest will be held at Landiwiese Park in Zurich. “Our goal is to keep freestyle.ch original and innovative. By launching a European premiere in the skateboarding and BMX category we are doing just that through our collaboration with the American event developers MegaRamp Productions” says Erwin Flury, head of event at freestyle.ch.

Almost all of the big name MegaRamp riders such as Andy McDonald (USA), Jake Brown (AUS), Pierre-Luc Gagnon (CAN), Sandro Dias (BRA) and Adam Taylor (USA) are coming and are certain to make this European premiere a big hit. Adam Taylor, who just grabbed silver in the X-Games, perfectly sums up the general mood as the event nears: “I am super excited to have mini-MegaRamp coming to freestyle.ch! It’s my favorite ramp to skate and it’s now at my favorite event in Europe. It’s going to be an amazing contest this year.”

DJs and BMXers Add to Crossover Session

For the first time ever in the event’s history, all three of freestyle.ch’s installations will feature a single jump. This will be most striking during Saturday evening’s interdisciplinary show contest called Crossover Session. “Up to now, the skateboarders have always executed a whole run on the Vert Ramp, while the snowboarders, freeskiers and FMXers have performed a single jump only. Now that everyone is doing a single jump, comparisons between disciplines as well as the pace and level of tension will intensify,” says Julie Varghayian, head of program at freestyle.ch. Furthermore, each sports category will receive its own DJ, tailored sounds are sure to heighten the appeal of the Crossover Session for spectators. In addition, freestyle.ch will be calling back BMXers to Landiwiese Park for the European debut of BMX on the mini-MegaRamp: Vince Byron (AUS) (silver at this year’s X Games) and Morgan Wade (USA) (winner of the MegaRamp Open at Woodward West) will be competing in the Crossover Session as well as riding a demo on Saturday afternoon.

Podladtchikov, Ambühl and Rebeaud On the Hunt

Iouri Podladtchikov, Elias Ambühl and Mat Rebeaud – all hell-bent on a home victory – will ensure a strong Swiss presence at the snowboarding, freeski and FMX starting lineups. Breathing down Podladtchikov’s neck will be Mark McMorris (USA), Seppe Smits (BEL), Nils Arvidsson (SWE) and Halldor Helgason (ISL), the mighty newcomers who were nearly unbeatable this past winter. In the freeski category, Ambühl will have to battle with the likes of 2011 shooting star and two-time X-Games gold medalist, Alex Schlopy (USA), as well as Big Air expert Bobby Brown (USA), European X-Games gold medalist, JF Houle (CAN) and 15-year-old Kai Mahler, Switzerland’s promising new talent. FMXer Mat Rebeaud will have his hands full with last year’s winner, Dany Torres (ESP), who has already pulled off two victories this season in the Red Bull X-Fighters World Series, as well as Tom Pagès (FRA), who took 5th in the X-Games, and Jey Rouanet (FRA).

More info at: www.freestyle.ch and www.megaramp.com