The British BMX freestyle season finished on a high with Kieran Reilly and Charlotte Worthington being crowned the national champions at The Asylum Skatepark in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
World champion Reilly took the national title to round off a stellar season, where he has also been crowned the European champion and took the world title at the UCI Cycling World Championship in Glasgow in August. Olympic gold medallist Worthington secured another national title after a fantastic run in the women’s park category.
The national championships doubled up as the final round of the National BMX Freestyle Series, with Reilly also taking the overall men's victory while Sasha Pardoe won the women's elite park series title.
Park
Competing in the world champion rainbow jersey, Reilly showed his class, with both his runs proving the best of the day. In his first run, Reilly scored 96.25, but managed to top it with a 97.75.
Scooter world champion Jordan Clark shocked the field in his first BMX freestyle park contest, finishing in second place with an incredible first run, scoring 95.88 to put him in the silver medal position. Dylan Hessey flew to the bronze medal, landing his first double flair in competition to finish on 93.25.
The 2022 national champion Jude Jones was set to impress, but slipped in his first run and broke his bike on his second to lose out on the title.
Reilly took the overall series title on 100 points, while Hessey came in second on 82 points and Jack Watts in third on 80 points.
In the women’s category, series leader and eventual winner Pardoe pushed Worthington all the way, scoring 93.25 in her second run to go into the lead. Worthington pulled out a flawless run to claim the victory, scoring 94.75 to take another national title. The women’s field continues to go from strength to strength every year, with some impressive performances from the rest of the women’s field. Elsa Rendall-Todd, who has also shone as a BMX racer, finished in third place in a fantastic run that saw her score 80.50.
Pardoe's overall series win saw her finish on 97 points, while Rendall-Todd came in second on 87 points. Holly Pipe, who made her debut world championship appearance this year, also rounded off her season with third overall on 86 points.
Watch Worthington’s winning run
In the under-15 boy’s category, Harry Schofield and Harry Gorman battled it out for the title with the two just a point apart after their second run. In his third and final run, Schofield’s huge back flip tailwhip helped him retain the title, scoring a phenomenal 96.75. Gorman took second on 93.00, while Luke Willcocks came in third after a brilliant day.
Ellie Gunnell and Esme Morris had an equally intense battle, pushing each other to do their absolute best tricks, with Gunnell taking the title on 92.50 points – two points ahead of Morris.
Gunnell was also crowned the overall under-15 winner ahead of Ffion Pickstock and Amelia Flora, while Morris took the overall under-12 win.
In the under-12 category, Jacob Urbas and Millie Brooks dominated their respective fields, while Oliver Baker and Alex Cartmell won the under-9 contests.
Street
Stu Chisholm won the elite men’s street contest after fierce competition with the top seven men all scoring over 100 points. Chisholm secured 116 points to finish just ahead of fan favourite Sam Jones, who took second place in 115.67 points. Alex Kennedy showed fantastic form to score 111.67 points and finish in third place, as well as take the overall series title.
Kennedy scored 84 points in the series standings to take the top spot one point ahead of Chisholm, while Joe Jarvis came in third on 80 points.
In the women’s category, Erin Finnegan secured the win with a brilliant score of 99.33, and also took the overall series title. Alex Cartmell used her skills from her win in the under-9 park category to take second place in 79.33, while Tia Walton finished third 53.33 to also reflect the overall series standings.
Samuel Remande-Guyard took the top spot in the amateur men’s street competition, securing 102.67 points to be well ahead of the field. Tommy Smith took second on 95.67 and also won the overall series leader, while Sonny Flynn had a battle with Joe Smith for the final spot on the podium, with Flynn taking third by just 0.33 points.
