Cream rises to the top on opening day of BMX Freestyle National Championships

Riders were greeted with hot but otherwise ideal conditions on the opening day of the AusCycling 2023 BMX Freestyle National Championships on the Gold Coast.

The action started early with Amateur qualifying from 9am, but temperatures and humidity rose enough by mid-morning to add a layer of discomfort during Elite qualification.

15-year-old local rider Keegan Pryor was especially impressive during Elite qualification, but results overall went as expected, with experienced riders doing enough to progress through to finals tomorrow, as podium hopeful Josh Matthews revealed.

“I took it pretty easy, because only one rider is getting cut ... so I didn’t really take any risks today. I thought I may as well save it for tomorrow, and didn’t crash so that’s a win,” Matthews said.

Competition favourite and 2021 national champion Logan Martin shared a similar sentiment, saying he was stoked to be back competing for the national title in the hot conditions.

“Yeah, I’m happy with the way it went. It’s not too much to count on today, so it’s always sort of the most nervous day for me. To get two good runs on the board, and I suppose qualify in a good position for tomorrow – which is always good as well – yeah, feeling good,” Martin said.

“I love riding in the heat. I’m already warm when I sort of get onto my bike so I don’t need to warm up. I love sweating. I’m sort of in my element when it’s hot, so I’m stoked.”

BMXFS23

With Natalya Diehm still limited by injury during her qualification runs, defending champion Sarah Nicki will take favouritism into tomorrow’s final after again demonstrating her development as an Elite level rider.

“Yeah, there's only one ramp I'm not tricking. I made sure to be like, ‘Every single ramp I hit, I'm going to trick it.’ Fill in all the blank airs, and try and put out the highest scoring run I can do,” Nicki, 16, said.

“I felt pretty good. I was a bit nervous coming into it, but it's good practice for finals, and I did my best in it. I’m hoping to pull it all out tomorrow in the finals.”

See full qualification results here.

Junior finals kick off tomorrow’s action from 9am, followed by Masters at 1:20pm. Elite women hit the course at 2:30pm, with Elite men wrapping up proceedings from 4pm. All times AEST.

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.

Photos: @samxherbert