The tough decision was made to cancel the Instanbul X-Fighters event.

Strong and dangerous crosswinds have forced event organisers to cancel the third stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour in Istanbul, which was set take place on Saturday.

After the cancellation of the event, which was scheduled to be Turkey’s first ever Red Bull X-Fighters, the 2012 tour which was slated to hold six rounds will now be cut down to five.

“The number one priority for us is the safety of the athletes,” said sports director Tes Sewell. “What the 12 best FMX riders do takes an incredible amount of skill and precision and it can be very dangerous when it goes wrong.”

Australia’s Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams and Rob Adelberg were set to contend in Instanbul against the world’s best before the 45 kph gusts of wind put a stop to the action.

The next stop of the 2012 Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour will be held in Madrid on 20 July at the Plaza de Toros de las Ventas. The tour then moves on to Munich, Germany on 11 August before concluding in Sydney, Australia on 6 October.