Enduro National Champ Ryan Gilchrist chasing rainbows at Pump Track Worlds 

Just over a month after winning the AusCycling Enduro National Championships in Red Hill, Victoria, Ryan Gilchrist will this weekend chase World Championship rainbows in a different discipline – Pump Track.

It will be the 21-year-old’s second time representing Australia at the Pump Track World Championships after last year finishing 10th overall in Chile.

Gilchrist, from Coffs Harbour, won an all-expenses paid ticket to the 2023 UCI Pump Track World Championships in Austria after taking out the New Zealand qualifying event in Christchurch on October 1 over some tough competitors.

“I’m over the moon to get a ticket to Pump Track Worlds again. After such an incredible experience in Chile last year I was looking for an opportunity to qualify again,” Gilchrist said.

“With the race budget already spent, my manager made a deal with me: He agreed to pay for me to go to a qualifier in NZ and if I won the all-expenses-paid ticket I would go to worlds. If not, I’d have to wait until next year.

“Seems like a lot of top BMX racers had the same idea and the qualifier in Christchurch was absolutely stacked with World Cup racers on BMX bikes. I managed to win against a field that had more worlds-worthy athletes than I could count so I’m very keen to send it in Austria on Yeti’s prototype Dirt Jump race weapon.”

Since his Enduro MTB National Championships win on October 15, Gilchrist has turned his focus to the pump and BMX track, honing the craft ahead of World Championships in Otztal, Austria on November 18.

He has also been working with former Australian BMX Olympian and MTB world champion Jared Graves for training and race preparation ahead of Worlds, and he is keen to improve on last year’s result.

“I’m going to put everything I have into this world’s campaign. Last year I had the pace to qualify second so I’m hungry,” Gilchrist said.

Follow the Pump Track World Championships here.

Photos: Blissfield Photography/Velosolutions