Wednesday, 19 March: The Freestyle season-opener in Sanya, China will see the welcome return to the UIM-ABP series of the flamboyant Italian star, Valerio ‘showtime’ Calderoni.

The 2009 and 2011 World Champion and three-times Italian Champion, who was born and lives in Rome, sat out the 2012 season after injury forced him out of the opener, but he recovered to compete in Europe, going on to win the title.

Calderoni is joined by countryman and fellow Roman, Roberto Mariani, the veteran of the six at 43 years young and famed for his trick ‘superman’. He made his competitive debut in 2002 winning the Italian Championship, repeating the feat in 2007 and 2009.