10 years on, Martin repeats World Cup heroics in Montpellier
NATLogan Martin has taken gold at the latest UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup round in Montpellier, France, a decade on from winning his first World Cup event at the same venue.
Martin, who qualified third in the preliminary rounds, took the win after posting a score of 94.20 with a blistering second run in the final.
The 2020 Olympic gold medallist has now won both opening rounds of the 2023 UCI World Cup, and sits atop the overall standings on 2000 points, ahead of USA’s Marcus Christopher (1720 points) and Argentine Jose Torres Gill (1290 points).
Speaking to French broadcaster L’Equipe after the event, Martin said it was gratifying to have his preparation for the event pay off, and repeat the performance where he won his first World Cup 10 years ago.
“I obviously have been putting in the work at home, and I came here prepared, ready to go, and I felt good on my bike all weekend and come out pulled the run tonight that I planned to do, which is always awesome as well, and yeah, I’m stoked. Anthony [Jeanjean] was riding really good, and so was Marcus [Christopher], so I had step it up a little bit,” the current national champion said.
“This one's always the best event, the biggest and the best crowd in BMX. This is my 10th year coming here. Ten years ago, I won the park event, and then ten years later, I did it again, which is pretty epic. That's something that I wanted to achieve this weekend. And yeah, the crowd is epic. I always love coming back to Montpellier.”
Australia’s Jaie Toohey was at the centre of the other major story in the men’s final. The Gold Coast native qualified 14th for the finals, and after crashing in his first run, wowed judges in his second, posting an 88.20 and rocketing to the top of the leader board.
Toohey then had to nervously watch on as rider after rider attempted to top his score. It wasn’t until the final few runs of the day that he was eventually knocked out of a podium position, with Jeanjean (91.80) and Christopher (90.00), pushing Toohey into fourth overall.
Australia had something to cheer about in the women’s draw as well, with Olympian Natalya Diehm progressing to the final in her first World Cup event following a 15-month layoff due to injury.
Unfortunately, Diehm came off her bike in both runs during the final, denying any chance of a fairy-tale finish. However, the Queenslander has demonstrated she remains one of the top riders in the world when at full fitness.
The next UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup stop is in Brussels, Belgium from 6-9 July.
Major Partners
Government Partners
Sports Partners
High Performance Partners
Research & Technology Partners
Business Partners
