Great Britain Cycling Team’s Declan Brooks and Charlotte Worthington both enjoyed podium successes in the final round of the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup in Chengdu over the weekend, ahead of the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships which begin there this week.
In the men’s contest, Declan finished the semi-final run on Saturday in second place but the poor weather on Sunday meant the finals were cancelled and the results from the semi-final stood.
Declan’s semi-final run was full of energy, with impressive transfers all over the park. Amongst his tricks, he pulled off a front flip no hander, a 360 double bar spin and a huge no hander transfer to secure his second place position in Chengdu for the second consecutive year.
Declan Brooks said: “We’ve just finished up here in Chengdu for the last World Cup stop of the year. I’ve missed out on finals both stops before, so for me to get into a final was the main goal. The course was amazing and perfect for my style of riding. I qualified in second place going into the finals. Unfortunately it got rained out and we took the semi-final results. It would have been amazing to ride in the finals and go all in, maybe it could have been gold rather than silver. But I’m super happy to come away fit and blooming with confidence going into the world championships next weekend.”
Charlotte came into the world cup in Chengdu with excellent form having been crowned both the inaugural national and European champion in the weeks leading up to this contest. Her busy final run full of tricks, including a big wall ride, a back flip and a 360 finished off with a brilliant line which had a tail whip and a flair. This placed her in third overall and marked her first podium finish at a world cup this year, which topped off a fantastic month for her.
Charlotte Worthington said: “The contest was really tough, all the girls put it out there on the course. I tried my best to stick to my guns and perform the run I had planned; although they didn’t go perfectly to plan, I came out with a great result and some learnings.”
Great Britain’s James Jones and Alex Coleborn both finished in the top ten, with eighth and ninth place respectively. The squad will now stay out in Chengdu and are looking forward to competing in the world championships which start on 6th November.
