2025 4X ProTour Round 2 – Jablonec, Czech Republic
Images – Charles Robertson
Words – 4X ProTour
Round 2 of the 2025 4X ProTour took place in Jablonec in Czech Republic on Saturday night. It will be remembered as one of the biggest 4X races, if not Mountain Bike races ever to take place.
This incredible venue is home to Tomas Slavik and this was the 12th anniversary of JBC 4X Revelations. If you want to see the Mountain Bike race that will attract tv viewers who are not mountain bikers then this event is the one. It is absolutely brilliant. A true show but also the simple format of 4X and entertainment all day and night. This is the TV Mountain Bike package.
After an incredible first round at Val Di Sole a couple of weeks ago, this event continued to show the World just how amazing 4X is.
Thursday – Practice:
The weekend started on Thursday with the first practice session. A session of 2 hours gave the riders plenty of time to master the toughest 4X track in the World. The track was in perfect condition. However, the weather was already causing a few problems. Gale force cross winds made the big jumps tricky. A few riders were sending them, but over half the field chose to wait until Friday to hit them. The riders were enjoying the new lower sections: bigger berms, fresh stall wall and a new rhythm straight really added to the track.
On Thursday night, the event was launched by Red Bull DJ’s at the lake in town with a BBQ and a fun night. The weekend had started and it was great to be here again. With big crowds and fireworks; this is a town that really embraces their 4X racing. Tomas Slavik is a hero in this town and tens of thousands of people here follow the 4X ProTour all year to see how their rider is doing throughout the year.
After the party, the heavens opened. The first storm of the weekend. The rain started and that would be the story of the weekend…..
Friday – Qualifying:
Friday and it was qualifying day. There was rain in the air all day but practice began and the track was fine. Much lower wind speeds allowed the riders to start jumping all the big doubles and linking up full laps.
Onto the qualifying. The riders were making this track look easy, the reality is anything but. The most technical track on the circuit was being tamed by the World’s best 4X riders. Going in reverse order, riders would have one lap to set a time for qualifying. It is an intense time for the riders where mistakes are punished. The talking point would be what is the fastest bike. We had a couple of hardtails, plenty of full sus 4X bikes, trail bikes, enduro bikes and DH bikes. Each had pros and cons on this huge track.
In the womens, the top 8 riders would qualify. Czech rider Nela Viktorova took the fastest time ahead of Simona Jirkova and Katherine Byng. The track was perfect and all the women completed their runs.
After the womens the rain started. Light at first and ten riders were able to get down the track at full speed. But then a storm rolled in that was biblical for a time. Qualifying stopped whilst we waited for the 30 minute storm to pass.
After the rain we inspected the track. It was like glass. Super slippery and ankle deep in mud. It was bad.
Tomas Slavik (JBC 4X Revelations Organiser) and Scott Beaumont (4X ProTour Series Organiser) were deep in conversation and checking in with the track crew on course. The decision was made that qualifying had to be postponed to Saturday. All riders agreed and the initial qualifying times for the men were scrapped.
Saturday – Race Day – But first Qualifying:
The riders all woke up on Saturday morning to more rain. It wan’t like the storms, but it was raining.
The riders were given an hour practice session the get used to the wet conditions. In 12 years this was the first time the riders were attacking this track in the wet.
At 16.00 the qualifying session began. Riders would go in reverse order with defending champion Tomas Slavik the last rider on track. Early on 4X veteran Johannes Fischbach set the pace. It was awesome to see him back at 4X and still on pace. Some riders were struggling with the conditions and there were plenty of mistakes being made. In the end there was no surprise. Tomas Slavik set the fastest time with 1.00.60, 1.7 seconds ahead of Jan Cepelak and Pavel Reinl in third.
The riders then had an hour to clean up, prep and get ready for racing. The cameras were rolling for the live online broadcast and this year the event was live on Czech TV. The crowds were big. With the rain falling a huge crowd arrived on site to cheer on the local legend Slavik. Reportedly 10,000 fans lined the track from start to finish. The party atmosphere was in full effect and the scene was certainly set for a huge night of 4X racing.
The early rounds threw up a few surprises with the main one being Czech ripper Filip Vorkurva crashing out in round 1. The new track changes Tomas and his team had made were clearly working as there were more passes in the first round of racing than in all previous years. There were options for the riders and they were using them, much to the delight of the thousands of spectators.
In the quarter finals, there were a few big name casualties. Scott Beaumont, Gustaw Dadela, Jachym Vanek and Tomas Brozik and – all top 5 in the 2024 4X ProTour were out!
In the women Semi Final, it was Nela Viktorova and Josie McFall transferring from semi 1 and Simona Jirkova and Katherine Byng going through in the 2nd semi.
In the men’s semi finals, Tomas Slavik took full advantage of his inside gate pick, leading to the first turn but only after a strong battle with Johannes Fischbach. The two 4X veterans made it to the finish line to book their place in the final.
In the second semi final it was Jan Cepelak who backed up his amazing qualifying by going all the way to the final along with Jakub Pivnicka.
Finals:
First up it was Women’s Small Final. Karla Bobkova made a great start to grab the holeshot and was able to lead the race from start to finish, claiming the final step of the podium with 5th for the day.
In the Men’s small final it was a battle between Czech rider Pavel Reinl and Brit Ian Forsyth for the final step on the podium. They went at each other all the way down the track, but in the end Reinl took the win and 5th for the evening. Forsyth was second ahead of Erik Emmrich and Nicolas Reinl.
The women’s main final lined up next. The gate dropped and Katherine Byng took the holeshot. Simona Jirkova was tight behind her and Josie McFall in third. Jirkova tried the outside line in turn 2 and the lines came together. Byng and Jirkova went down and McFall was through. Into the woods and disaster struck McFall. Feet off and and off line she lost the lead to Nela Viktorova. Viktorova ran a smooth lap from there and was able to take the win. It was a photo finish for 2nd but McFall took it from Jirkova and Byng in 4th. It was a wild final. Winning the biggest 4X race in the World was ticked off in a minute of riding and Viktorova was absolutely ecstatic.
So, it was the race everyone had been waiting for. The battle for the 2025 King of JBC title. Tomas Slavik took gate 1, Jan Cepelak on 2, Johannes Fischbach in 3 and Jakub Pivnicka in 4. The gate dropped and Tomas Slavik flew out from the inside. Cepelak bumped his back wheel and went down. Fischbach slotted into 2nd. With each jump, turn and straight Slavik pulled away. He actually hit the wall ride which was insane with such a lead. He took a deserved win ahead of Fischbach, Pivnicka and Cepelak.
Results 4X ProTour 2025 Round 2: JBC 4X Revelations
Women
1st – Nela Viktorova
2nd – Josie McFall
3rd – Simona Jirkova
4th – Katherine Byng
5th – Karla Bobkova
Men
1st – Tomas Slavik
2nd – Johannes Fischbach
3rd – Jakub Pivnicka
4th – Jan Cepelak
5th – Pavel Reinl
After an incredible podium ceremony, it was time to party. Czech Republics best DJ’s lined up to be a part of this amazing after party.
We would just like to say a huge thank you to Tomas Slavik and his team at JBC bikepark. This guy simply went above and beyond to produce one of the greatest days of mountain bike racing ever. The entertainment, atmosphere, track, riding, fans and party were incredible.
Thank you to the 4X riders and teams; you guys are showing the world what is possible on our mountain bikes.
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