In the men’s final Willoughby was also up against some fierce competition. With Maris Strombergs from Latvia in lane four. Strombergs is the current Olympic Champion and winner of the previous World Cup event in Chula Vista. The Latvian was keen on winning. But there was also the current Elite men World Champion Donny Robinson from the USA. Robinson looked in good shape winning all his motos in the three heats of the 1/8 finals. But Willoughby outperformed all. He charged out of the gate in the final leading from start to finish. Willoughby battled it out with Strombergs on the first straight and was leading going into the first turn. Then he managed to keep of Donny Robinson to claim double victory.
Sam Willoughby (AUS) said: “I had a real rough start of the day. The pressure was on. But I managed to pull my head back in and refocus on the job at hand. I learnt a lot today! Our approach for this year was to focus on the World Cup events and the World Championships. That worked out really good.” “FHe continued: "For the final I wanted the inside lane and used that to my advantage, Maris and I fought it out on the first straight and it was a drag race to the finish. It is a privilege to race against such formidable competition. Great to win here and to be the 2009 overall season winner.”
Laëtitia Le Corguillé (FRA) said: “Right now, I’m delighted, very happy! The fact that there are more and more people gaining an interest in BMX is something I’m really pleased to see. The Roc d’Azur brings me luck. It’s the third year running that the last event has been staged here and it’s the third time that I’ve won this world cup!” This season, the French rider crashed several times and had serious injuries. “Her season has been really complicated,” said Fabrice Vettoretti, national technical director of the French BMX team. “In winning this world cup she proved that she is a great champion. There was a really big fight during this crazy final. Laetitia had to dig really deep to hunt down this victory!”
Donny Robinson (USA) said: “I was not too happy with the way I was riding and Maris, Sam and Khalen were all incredibly fast. I did not have second place speed today. So l am happy with my result thanks to some good positioning and smart riding.”
Ariel Martin (USA) said: “I am very happy with third place. I was injured not too long ago, actually my hand is still broken. So I did not get a lot of training done lately. Only the last few weeks I was back on the bike.”
Pics by Jerry Landrum/BMX Mania
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.