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weekend,” Walker said. “To be honest I was a bit worried when it rained yesterday which made the start ramp slippery and the track was slippery. But today was great. I wanted to put down a good performance. I wanted to focus on the gate, focus on getting it solid and on the process I have been working on in training at the World Cup in South Africa and all my racing. I treated it as if it was a World Cup against the best in the world. I just wanted to keep it simple and keep my mind on the job. I was happy with that.”

She finished clear of the improving Victoria Hill (New Plymouth) with Papakura’s Nicole Wright in third.

Pickard, who beat New Zealand’s top rider Marc Willers in the nationals last year, showed his continued promise are returning to the sport at top level in the last month. After his semifinal effort at the South Africa World Cup, Pickard proved in a class of his own, winning two of his three motos and cruising home in the other before winning the final in impressive fashion.

“I did what I needed to do so I am stoked,” Pickard said. “I was quite pleased with my form today coming back from South Africa which was my first Supercross with the big boys. A top 16 finish – I was real happy with that.

DAY 2 SUPERCLASS Cambridge riders on-song at RaboDirect BMX Nationals Superclass

Cambridge is rapidly becoming centre of the universe for BMX, with local residents Sarah Walker and Kurt James picking up Superclass titles at the RaboDirect Nationals in North Harbour.

It was the double for world number one Walker, who followed up her 12th national victory yesterday with a clean sweep in the Superclass today.

James, 19, is following in the footsteps of another Cambridge rider Marc Willers, the country’s leading male rider now based in California, while the Waikato town has been selected as the preferred base for BikeNZ’s new Centre of Excellence. James has made great strides in the last 12 months under BikeNZ’s High Performance programme led by head coach Ken Cools, qualifying for the quarterfinals at the recent Supercross World Cup in South Africa.

The teenager made a mistake in yesterday’s national final but with champion Kurt Pickard on the sidelines today, James was dominant winning all three motos and the three finals in emphatic fashion.

Gisborne junior Nic Fox showed the benefit of his international experiences with the World Cup High Performance team to finish an impressive second place with Matt Cameron (New Plymouth) third.

“It just a silly little mistake with the unclip yesterday but this makes up for it today. It was a tough day’s racing and this makes up for it at the end of the day,” James said. “I found it a huge step up from the junior elite to the elite ranks but I have slowly progressed in the high performance group under Ken Cools who has so much experience.”

James heads off this week to the US where he will train and compete with Willers in California. “I’ve got Marc Willers to aspire to and it’s always good to chase him. There are a group of some of the best in the world to train with every day and the US national series is world class. The experience will be invaluable. London is still in the pipeline. It’s something I dream about. I have to work as hard as I can, get out of the qualifiers and into the finals at World Cups. Right now I am trying to get as fast as I can. If it happens next year for London then great. But I’m only 19 and so 2016 is a target.”

Walker, who lives in Cambridge but rides for the Rotorua club, was in a complete class of her own, saving her best for the final where she nailed the start and streeted the field. She finished comfortably clear of New Plymouth’s Victoria Hill, who continues to improve in her return to the sport, and Papakura’s Nicole Wright.

“There’s always something to work on. I was focussing on starts here and my processes for starting and it was good practice for me,” Walker said. “I live coming to nationals for the racing, to give something back and to watch for some of the younger riders that I’ve been helping.”

Walker will now head into camp with the BikeNZ High Performance team this week ahead of next month’s second round of the UCI Supercross World Cup in Papendal, Netherlands.

RaboDirect BMX National Championships – Superclass results:

Female, final series: Sarah Walker (Rotorua) 4 points, 1; Victoria Hill (New Plymouth) 8, 2; Nicole Wright (Papakura) 15, 3. Nicole Eady (Whangarei) 16, 4; Holly Woodcock-Takarua (Sunset Coast) 20, 5; Tania Carson (Rotorua) 22, 6; Michelle Montague (Cambridge) 27, 7.

Male, final series: Kurt James (Cambridge) 3 points, 1; Nic Fox (Gisborne) 6, 2; Matthew Cameron (New Plymouth) 13, 3, Matthew Davies (Christchurch City) 15, 4; Bradley Gates (Waitakere) 16, 5; Andrew Bias (North Harbour) 16, 6; Trent Jones (Kaiapoi) 17, 7; Daniel Franks (North Avon Christchurch) 22, 8.

Pics by www.clintontudor.com