Going for green and gold: Riders gear up for BMX Freestyle Nationals on the Gold Coast

Hot on the heels of the Oceania Championships on Monday, spectators and participants at this weekend’s AusCycling BMX Freestyle National Championships can look forward to world class Elite level riding, with a swag of Olympians and former national champs contesting for gold medal glory.

More than 50 riders will also compete for green and gold jerseys across Amateur, Junior, and Masters categories, setting the scene for a bumper weekend at the AusCycling National BMX Freestyle Park on the Gold Coast.

Elite Men

Logan Martin is justifiably the headline attraction coming into the 2023 AusCycling BMX Freestyle National Championships. The Olympic gold medallist looks free from injury, and comfortably defended his Oceania title earlier this week.

Defending national champion Brandon Loupos is unfortunately out with injury, but Martin told AusCycling he will have no trouble maintaining his focus and motivation for the event.

“I enjoy riding. I enjoy competing, and when I compete, I have an internal drive to do well. It's not anything external. It's not money. It's not even necessarily the points and things like that. It's an internal drive to do well and to perform at my best at that time,” Martin said.

“So, it's no different for this weekend. I want to go to this event, plan a winning run and execute that run. And that's just sort of the way I operate. I want to put on a good show and perform at my best all the time.”

Following the National Championships, Martin heads overseas for a busy international season, with the X Games Japan followed by UCI World Cup rounds in Montpellier and Belgium, then X Games USA and the UCI World Championship.

With demanding competitions on the horizon, Martin revealed his focus this year has been on completing strong back-to-back runs.

“I feel like last year for finals, I was planning a run that I could execute and that would score well. And then, if I’d execute that first run, in my second run I’d always plan to step it up. And I haven't really been executing that second run, which is not really ideal if someone was to come and pull a good run and top my score,” Martin said.

“So, my focus is now to obviously pull the first run and then step it up and pull that second run as well.”

Logan Martin with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate and Minister for Tourism, Innovation & Sport Stirling Hinchliffe prior to #BMXFS23

And while the Australian National Championships may lack the cachet of those larger international events, Martin nonetheless said he's looking forward to riding on the Gold Coast this weekend.

“It’s definitely still cool to be competing against all the other riders in Australia and to try and get that top spot for sure. I'm looking forward to another weekend of competing against my friends and riding my bike.

“It's always a lot of fun, and I'm excited to see the level of BMX in Australia rise once again as it does at each event, and I'm excited to push my level along with every other rider.”

Jaie Toohey and Alec Danelutti should also contend for a place on the podium after medalling at Oceania’s last week, while Josh Matthews has the potential to lay down massive scores with a complete 60-second run.

Keegan Pryor is another a rider to keep an eye on. The 15-year-old Queenslander narrowly missed a podium in his first Elite competition at Oceania’s and looks destined for big things as his riding matures.

Liam Quinlivan and Jake Wallwork are still working their way back from setback and injury, but the overall quality of the field ensures the right to take home the national jersey will be earned this weekend.

Elite Women

Sarah Nicki heads into the competition in red hot form, having won the Oceania Championship last week, and the former Canberran looks destined to be one of Australia’s top female riders for years to come. The 15-year-old already has experience competing at the UCI World Cup and World Championships, and is now taking her riding to the next level, combining tricks and putting more complete runs together.

Despite being limited by medical protocols as she returns from injury, three-time National Champion Natalya Diehm pushed herself at Oceania’s last week and came within a whisker of victory. Her dogged determination could make the Elite women’s competition a must-watch event this Saturday afternoon. However, with Paris 2024 and major international events on the horizon, Diehm may need to balance her competitive fires against long term goals.

Anais Prince and Mylee Toohey are the other riders to watch in the Elite women’s competition. Both competed strongly at Oceania’s last week, and if Diehm and Nicki secure the top two spots on the podium, the bronze medal will be hotly contested.

In further good signs for the sport, there are strong levels of participation in the Amateur and Junior categories. Fifteen men and four women have entered the Amateur category, while more than 32 riders will compete across the Junior (Under 7/11/13/15) categories.

A rider to watch for in the Under 13 male category is Caiden Cernius from the USA. Caiden has his own YouTube channel and no fewer than 166,000 followers on Instagram.

See the complete start list here.

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A post shared by Natalya Diehm OLY (@_natalyadiehm)

Rider Quotes

Jaie Toohey: “Here in Australia, we have some of the best riders in the world, so the people we ride with on a daily basis, each one of us is just progressing so much. So, even though there's only going to be us Australians there, it's going to be a hard one. It just comes down to that 60 seconds really and who can throw it down, but I have all the tricks. The goal would definitely to be on the podium. I can do it; it's just whether I can put it all together on the day.”

Liam Quinlivan: “I'm slightly injured at the moment. I'm nearly back to 100%. I had a little crash this year, and I was riding so good, I was super, super stoked with how I was going. Obviously, I want to do the best that I can do, and if I can do what I want to do after the time off, I'll be super stoked.”

Jake Wallwork: “I was happy with last year’s result, coming second. Definitely, last year I had a decent fire. Then unfortunately, this year I’ve had actually a few upsets, so I’m kind of just trying to work through that at the moment. It's awesome to see the sport growing, and I love all the riders and we all get along great so it's awesome, with an awesome scene up here.”

Sarah Nicki: “I’ve been doing gym sessions to build strength on the bike, aero awareness training on the tramp, and a lot of training on the bike. I’m working on jumping higher on all my tricks, getting more speed and trying harder tricks.”

Natalya Diehm: “The thing I'm actually most looking forward to is, this is going to be the biggest women's class that we've had nationally, so probably within the Elite girls, and we will have enough for an Amateurs class as well which is super exciting.”

Anais Prince: “I’ve been working on my flow around the park, getting some more transfers and my heights, and then I guess – as it's a progressive sport – all the tricks I’m learning. Yeah, want to get a second place or better. First would be nice, but yeah, definitely on the top of the podium there.”

2022 Elite Men’s Podium

1. Brandon Loupos
2. Jake Wallwork
3. Josh Matthews

2022 Elite Women’s Podium

1. Sarah Nicki
2. Mylee Toohey
3. Anais Prince

2023 AusCycling BMX Freestyle National Championship

• Location: Gold Coast, Queensland
• Dates: Friday, 24 March – Saturday, 25 March 2023
• Venue: AusCycling National BMX Freestyle Park, 296 Nerang Broadbeach Rd, Carrara
• Time: 8am-9pm on Friday, and 8am-5pm on Saturday.

Facebook / Twitter / Instagram/ Tik Tok: @AusCyclingAus

#BMXFS23 #LetsRideTogether

More information on the AusCycling BMX Freestyle National Championship, including the event schedule, is available here.

Main photo: @collectif_theagency & @FISE