As a Dutchman looking at the final results from Shepparton you won't catch me saying: "It ain't much if it ain't Dutch." I would say that it has been a while that no rider from the Netherlands made it to a UCI BMX SX World Cup final in Men or Women. Even Laura Smulders and Niek Kimmann did not go through. That doesn't mean that the racing in the finals wasn't good. It was just missing some of my favourite riders. See who did what in the race results below and watch the videos when they are finished. Racing in the Olympic year gets serious.
UCI BMX SX World Cup 2020 - Results Round 2:
All the action from the Elite Women's final on day 1 of the UCI BMX Supercross for 2020 from Shepparton, Australia
The first racing for Day 2 in Shepparton. After wrapping up here we're heading over to Bathurst for rounds 3 and 4.
UCI BMX SX World Cup 2020 - Results Round 1:
Men: 1 Niek KIMMANN (NED) 33.040, 2 Anthony DEAN (AUS) +0.148, 3 Izaac KENNEDY (AUS) +0.316, 4 Connor FIELDS (USA) +0.458, 5 Sylvain ANDRE (FRA) +0.892, 6 Yoshitaku NAGASAKO (JPN) +1.128, 7 David GRAF (SUI) +1.548, 8 Romain MAHIEU (FRA) +1.753
Women: 1 Alise WILLOUGHBY (USA) 36.345, 2 Saya SAKAKIBARA (AUS) +0.126, 3 Mariana PAJON (COL) +1.227, 4 Laura SMULDERS (NED) +1.235, 5 Lauren REYNOLDS (AUS) +1.237, 6 Judy BAAUW (NED) +1.666, 7 Manon VALENTINO (FRA) +1.737, 8 Axelle ETIENNE (FRA) +2.456
UCI BMX SX World Cup standings 2020 - after Stage 1:
Men:
1 Niek KIMMANN (NED) 150, 2 Anthony DEAN (AUS) 130, 3 Izaac KENNEDY (AUS) 115, 4 Connor FIELDS (USA) 100, 5 Sylvain ANDRE (FRA) 90, 6 Yoshitaku NAGASAKO (JPN) 80, 7 David GRAF (SUI) 75, 8 Romain MAHIEU (FRA) 70
Women:
The World Cup BMX crew is either; in Australia, in the sky, or waiting at an airport. So get ready for the first 4 rounds in Shepparton and Bathurst. February 1 & 2 and 8 & 9. We're looking forward to an Aussie welcome so get some snags on the barbie and put your feet up for the start of Olympic year and some nail-biting racing.
It's Olympic year and we're kicking off the World Cup Tour early this year to get everything done before Tokyo 2020. Join us in Australia for back-to-back events, Manchester, Papendal and Rock Hill before the World Championships take place in Houston Texas.
It's been a long trip getting to Shepparton, Australia in order to get here for the first round of the 2020 UCI BMX SX World Cup. Leaving on Thursday to arrive in Australia on Saturday shows some time was spent at airports and in planes. After Matt Holmes had shown me around Sydney for a few hours (thanks Matt, much appreciated), it was off to the Gold Coast to check out some parks over there. Wade Bootes showed me the Beenleigh park, Nerang BMX track, the park with the fullpipe, Nerang's concrete skatepark and Logan Martin's house. After three days on the road it was time to hit the sack. After spending an amazing "Australia day" at the Gold Coast, a 1600 kilometer long road trip in the Cycling Australia van & trailer brought me to Shepparton. Life isn't always as beautiful as it looks on Instagram......
We'll be spending two weeks in Australia, a country I've never been to before. The first two UCI BMX SX
For some it was a rocky road at Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2019 UCI BMX SX World Cup in Rock Hill, South Carolina. In racing it cannot always go your way as a.o. Federico Villegas and Exequiel Torres found out just two weeks before their home race in Argentina. Friday evening’s race was delayed by some fierce weather but it cleared up in time for the racing to take place under the lights of one of the best BMX facilities on the planet. The permanent grandstands, offices, brick toilets, parking and a track with a brilliant surface all came in handy when mother nature teases you. The asphalt turns stayed in good condition and the racing was top notch.
National races don’t always have the same number of entries in the Elite class as at the UCI World Cup races. With Olympic qualifying points up for grabs 60 Women entered the race on Friday where 113 Elite Men were battling for a spot on the podium at the end of the night.
Especially in the Women class the standings in the overall ranking were close going into round 7. USA’s Alise Willoughby was going to use home advantage in Rock Hill, a track that she won the 2017 Elite Women World title on but of course Laura Smulders (NED) wasn’t just going to give the red leader plate to her. Laura had come back from a crash at a race in China and did not have an idea how good she would do against the fastest BMX ladies on the planet. Mariana Pajon (COL) made the final as well as Judy Baauw (NED), third in the standings, Saya Sakakibara (AUS), Natalia Afremova (RUS), and