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BMX in France. Does it get any better than this? It had been six years since the UCI BMX Racing World Cup last set foot in France for a stop but the enthusiastic BMX club of Sarrians did everything within their power to get the elite racers to their track in the south of France. The Vaucluse Games preparation center welcomed a total of 293 entries of which 105 were French racers indicating the popularity of the sport in the country that hosts the 2024 Olympic Games. The Netherlands sent 21 athletes to the South Region and the Swiss drove over 19 to the Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur. The nation of Belgium followed with 17, Germany sent 13 and the USA, where BMX originated flew in 11 athletes to Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup.

Stormy UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup Park in Brussels. BMX Freestyle is amazing in many ways and if the platform is provided to the riders to perform at their very best, it becomes an incredible show time after time. The location at the 2023 Urban Sessions with the sloping hill is unique, but works in many ways. It creates a festival style vibe with the crowd hanging out overlooking the BMX Freestyle Park and other activities provided by the local organizer. With the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup being the main attraction, the event started on Thursday with an 11-hour non-stop practice session followed by 11 hours of BMX Freestyle riding on the FOP on Friday for the qualification phase. Brussels has become the second largest UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup of the series (after Montpellier) which shows the riders and federations embrace the event.

With hot days during training and qualification, a surprising hail storm appeared on Saturday right after Women Park warm-up calling off the semi-final for the women. The sun came out again afterwards on Saturday which made completing the Semi Final for the men a possibility. The cut from 80 (qualification) to 24 (semi-final) to 12 (final) is a tough one especially when all of the riders show a run that they had in mind and leave the decision with the judges. In the end 2 Americans made it in (Marcus Christopher and Justin Dowell), three Brits (Kieran Reilly, Declan Brooks, Shaun Gornall), UCI World Champ Rim Nakamura (Japan), Olympic gold medalist Logan Martin (AUS), former UCI World Cup winner Anthony Jeanjean from France, crowd favorite Kevin Peraza (MEX), Jose Torres from Argentina, Tom

van den Bogaard (NED) and Gustavo Batista de Oliviera representing Brazil. Four continents were represented in the final in Brussels.

With another big storm on the horizon to arrive on Sunday afternoon, the decision was made to have a 24-Women final on Sunday morning followed by the 12-Men final right after that trying to beat the incoming storm. It turned out to be a race against the clock. With 5 riders from China in the top 8 in the Women Park final results it’s fair to say that their domination in this category is real. Their work ethic has brought them where they are, leaving others to catch up with their progression. Taking home the points for 8th , 6th , 5th , 3rd and 1st was unheard of only 2 years ago but team China, who had been staying in Europe since the last UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup in Montpellier, made that a reality in Belgium. Xia Honglin’s 87,90 got her on the podium right behind UCI World Champ Hannah Roberts (USA) and Zhou Huimin whose 91,40 got her the gold at Urban Sessions 2023. With double truckdrivers, double barspins, flairs, flips, nothings to barspin, and tailwhips becoming regular tricks it sure gets more interesting by the event. Making it to the next round during competition is not a given any longer, you sure need to deliver at all times. Between the Chinese delegation Switzerland’s Nikita Ducarroz got 4 th after qualifying in first and Natalya Diehm, back from injury, settled for place 7. America’s Chelsea Wolfe and Colombia’s Queen Villegas Serna completed the top 10.

With the Men final still on the program the storm was nearing Brussels rapidly. After a 30- minute warm-up for the 12 finalists there was no time to waste to get the final done before the rain arrived. Luckily everyone understood that and the joint effort was made to deliver a good final for the crowd that made it to Parc Josaphat on Sunday morning. When the introduction to the riders was made, a tribute to Pat Casey (RIP) followed before the first heat of 6 riders made it on top of the ramps to drop in for their final runs of the weekend.

Tom van den Bogaard was first up and set the bar high. It was now up to the others to go over or stay under. With runs not going the way he planned it, Marcus Christopher finished on spot 12. If he’d pulled what he had in mind It would not have been a surprise to see him on the podium for Brussels. We might see what he is capable off at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow which is just a few weeks away. With two runs of 60 seconds in the final the worst of the two scores gets dropped. Kevin Peraza’s first run was the keeper and even though he had a little crash in run 2, he still put on a show for the crowd. That’s why the BMX community loves him. When we enter the top 5 we find first place qualifier Justin Dowell on spot 5 with his own tricks and plenty more. Kieran Reilly has won a comp or two in 2023 but just missed out on the podium. Australia’s Logan Martin’s 89.41 second run score was good for 3 rd in Schaerbeek. Nakamura opened the throttle in run one to get in the ‘90s range with a 91.56 but like in 2022, it was Anthony Jeanjean who left the competition in awe with two amazing runs that would both have won the competition. After the worst score was taken away the 92.56 remained. Another UCI BMX Park World Cup win for the Frenchman and well deserved. Just moments after the prize giving, rain started to drop. Timing is key.

BdJ

Pictures by Bart de Jong / @fatbmx

Mahieu and Shriever lead Elite classes after 4 UCI BMX Racing World Cup rounds. Bearman and Martinez lead U23. Rounds 3 & 4 of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup took place at the Olympic training facility of Papendal for the 11 th time. With record participation numbers it shows that the national cycling federations are serious about scoring UCI points for qualification of the Paris 2024 Olympic games. With a full race on Saturday and a full race on Sunday the UCI BMX Racing World Cups offer two opportunities to make a podium or bring home the points that are needed to move up in the UCI ranking.

As expected, the Papendal track offered great racing. The first and the second straight received some

changes which were well handled by the athletes. Under summer conditions it was key to make it as far on the race day as possible. In the Under 23 Women class on Saturday it was Latvia’s Veronika Monika Sturiska who claimed the first victory of the weekend. After the race she said; “It's just the first win of the year and this track is amazing, it’s speed and the jumps are big, it’s technical and I like that and I showed you that. I’m just focusing on myself because I know I can win, I won last year and this year it’s my first win, let’s keep going.”

In U23 Men New Zealand’s Rico Bearman claimed his 3rd UCI BMX Racing World Cup of the 2023 season but with the slightest margin as a photo finish was needed to see who had won. Rico: “I got out of the gate really good and coming down the second straight I made a few mistakes and Matéo Colsenet (FRA) had caught up right at the finish and I thought he’d got it but back to the photo finish and I got it done. It definitely wasn’t my best lap of the day but it doesn’t matter.”

With preparation not being the best, it was Saya Sakakibara (AUS) who managed to keep the Smulders sisters behind her in the Elite Women final. Laura pleased the Dutch fans with a second place while Merel grabbed a podium also with spot number 3. Saya could not believe she had just won the race: “This win means so much more than just a world cup win, I mean on Friday I had such a bad training session and I went home and cried for two hours, I don’t know why. I think this track has good memories but also a lot of bad, with concussions, and I think just dealing with all those emotions aside from the stresses of racing was just really a lot and I think I just broke down on Friday and I don’t know what I was able to do but I think I just took one race at a time literally just broke it down and trusted myself completely and honestly can’t believe it.”

What are the chances of boyfriend-girlfriend winning Elite UCI World Cups on the same day? It did happen at round 3. Romain Mahieu (FRA) shot out of the gate and used the wide open first straight to dive into turn one in first position and never gave up that spot. That red leader plate on his bike is giving the Frenchman wings it seems like at the 2023 UCI World Cup season. How special has this win been today because Saya, your girlfriend, also won the Women’s elite? Romain: “That was actually crazy. I tried to keep it together on the gate because I could see. I saw the whole thing but I’m just so proud of her because she’s been through a lot and seeing her winning today means a lot to me and as much as it means to her I think.”

Sunday’s Round 4 brought more sunshine to Papendal. With coaches, staff, media and spectators looking for shade it was up to the athletes to put on a show at Papendal’s 11th edition of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup.

The U23 classes were won by Veronika Sturiska and Rico Bearman who doubled in Papendal both grabbing the extra UCI bonus for back to back wins on the same UCI BMX Racing World Cup weekend. Elite victories went to Stephany Shriever who extended her UCI World Cup lead and keeps the red leader plate on her bike for the next rounds in Sarrians, France. In Elite Men the French domination continued at Papendal with Joris Daudet in first followed by Sylvain André. Daudet is now creeping up to UCI World Cup leader Romain Mahieu (FRA) who still has a lead of 1552 over 1437 by Daudet. After 2 Rounds in Turkey and 2 Rounds in The Netherlands it’s up to Sarrians, France to host the next two World Cup rounds. As if the French need home advantage in Elite Men….

Results Women Under 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 3
1. Veronika Sturiska (LAT)
2. Tessa Martinez (FRA)
3. Megan Williams (NZL)

Results Men Under 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 3
1. Rico Bearman (NZL)
2. Mateo Colsonet (FRA)
3. Diego Colsonet (COL)

Results Elite Women 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 3
1. Saya Sakakibara (AUS)
2. Laura Smulders (NED)
3. Merel Smulders (NED)

Results Elite Men 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 3
1. Romain Mahieu (FRA)
2. Arthur Pilard (FRA)
3. Diego Arboleda (COL)

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Results Women Under 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 4
1) Veronika Sturiska (LAT)
2) Tessa Martinez (FRA)
3) Aiko Gommers (BEL)

Results Men Under 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 4
1) Rico Bearman (NZL)
2) Yuichi Masuda (JPN)
3) Casper Pipers (NED)

Results Elite Women 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 4
1) Bethany Shriever (GBR)
2) Saya Sakakibara (AUS)
3) Alise Willoughby (USA)

Results Elite Men 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup Papendal Round 4
1) Joris Daudet (FRA)
2) Sylvain André (FRA)
3) Mateo Carmona Garcia (COL)

BdJ

Photos by Bart de Jong / @FATBMX

UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup winners from China/Australia/Japan/France celebrate in Montpellier in front of the biggest crowd in BMX. The biggest event on the 2023 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup calendar took place in Montpellier, France. The Festival International des Sports Extreme attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The multiple sports festival in the city in the South of France hosted the UCI BMX Freestyle Park and Flatland World Cups. For Park it was the second stop on the calendar where the flatland riders met up for the first time in France this year. Due to the huge number of participants, practice started as early as Tuesday with Wednesday schedule for a pre-qualification phase in BMX Park Men. The first cut was made from 110 riders to 72 for the qualification round down to 24 for semifinals. Due to the weather forecast for Sunday it was decided to turn this semifinal into the final round giving 24 riders the chance to shine in front of the thousands of spectators that had come to watch from the banks at the Rives Du Lez.

The first UCI final of four produced amazing riding. The field of play offered many different lines for the riders to choose from with the step down spine and step up ramp along the river being two ramps that were chosen to execute their tricks on. On first sight a jump box was missing on this Park course but the high ramp with transitions on both sides connected to the new tipi ramp turned into a box jump for the braves. High risks were taken on this one but to stand out, you have to ride in a different way and take some risks.

Introducing the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup to Saudi Arabia. Roberts and Martin claim the wins. From the beginning a warm welcome was felt when foot was set in Diriyah, home of the first UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup, and not just because the temperature was higher than in most countries during winter. Just 30 minutes outside of Riyadh a new BMX Freestyle facility was created and the set-up was nothing short of impressive. Mountains were moved
(literally) to create an area for the event and the nearby training ramps with resi sections were well used by riders to prepare for their UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup runs. The plan is for the facility to stay around for the local riders to develop BMX Freestyle and for international athletes to come train.

Thursday’s Men qualification was the first part of the event which eliminated over 30 riders and transfered 24 to ride Friday’s Semi-Final. Youngster Marcus Christopher’s 87,5 score was the highest score all day followed by fellow countryman Justin Dowell (USA) and British phenom Kieran Reilly in third. Olympic gold medalist Logan Martin made sure he remained part of the competition by getting 4 th followed by 2022 UCI BMX Park World Champion Rim
Nakamura from Japan. Next to the trick machines, flow riders like Kevin Peraza (Mexico- 8th), Joji Mizogaki (Japan-9th) and Paul Thoelen (Germany-22nd) made it through providing a wide variety of BMX Freestyle riding in the first UCI World Cup semi-final of the year.

French dominance in Elite Men and 3 back to back UCI World Cup wins in Sakarya, Turkey. 250 BMX entries for the first round of the 2023 UCI BMX Racing World Cup season and only 4 winners each day. There’s more room for disappointment than celebrating a win but Romain Mahieu (Elite Men) and Tessa Martinez (U23 Women) from France as well as New Zealand’s Rico Bearman (U23 Men) and Bethany Shriever (Elite Women) all started the
season with a victory.

At Sunday’s Round 2, French success continued in the Elite Men class with a very confident Joris Daudet getting first just in front of Saturday’s winner Romain Mahieu. The back to back weekend wins for Shriever (GBR), Bearman (NZL) and Martinez (FRA) not only shows their true form at the moment but also an extra paycheck for the double W from the UCI.

Saturday started off rainy but it cleared up for fast racing on the renovated BMX track in Sakarya. The iconic blue turns are improved and the surface is made of asphalt from start to finish. It provided a solid, clean, smooth and rather grippy riding surface, even in the rain. With important ranking points on the line the athletes arrived in Turkey ready to do business.

When the final 8 line up for the last race of the day it is impossible to get there by luck.

Results British National Championships Asylum Skatepark, United Kingdom 22 - 23 October 2023

Men Park:
1 Kieran REILLY 22 GBR         100.00 UCI Ranking Points
2 Jordan CLARK 24 GBR 2     160.00
3 Dylan HESSEY 20 GBR 3     130.00
4 Declan BROOKS 27 GBR 4  110.00
5 Kaine MITCHELL 25 GBR 5   90.00
6 Kaz CAMPBELL 24 GBR 6     70.00
7 Reef WAY 18 GBR 7               50.00
8 Jack MAGUIRE 22 GBR 8      30.00
9 Thomas RUSSELL 27 GBR 9 20.00
10 Mitch DOOLEY 21 GBR 10  10.00

Resultados Juegos Panamericanos Santiago 2023, Chile 21 - 22 October 2023

Elite Men:
1 Kamren LARSEN 24 USA 1st                100.00 UCI Ranking Points
2 Cameron WOOD 22 USA 2nd                  86.00
3 Carlos RAMIREZ 29 COL 3rd                  74.00
4 Diego ARBOLEDA OSPINA 27 COL 4th 64.00
5 Mauricio MOLINA VERGARA 22 CHI 5th 55.00
6 Emiliano DE LA FUENTE 23 ARG 6th     47.00
7 Benjamin VERGARA PINNA 21 CHI 7th 40.00
8 Gonzalo MOLINA 28 ARG 8th                 34.00

Elite Women:
1 Mariana PAJON LONDOÑO 32 COL 1st     100.00 UCI Ranking Points
2 Gabriela BOLLE CARRILLO 23 COL 2nd       86.00
3 Priscilla STEVAUX CARNAVAL 30 BRA 3rd 74.00