'Today I just had the fuel, had the fire': Josh Jolly claims career-first U23 World Cup win

Josh Jolly has won the first UCI BMX Racing World Cup of his promising career in Round 4 of the Under-23 Men series in Papendal, Netherlands.

The reigning junior world champion went head-to-head with series leader Jason Noordam in the final and held off the Dutchman to break his streak of three consecutive World Cup wins.

The victory capped off a dominant day for the 19-year-old from Ballarat, who reeled off six race wins from the first round moto through to the final while not dropping a lap.

"Oh man, it means the world right now," Jolly said.

"I put in so much work. The last three rounds I haven't found any luck and to get it today is just the best thing ever.

"After my crash yesterday, I was in my head a bit. Today I just had the fuel, had the fire.

"Went through all my rounds today. Kept landing flat into the corner so I had to fix that up but yeah, I just had a bit more fuel and got it done.

"This will bring me a lot more confidence coming into the world champs, (will) try and get my second rainbow jersey and just keep going throughout the season."

Speed has not been an issue for Jolly over the past two weekends, but luck had been, with a semifinal overtake attempt from another rider crashing his Round 3 charge yesterday in the semifinal.

In Sarrians last weekend, Jolly progressed through to both finals and finished eighth and fourth, however, the rising star left France disappointed with his performances.

Fast forward seven days and the breakthrough World Cup win has arrived, bringing with it plenty of confidence and motivation ahead of the 2025 UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark on the first weekend of August.

Jolly now sits second in points behind runaway leader Noordam, who leads by 270 points.

ARA Australian Cycling Team's Jesse Asmus has moved down to fifth in U23 men points after not racing Round 4 due to suffering a concussion in a Round 3 crash.

Teammate Jordan Callum finished 10th in Round 4 after finishing fifth in the semifinal.

Feature picture: Navada Photography