This weekend’s sees the opening two rounds of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Glasgow. Hoping to make his mark on the world stage is Scottish Cycling performance programme athlete Cameron Reid, and we caught up with him earlier in the week to gather his thoughts about making his World Cup debut in Glasgow.
Reid, who came through Cumbernauld Centurions BMX Club, is relishing his debut at UCI level this weekend, where he’ll be racing in a strong U23 field, as he told Scottish Cycling:
“I never got a chance through COVID, to do any junior or U23 races internationally, so I’ve been training as hard as I can, but it will be a bit of an eye opener for me, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Scotsman’s form has seen him score top 10 finishes in the Superclass (Elite) level at the British Series events, with a brace of them coming in Cumbernauld last weekend. What makes these performances stand out even more is that it’s the 19-year-old’s first season at senior level, as he explained:
“It’s been improving, I’ve struggled a bit at the start of the year because the jump from junior men’s to Elite/Superclass in the UK is massive.
“I ended up winning a National Series round and getting a podium as a junior last year, and then jumping up to the 8m track at Manchester against an Olympic silver medallist and all the Podium GBCT boys, it was quite a big thing for me. I had been looking up to them for most of my young career but I’m slowly settling in and seeing the results of my training.”
Cameron joined the Scottish Cycling Performance Programme last summer, the first BMX athlete to do so, and he believes that the team environment created with the track riders in particular has helped his development.
“I was brought on as the first BMXer to the Scottish Institute for Sport in June last year, and it’s been the best 10-11 months of training I’ve had. It’s great to be in the gym with all the Olympic athletes like Jack Carlin and British Champs on the track like Ellie Stone. It’s great to have like-minded athletes to train beside and the Institute has been very supportive.”
The two legs this weekend will see Reid have back-to-back opportunities to progress through the numerous rounds, but the Scot is remaining very grounded in his aspirations for the week of racing, not setting a short-term goal in terms of position.
“I’ve not put a number on it, but hopefully try and get through as many stages as possible; it’ll be very difficult, but I feel like I’ve got a good chance”
One advantage the Scotsman, who will be racing for Moore-Large RT this weekend, has over many other athletes is his knowledge of the Knightswood track.
“I think home advantage definitely has a toll in the sport, because it’s muscle memory at the end of the day. It’s a 40 second race, it’s not long, you can’t really think about what you’re doing, but it is a tough track, so maybe home advantage isn’t the way to put it, but I’m certainly more familiar with it than some of the other people.”
Tickets are still available for the weekend (more information below) and the Glasgow-based rider thinks the venue suits itself perfectly for the intense, frantic and fast racing that World Cup events has to offer.
“I’m really looking forward to it, it should be a great event. I was at the track yesterday [Tuesday] with GB and a few of the boys my age, and the track’s looking great – the event is looking to be great for spectators as well. I’m going to really enjoy it, I think. I’m just going to try and get a lot of experience for the years to come.”
With only a year to go until the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships come to Glasgow and Scotland, Reid has a big target in his sights.
“I’m really looking forward to it - the events are going to be huge. It’s going to be one of the most amazing things to be able to spectate all the other disciplines, as well as hopefully ride my own if I get selected, so I need to try and perform as well as I can in this next 12 months, just to show that I can be ready for it.”
The UCI BMX Racing World Cup will take place at Glasgow BMX Centre on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May, and you can purchase tickets here, priced at £15 for adults and £10 for kids. If you cannot make it you can keep up to date with all the goings-on via our social media channels @ScottishCycling.
