“It was pretty depressing not being able to compete in the Worlds last year having sacrificed taking part in a couple of races in Europe to come back early and compete in the SA Nationals but I’m back now and I’m ready to make up for what I missed out on.”
Holdstock’s recent trip provided the youngster with the opportunity to train with and race against some of the best riders in the world and he hopes to be able to pursue his BMX dreams more permanently in the United States sometime in the not too distant future. “If you want to be the best you’ve got to rock it with the best!” said Holdstock. “The level of competition over there is crazy. All the top dogs are over there!”
“To me there is just no ways you can be at their level if you’re not racing against them all the time. It’s not even all about the riding, it’s important to interact and hang out with these guys off the track too.”
For now though the 21 year old is focused purely on doing his best at next weekend’s Supercross in Pietermaritzburg.
“If I can make it to the Mains that would be awesome but for now I’m just focussing on trying to make it through the time trial and then I’ll take things from there,” said Holdstock.
“You’ve only got two runs in the time trial so you’ve really got to make sure you have a smooth, clean run and after that it really is anyone’s game. BMX really is a very intense gambling game and luck plays quite a big role so anything can happen.”
“I expect the usual top five of Sam Willoughby, Marc Willers, Joris Daudet and the boys to be there in the Mains but after the quarters it’s anyone’s game,” he added.
The UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Pietermaritzburg takes place at Alexandra Park on 8 and 9 April.
More information can be found at bmxworldcupsa.co.za Pics by Mark Squire/Gameplan
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.