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It's fair to say that the level of BMX riders coming out of the Benelux hasn't been internationally known all too much with the exception of a few. Reason being, no place to "train". But with the 040BMXPARK in Eindhoven around, that has changed. Foam, resi, wood. You can take it step by step. Most importantly, there is an indoor place to ride now which is such a big help, especially in the wintertime when it's cold and wet and it gets dark at 5PM. "040" has been around for a few years and the level doesn't go up in a few weeks, but after a couple of years of riding and riders pushing and helping eachother you can see the difference.

Especially people who had not seen the riders for a couple of years were pleasantly surprised. Not only the pro class impressed, the ams were ripping too. Flipping the box at age 11 (Jari Roggeveen) is unreal. Doing high barspin airs and tailwhips at age 15 (Roby Burggrave) is becoming 'normal'. It's so awesome to see this happening.

-Frame: Free Agent, Lodus
-Forks: Demolition, Maiden
-Headset: Demolition
-Stem: Demolition, Monarch
-Bars: Demolition, Combat
-Grips: ODI, Longnecks, I cut them down short though so they are just barely bigger than the width of my hand.
-Bar ends: Kink, some old metal ones that I have had forever. I still really like having metal ones over plastic.

In a global first, Caroline Buchanan, the current world number one BMX rider created a young women’s team. The Buchanan Next Gen team currently consists of three Australian BMX riders. Mikayla Rose (ACT) is the eldest at 14 has her sights set on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. From western Sydney (NSW) is Paige Harding at just 11 years of age. Harding claimed fifth place at the 2014 World Championships and aims to improve on that this year in Belgium in July. The youngest and newest member to the team is 8 yr old Tayla Robertson from Shepparton (VIC). Robertson is a current national champion in her age group and is aiming for a podium at this year’s world championship.

The Next Gen team will all head to the upcoming BMX World Championships in Belgium in July. Last year team members Rose and Harding each finished in the top 10. The Buchanan Next Gen