Video

top freeriding event to return in 2008. maddison sets motorcycle jumping world record. and is this vietnamese martial art about to go global? qashqai challenge the qashqai challenge is a thrilling addition to mountain biking's annual calendar. a five-city tour to find the world's best urban freerider, the event's debut saw 15 cyclists do battle for a top prize equal to 74,000 us dollars. the challenge opened in newcastle, england with north shore - a discipline that originated in canada's dense woodlands. canadian darren 'the claw' berrecloth showed he'd had plenty of practice to come out on top. milan's piazza duca d'aosta was the venue for the second round. this time, the discipline was the dirt track. the day belonged to spain's andreu lacondeguy, who completed a superb run to add a maximum 20 points to his overall score. next up was the street discipline in madrid. berrecloth continued his impressive form to secure a second podium place in three starts. but american paul basagoitia went one better to take the winner's cheque for the spanish leg. cologne played host to the park discipline. and after coming second in milan and fourth in madrid, 21-year-old brit lance mcdermott stormed to victory. 'the claw' was second and basagoitia third, giving the us rider a four-point lead going into the final round - the big air in paris. mcdermott had an outside chance of winning the tour, but failed to qualify, a victim of the windy conditions. berrecloth, meanwhile, pulled out all the stops to take the overall title from basagoitia by a single point. the richest event featuring the world's best freeriders will be back for a second tour in 2008. motocross maddison australian motocross star robbie maddison soared into the record books at the rio all-suite casino and hotel in las vegas on the eve of 2008. the freestyle rider set a new world motorcycle jumping record of 322 feet, 7-and-a-half inches, or 98 metres and 19 centimetres. maddison hit a top speed of 151 kilometres per hour as the ramp approached, before sailing to a safe landing. the distance broke the previous best of 84.6 metres set by trigger gumm in australia and the non-certified mark of 94.6 metres set by ryan capes in washington, in 2005. monday's leap came on the 40th anniversary of us daredevil evel knievel jumping the fountains at caesars palace in vegas. maddison, though, is already planning to go even further during an event at melbourne's calder park raceway in march. vovinam vietnam the little-known martial art form of vovinam is set for something of a breakthrough year in 2009. the vietnamese tradition is hoping to grab international attention when it debuts as an official sport at vietnam's 2009 asian indoor games. founded by nguyen loc as a means to fight french rule in vietnam, vovinam has developed from its revolutionary beginnings into a popular sport with important social benefits for vietnamese youth. that's particularly true in the bustling ho chi minh city. soundbite (vietnamese) "our students live in this very busy and noisy city where there are so many things that young people can do with their free time. therefore it is vitally important for us to promote the practice of this martial art so that pupils can learn to discipline their minds and bodies and not be tempted by unsuitable activities for young people." supercaption: nguyen van chieu vovinam viet vo dao, to give the art its full name, focusses on the three principles of strength, technique and philosophy. it combines ideas from many martial arts, with practitioners also ranked according to the colour of their belt - from the green of the beginner to the white belt of the master, white symbolising that vovinam has penetrated the bones. vovinam will provide spectacular action for spectators at the 3rd asian indoor games in hanoi in november 2009, the mission now for the vietnamese tradition is to win international appeal.