The British BMX Series reached the halfway point of the season as rounds five and six reached fever pitch in Cumbernauld, Scotland.
The club had pulled out all the stops to make the raceway a work of art and with nigh on 700 entries across the weekend the racing was top notch.
The British Cycling Academy riders turned on the style in the Championship classes and were looking to carry momentum at this pivotal point in the season.
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The top male athletes were showcased in the Superclass and fans were treated to some awesome racing as British Cycling’s squad riders took to the track. Kyle Evans who rides for Pure Bicycles was amongst the entries on day one and he went unbeaten through the qualifiers to take to the gate in the final as joint favourite with Yess Factory’s Curtis Manaton.
When the gate dropped it was Evans who sped from gate one and took the holeshot to lead through the first berm into the technical “pro-section” jumps. Manaton had dropped into second place and was hot on his wheel throughout the lap but couldn’t close the gap and that was the way they crossed the line.
The third step of the podium went to Get Racing/Maxtrax rider Tre Whyte who looked comfortable out on track, and his Peckham club-mate Quillan Isidore took fourth.
“Scotland has been the best national round I have ever raced at," Evans beamed after the podium presentation.
“It was a great track and the facility was top notch with lots of BMX battles and perfect weather. Everyone seemed to have a blast and a lovely weekend. Fantastic work by everyone involved to help the event run, especially Cumbernauld BMX Club.
“It's was great to keep in the swing of racing seeing as last weekend was Papendal Supercross World Cup and the fast approaching World champs in Colombia, which I am looking forward to.”
On the second day of racing Evans sat out to continue his preparations for the World Championship in Columbia and it was Manaton again who went into the final among the favourites with Isidore and Whyte.
Whyte got the snap from the gate but a slight bonk on the first jump saw Manaton pull level. As they entered the first berm side by side Whyte had to hop over the inside of the first corner as Manaton was coming over and that caused Whyte to career up the berm and into the crowd fencing. Manaton continued on his course, and flew through the rest of the lap to claim victory from Isidore. Adam Brazil was third after laying down some serious horsepower to find his position.
Bethany Shriever was dominant once again in the Championship Women’s class, but she didn’t have it all her own way and had to battle to make the top spot. Charlotte Green from Crucial took the holeshot on both days’ racing and led the finals through the first corner with Factory Yess’ Shriever struggling to find position.
As the field strung out though, Shriever found a hole in the pack and lined up a move. Out of the second berm Green was still ahead, but Shriever was closing the gap and when they drew neck and neck she took her chance to pounce to the front and never looked back. Green tried valiantly to stay on top but it was Shrievers weekend from Green in second and Abbie Tylor in third.
Following her victory Beth said: “This weekend was full of ups and downs. I was struggling with my starts and then taking the win in the final both days with an entertaining comeback on Sunday's final!
“I'll be heading off to Columbia next Saturday with my brother and dad, then meeting the BC team out there. I am feeling fairly relaxed about the worlds, I just want to enjoy the whole experience of racing abroad and working with the BC team. The main aim is to make the final, but I want every lap to be completed with my full potential and whatever will be, will be.
“I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has shown continuous support over the past few months leading up to the worlds. See you soon!”
One of the biggest cheers of the day went to the Scottish trio of Ian Archibald, Stewart Campbell and Daniel Kelly in the veteran’s class as they took the top three places in Sunday’s final.
Archibald had a dominant weekend as he took the win in the class both days, combined with the 45+ cruiser class wins as well.
Some of the other stand out performances included Cumbernauld local Cameron Reid in the 13s who continues to have a great season with another A final to match his dad and club chairman Raymond's first foray into the main event of the Veterans class. Casey Markley from Knighthood also who won his first national event in the 10s.
Taking her first national win in the 15-16 girls was British Cycling apprentice and Identiti Factory Team rider Maddie Owen-Matthews who rode her most aggressive races to dominate the class over the weekend. Also doubling up the class wins were Felix Lopes in the 6s, Leon Parker in the 7s, Xander Mavolwane Wright in the 8s Freia Challis in the 7-8 girls, Taylor Hunt in the 9s, Lily Brindle in the 9-10 girls, Alexander Talbott in the 11s, Seb Pantlin in the 12s who also won the 9-12 cruiser both days, Chad Hartwell in the 13s and Alan Hill in the Master’s and 40-44 cruiser class.
The Cumbernauld club set the bar high as we head towards the second half of the British BMX Series season and Rounds seven and eight will be at Peckham on 25-26 June. We will have full coverage of the event right here.
