Australian golden girl Caroline Buchanan has won the silver medal in the elite women’s event on a rain and windswept track at the UCI BMX World Championships in Zolder, Belgium on Saturday. Buchanan stayed upright in a wild women’s final but Australia’s elite men were not as lucky, Olympic silver medallist and defending world champion Sam Willoughby taken out by Swiss rider David Graf at the head of the field in a men’s final where compatriot Anthony Dean also hit the bitumen.
Deposed champion Sam Willoughby has declared his Rio Olympic campaign on track despite crashing out of yesterday’s BMX world championship final on a dramatic day in Zolder, Belgium. Racing in driving rain and strong winds, Willoughby was leading the field through the second turn in his title defence when he was controversially forced off the track and out of the final by Swiss rider David Graf.
The event had been thrown into chaos when a serious weather warning led officials to make major changes to the format and schedule of competition, including the decision to start all events from the 5m start hill used by the age group challenge classes instead of the elite 8m supercross start hill.
The altered schedule saw riders hit the wet track in a condensed helter skelter program that put immense pressure on the riders. Fellow Australian Olympian and former world champion Caroline Buchanan was drawn to describe the day as ‘crazy, something we’ve never seen before at this level’.
Last week saw the complete Haro UK Race Team head to Zolder, Belgium to take part in the World Championships. There was a total of 3133 riders from 47 countries. Mark Fletcher, Lewis Hipkins Emily Green, Eddie Moore and Josh Moore made it through to the later qualifying stages but couldn?t progress any further mainly due to crashes. Three riders made it through to the main event which would mean they were presented with a world placing!
BMX star Caroline Buchanan says the wild weather that she and Australia’s other riders faced at the weekend’s world championships in Zolder, Belgium may be the perfect preparation for next year’s Rio Olympic Games. The world championships’ final day at the outdoor track, set within the confines of the former F1 circuit in Zolder, was marred by a serious weather warning that led officials to make major changes to the format and schedule of competition.
Those changes included bringing the racing forward almost five hours and the decision to start all events from the 5m start hill used by the age group challenge classes instead of the elite 8m supercross start hill.
The altered schedule saw competitors hit the wet track in a condensed helter skelter program that put immense pressure on the riders, something Buchanan says is a possibility in Rio or at several of the important lead up events that are at the mercy of the weather over the next 12 months.
Elite Men:
1 KIMMANN Niek NED19960520 33.386
2 VAN GORKOM Jelle NED19910105 33.753
3 GRAF David SUI19890908 33.817
4 OQUENDO ZABALA Carlos Mario COL19871116 34.082
5 PHILLIPS Liam GBR19890311 34.535
6 VAN DER BIEZEN Raymon NED19870114 34.749
7 WILLOUGHBY Sam AUS19910815 DNF
8 DEAN Anthony AUS19910422 DNF
Elite Women:
1 HERNANDEZ Stefany VEN19910615 37.530
2 BUCHANAN Caroline AUS19901024 38.745
3 CHRISTENSEN Simone DEN19940210 39.068
4 CRAIN Brooke USA19930429 39.102
5 SMULDERS Laura NED19931209 39.643
6 HLADIKOVA Aneta CZE19840830 39.696
7 STANCIL Felicia USA19950518 44.400
8 POST Alise USA19910117 1:19.599
Elite Men:
1. Joris Daudet (FRA)
2. Niek Kimmann (NED)
3. Connor Fields (USA)
Elite Women:
1. Mariana Pajon (COL)
2. Alise Post (USA)
3. Sarah Walker (AUS)
Junior Men:
1. Shane Rosa (AUS)
2. Brandon Te Hiko (AUS)
3. Collin Hudson (USA)
Junior Women:
Elite Men Time Trials qualification results. 2015 UCI BMX World Championships. Top 16 riders make it to the finals later on today. See who made it in.....
1 P 313 KIMMANN Niek NED 31.383 Q
2 1 WILLOUGHBY Sam AUS 31.511 +0.128 Q
3 P 65 PHILLIPS Liam GBR 31.677 +0.294 Q
4 P 11 FIELDS Connor USA 31.711 +0.328 Q
5 P 33 DAUDET Joris FRA 31.759 +0.376 Q
6 P 566 OQUENDO ZABALA Carlos COL 31.843 +0.460 Q
7 P 127 TREIMANIS Edzus LAT 31.845 +0.462 Q
8 P 279 JONES Trent NZL 31.845 +0.462 Q
9 P 85 GARCIA Jared USA 31.875 +0.492 Q
10 P 24 SHARRAH Corben USA 31.876 +0.493 Q
11 P 39 ANDRE Sylvain FRA 31.917 +0.534 Q
12 P 121 VAN DER BIEZEN Raymon NED 31.930 +0.547 Q
13 P 14 CALEYRON Quentin FRA 31.942 +0.559 Q
14 P 921 HARMSEN Joris NED 32.076 +0.693 Q
15 P 747 TURNER Bodi AUS 32.083 +0.700 Q
16 P 81 STROMBERGS Maris LAT 32.092 +0.709 Q
An easy fastest time for Mariana Pajon in Time Trials qualification. Top 16 ride TT Superfinals later today.
Time Trials qualification results Elite Women. 2015 UCI WORLD Championships. Top 16 to the Superfinals later today.
1 P 100 PAJON Mariana COL 35.741 Q
2 P 68 BUCHANAN Caroline AUS 36.238 +0.497 Q
3 P 11 POST Alise USA 36.544 +0.803 Q
4 P 75 VAN BENTHEM Merle NED 36.587 +0.846 Q
5 P 96 WALKER Sarah NZL 36.627 +0.886 Q
6 4 CHRISTENSEN Simone DEN 36.731 +0.990 Q
7 P 23 STANCIL Felicia USA 36.839 +1.098 Q
8 P 469 HERNANDEZ Stefany VEN 36.853 +1.112 Q
9 P 110 SMULDERS Laura NED 37.224 +1.483 Q
10 P 91 VANHOOF Elke BEL 37.230 +1.489 Q
11 P 33 GEORGE Danielle USA 37.444 +1.703 Q
12 P 52 HLADIKOVA Aneta CZE 37.691 +1.950 Q
13 P 53 PRIES Nadja GER 37.839 +2.098 Q
14 P 41 SUVOROVA Natalia RUS 37.845 +2.104 Q
15 P 32 CRAIN Brooke USA 37.910 +2.169 Q
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.