posted Apr 5th, 2018 - Time has come for the most popular indoor competition in the world, the World Challenge 2018, and the NSL News has transitioned to Twinwoods Adventure in Bedford for the live coverage of the event.

Thursday was a training day for several teams, and the NSL News happened to arrive at the event site when two of the three expected top contenders completed their last training sessions, NMP PCH HayaBusa and Weembi Mix. The NSL-TV camera recorded some of the training sessions, where both teams were mostly focused on fine-tuning the entry into the flying chamber.

The Weembi Mix consists of two former Weembi High Rollers, Julien Degen and Roy Janssen, who is also one of the original HayaBusa members. He discontinued after winning the first Belgian 4-way gold medals in 2014 and came back a few years later with three French 4-way world champions of 2010 for only indoor competition.

Two of the Aerodyne Weembi Girls, Sophia Pecout and Christine Malnis, who won the French Indoor Nationals 2018 with their team, decided to join Julien Degen and Roy Janssen for the World Challenge a week before bringing new FAI gold medals in 4-way Women to France from the visit to Norway next week.

NMP PCH HayaBusa is not traveling to Norway after the trip to Bedford. The reigning Belgian indoor and outdoor world champions have attended every single World Challenge since the first one in 2006 and have been undefeated in Bedford since 2011.

The World Challenge 2018 is also the 100th competition for two original HayaBusa members, David and Andy Grauwels. They started with Roy Janssen and Sven Ibens in the lineup in 2003, who will both be competing at the World Challenge 2018, as well, Roy Janssen with Weembi Mix and Sven Ibens with ISR FireFlash.

The complete HayaBusa lineup took some extra time for a new NSL Live Talk after the completed training and the debriefing with coach Gary Smith on Thursday afternoon.

The Belgians and their coach have been following their main opponents, Aerodyne Weembi from France and Arizona Airspeed from the Unites States, carefully at the recent events where HayaBusa was not competing. They had met both teams at the Wind Games 2018, which was the last meet for HayaBusa, and they saved the magic 100-meet celebration for their 13th visit at Bedford.

Despite the impressive Airspeed performance at the Shamrock Showdown 2018 and the new Weembi challenge, NMP PCH HayaBusa do not seem to be too concerned. The evaluation of the scores and videos of their strongest opponents is a part of the training for teams and coaches, and the Belgian confidence level indicates that they are sure of their top spot.

However, David Grauwels said that they will not be resting at the 27-average level that the current lineup posted last year at the USPA Nationals 2017. HayaBusa is aiming at the next benchmark that has not been touched yet, the 28+ outdoor level.

Arizona Airspeed still owns the highest outdoor average, with the 27.9 at the FAI World Meet 2012 in Dubai, where the Belgians ended up one point short of a jump-off. Niklas Hemlin is the only Airspeed member who was in the 2012 lineup, while three HayaBusa members (Dennis Praet, David and Andy Grauwels) were a part of the 1-point drama in Dubai.

HayaBusa has won the two last world meets (2014, 2016), one without Niklas Hemlin in the Airspeed lineup (2014) and one with him (2016). The 2012 opponents are all back together at the World Challenge 2018, this time in three different lineups...