FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Monster Energy congratulates Monster Army’s Justin Dowell on winning the 2018 UCI Urban World Cycling Championships in Chengdu, China. Heading into the finals, the 18-year-old was a man with a mission, saying he “wanted to win more than anything” and that he had “tricks up his sleeves” that would do the job. The Virginia Beach native has been traveling Europe and training for this competition for the entire year. After finishing 8^th last year in the World Championships he earned himself a spot in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, but was unable to attend the competition. Using that let down as motivation he has his eyes set on the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan and wanted to start that journey with a World Championship title.

Dowell was joined in the finals by Monster Army and fellow American Jeremy Malott, as well as Monster Energy’s Ben Wallace and Alex Nikulin, from Great Britain and Russia respectively.

However, it was Dowell who stomped his “dream run” and finished with a 92.2 after his first run. Using his second run as a preemptive victory lap, it was a run that would be hard to top, with his creative combinations and unique lines. Dowell is known to trick every hip and use every transfer to

The Rollback: a BMX Podcast episode twenty-nine with Rob Darden.

Team USA walked away from the 2018 UCI Urban World Championships with four medals in BMX Freestyle. On the women’s side, 23 year-old Perris Benegas (Reno, Nev.) took gold with Angie Marino (San Diego, Calif.) and Hannah Roberts (Buchanan, Mich.) taking silver and bronze sweeping the women’s podium. On the men’s side, Justin Dowell (Virginia Beach, Va.) took gold. “In the women’s class, Angie and Perris had similar runs where they used a lot of the park and had great flow. While Hannah might have not had the result she was looking for, she laid down some great tricks,” said Jamie Staff, USA Cycling Performance Director for BMX Racing and Freestyle, “Justin’s run was extremely energetic, he has really learned how to use the course to its full advantage. We’re looking forward to what all of our athletes will do leading into 2020, but this has been a great building year for the BMX Freestyle program.”

Benegas, who came into the World Championships ranked 22^nd in the World Cup standings, blew the competition out of the water in her final round taking advantage of every second for a complete and cohesive run showcasing her energy and technical skills.

“What an amazing overall experience the Urban World Championships were,” started Benegas, “It really came down to believing in myself and trusting in the process I started with USA Cycling. Accomplishing the goal of World Champion is something I’ve always wanted.”