High-speed racing and National domination would be an accurate description of this weekend’s action!
For the second consecutive year, BMX National Championships were hosted at the beautiful Calgary BMX track located just outside of downtown Calgary. With a long, high-speed first straightaway and a technical rhythm section, this track always offers great racing for amateurs and elites alike.
The Cycling BC BMX Development team stayed above the border for this year’s annual team project and after a summer full of racing and training camps around the province, the team traveled to Calgary for their first trip to National Champs.
Competing in the 11, 12 and 13-year-old categories the blue jerseys were hard to miss out front. Development team coach Mischa Partridge was on hand helping the riders get their race lines figured out in practice and going over strategy during racing. The team was set up with pits for the riders to relax in between racing, grab some food/drink, and go over video. Located right next to the Provincial High Performance tent, riders also had the opportunity to see firsthand the race routine and preparations of BC elites Alex Tougas, James Palmer, Drew Mechielsen, and Olympian Tory Nyhaug.
With 13 of the 17 team riders in attendance, all athletes made their finals, seven of them got on the podium, and two became national Champions.
Coach Mischa Partridge commented “it is great to see BC continuing to be a leading province in the sport. These development riders have worked hard at every training camp this year and it definitely showed today.”
The development team has one remaining training camp this season to prepare for the final BMX Canada National race on Thanksgiving weekend before wrapping up the season.
