ESPN X Games has announced the first wave of invited athletes for X Games Barcelona 2013, the first of two European summer events. The inaugural competition, taking place May 16 – 19, will feature more than 200 athletes competing for medals and prize money in the sports of Skateboard, BMX, RallyCross and Moto X.  The capital of Catalonia and second-largest city in Spain, Barcelona will provide a historic and distinctive setting for X Games with its multiple Olympic-class venues and stunning views over the city. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will combine to televise 31 hours of original content in high definition and WatchESPN will stream all of the coverage in the U.S., plus 13 hours of original content.

The first wave of invited athletes include:

• Dany Torres (Arahal, SPAIN) – As one of the most dominant riders competing on the Red Bull X-Fighters tour – including a first place finish last week in Dubai and seven career first place finishes – Torres will attempt to win his first X Games gold medal after winning bronze in 2011. As a three-time winner of the Madrid X-Fighters, Dany is no stranger to performing well in his home country.  His fast and aggressive riding style enables him to squeeze in as many tricks as possible and has easily made him Spain’s most popular motocross freestyler.

• Travis Pastrana (Annapolis, Md., USA) – With 17 total medals, 11 of which are gold, Pastrana decided to hang up his Moto boots and focus on Rally, where he has been equally successful taking home the first-ever Rally Car gold at X Games 12 and grabbing four straight Rally America titles from 2006 to 2010. Pastrana also made his long-awaited NASCAR Nationwide debut in 2012 and will be juggling his full 2013 NASCAR and Global RallyCross schedule.

• Ryan Sheckler (San Clemente, Calif., USA) – The youngest gold medalist in X Games history, Sheckler has racked up six X Games medals since winning his first at age 13. Making the Skateboard Street podium the past three years, Sheckler is coming off of a silver medal performance at X Games Los Angeles 2012.

• Maria Forsberg (Seattle, Wash., USA) – As one of the most dominant female riders to compete in Moto X Enduro X at X Games, Forsberg has won two of the last three gold medals. The first female to earn factory KTM support, Forsberg is 13 for 13 in the 2013 GNCC series and four for five in the EnduroCross series.

• Nate Adams (Glendale, Ariz., USA) – With 14 X Games Moto X medals, Adams recently surpassed Travis Pastrana as the most-medaled Moto X athlete in X Games history. After 18 straight competition podiums from 2009 – 2011, Adams earned the silver medal at X Games Los Angeles 2012.

• Jamie Bestwick (State College, Penn., USA) – Winning the last seven X Games Los Angeles BMX Freestyle Vert competitions, Bestwick is nearly untouchable. Bestwick also has seven consecutive Dew Tour BMX Vert titles under his belt coming into Barcelona.

• Rune Glifberg (Copenhagen, Denmark) – One of only four athletes to compete at every X Games event, Glifberg has won 12 X Games medals. Winning back-to-back gold in 2008 and 2009, Glifberg took home bronze at X Games Los Angeles 2012 and just added another silver at X Games Foz do Iguacu last week.

The list of first wave athletes invited to compete at X Games Barcelona 2013 is available and will be updated at www.xgames.com.

*PLEASE NOTE: The invited athlete list is constantly being updated and is subject to change.

Tickets for X Games Barcelona 2013 are available for purchase at https://www.ticketmaster.es/nav/landings/es/deportes/entradas-x-games-barcelona/entradas.html

Additional information on all X Games Barcelona events will be forthcoming on https://www.xgamesbarcelona.com/es/home.html for fans or on www.espnmediazone.com for media only.

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Contacts:         

U.S. Media:                   Danny Chi                     X Games, +1 310-642-1509; [email protected]

Spanish Media:             Victor Fernandez           Tinkle, +34 93 445 43 51; [email protected]

European Media:           Laura Crompton            Hopscotch, +353 1 647 35 03; [email protected]