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New season, new gear, new bike, new training programs, new countries, new tracks.... How does one prepare? We sat down with Niek Kimmann at TLD in Corona to find out more on his off season.

First of all, we know you and your brother as BMXers with a passion, trying to suck everything up in the BMX world and take everything in. How come you needed a BMX break after becoming the Olympic Gold Medalist?
Niek Kimmann: Yeah, I had a 3-month break from BMX. I simply had enough of it. When I became World Champion for the first time, I was in a similar situation. At one point you reach a new level which comes with new responsibilities. You train for races. When you win those races, it comes with responsibilities that you're not prepared for. You're young, you listen to advice from others, you must do this, you must do that....but you're inexperienced yourself so you take everyone's advice but at some point...pause... The reason I started riding BMX is because I liked doing it. At one point so many things get added to your life which are overpowering the sole reason why you started riding BMX. It's not that you forget why you ride, but expectations are up and that makes it hard riding your bike just because you love riding your bike. When I became World Champ back in 2015 I made that mistake and I think that after the Tokyo2020 Olympics I fell in the same trap and I simply had to stop and did not race for a little while. For myself I had to delete all results and titles and had to get back to the core of why I ride. I like to race because I love racing. Even if I would never win a race again, I would still like it.

Yo, check it, yo! We talkin' 'bout the UCI BMX Racing World Cup, baby, and we kickin' it off in Rotorua, New Zealand, ya feel me? So, boom! We got over 200 BMX riders from all over the globe droppin' in for this epic showdown. Jack and Bennett Greenough, holdin' it down for the home turf, takin' those top spots in the Under 23 Men's class like straight-up bosses. And let me tell ya, them Aussies ain't holdin' back neither, with Noah Elton snatchin' that third spot on the Saturday at Round 1.

But peep this, the track's no joke, y'all. Gaps to clear, grass-filled sections, it's a wild ride out there. Veronika Sturiska takin' a hit in the U23 main with a poor start, droppin' back to 8th. Emily Hutt (GBR) missed out getting 4^th. But yo, props to Japan’s Jui Yabuta grabbing the bronze and Australia’s Teya Rufus crossed the finish line in front of USA’s Ava Corley for a first UCI World Cup win of the year.

And don't even get me started on the Elite races, fam. Laura Smulders holdin' it down for the Dutch, snatching second place, but it's Saya Sakakibara from down under takin' that gold, showin' us what's up. She continued where she left off in 2023.

Romain Mahieu makin' moves for France, grabbin' that holeshot like a champ taking that Saturday win. And shoutout to Niek Kimmann bouncin' back from a rough Saturday to snag that third spot on Sunday. Cedric Butti and Joris Daudet showin' us they mean business with some solid finishes. A 4th and a 2nd for Cedric and a 2nd and first for Daudet in Rotorua at stop 1 & 2.

Watch the finals from Round Two of the 2024 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Rotorua (NZL) on Sunday 11 February.

Results UCI BMX Racing World Cup Rotorua, NZL Round 1
Elite Men:
1. MAHIEU Romain FRA 1 37.037 500
2. DAUDET Joris FRA 2 37.324 430
3. MARQUART Simon SUI 3 37.431 370
4. BUTTI Cedric SUI 4 37.718 318
5. CARMONA GARCIA Mateo COL 5 37.926 273
6. KENNEDY Izaac AUS 6 38.318 235
7. LARSEN Kamren USA 7 38.521 202
8. GAROYAN Leo FRA 8 38.748 174
9. BLANC Renaud SUI 5 37.816 165
10. DYHRE Magnus DEN 5 38.645 157
11. VAN DER BURG Dave NED 6 37.883 149
12. THOUIN Theo FRA 6 40.467 142
13. OEGEMA Ynze NED TOF 7 38.172 135
14. PILARD Arthur FRA 7 1:09.812 128
15. SCIORTINO Martti ITA 8 38.659 122

Watch the finals from Round One of the 2024 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Rotorua (NZL) on Saturday 10 February.