Olympic certainties Anthony Dean and Caroline Buchanan led the way for Australia today on a rain swept evening of racing at the final UCI BMX Supercross World Cup round at Rock Hill, South Carolina, finishing fifth and sixth respectively. The rain refused to let up throughout the entire race program, but once again the multi million-dollar track demonstrated what money can buy, holding up remarkably in the deluge to deliver world class racing much to the delight of the brave fans in attendance.
Dean kept a cool head to safely navigate his way through to the final, his experience at the big events on full display on a night where even a slight mistake cost dearly. Indeed, even Sam Willoughby, a rider whose ability to consistently make main events has become a hallmark of his career, was eliminated in the semi-final after marginally missing the start. Bodi Turner also fell just short, finishing fifth in his semi, ultimately left with too much to do from lane eight.
The Novant Health BMX Supercross Track in Rock Hill is possibly the most sophisticated BMX facility on the planet. The multi-million dollar venue impressed every single athlete and even the rain could not bring the vibe down. During the evening of the qualifying motos and Time Trials Superfinals the Supercross track remained rock hard and gave everyone a fair chance to race to their full potential no matter what position they had on the starting gate. The Men qualification races were dominated by Corben Sharrah (USA) and Gonzalo Molina (ARG) who won all three heats each. Sharrah set the faster time in the third lap thus winning the Men qualifying racing. A drag racing Sylvain André (FRA) has fired up his engine and should be one to watch tomorrow when the racing starts of the last round of the UCI BMX SX World Cup. Federico Villegas (ARG) has kept his form after doing well at UCI BMX Supercross World Cup round four in Santiago Del Estero and rode to a strong 1 - 1 - 2 in South Carolina. 48 riders in total made it to Saturday's final race. American Jordan Miranda grabbed the last spot and will be able to line back up again on the gate for more.
Sam Willoughby and Caroline Buchanan have both finished second in their respective time trial super finals this morning at the final UCI Supercross World Cup round in Rock Hill, USA, while a strong contingent of Aussies also progressed through the qualification rounds. The world class Olympic facility, the only one of its kind on the east coast of America, held up remarkably well in the largely wet conditions, paving the way for some thrilling racing under the stadium lights.
The rain had stopped by the time the top sixteen men took to the track for their time trial superfinal, providing past world champion Willoughby the opportunity to spread his wings and send a warning to his rivals ahead of tomorrow’s racing. Although far from perfect, Willoughby managed to post an impressive time that momentarily earned him the lead, before he was eventually dethroned by Ducthman Niek Kimmann by just .073 seconds.
“Conditions were fine out there, the track has a great surface which meant the earlier rain didn’t play any effect,” Willoughby said.