BMX: Rio Olympic hopeful Caroline Buchanan has been crowned the 2016 UCI BMX elite women’s time trial world champion for the second time in her career, after she beat home Dutch star Laura Smulders and reigning world champion Mariana Pajón of Colombia on the track named after the latter in Medellín, Colombia.
This year’s world championships also double as the selection event for the Australian Olympic Team, today’s result sending a clear message of Buchanan’s intent to qualify for her second Olympic Games in tomorrow’s main event.
Fellow Aussie Sam Willoughby, Australia’s only Olympic BMX medallist (silver in London) placed in the medals of the men’s time trial, finishing second to Niek Kimmann of the Netherlands, while rising Aussie star Andrew Hughes showed what Australia’s Olympic future could look like with a second place in the junior elite men’s event.
However it was Buchanan who led the Aussie charge and showed that lightning does strike twice as she yet again won a time trial world title in an Olympic year, her first coming at the 2012 world championships held in Birmingham, United Kingdom. It’s a coincidence the Aussie will take confidence from ahead of tomorrow’s racing.
“Coming into the last Olympic Games in London I had won the time trial in Birmingham and it was a massive confidence booster,” Buchanan said.
“Yesterday in practice I had a bit of a rough time, and almost pulled the pin early on in the session due to close calls with crashes, but my coach Wade Bootes told me to write it off and said ‘make sure Caroline turns up tomorrow’.
“This track is quite technical and I had a few little mistakes in my qualifying lap, so knew I had room to improve for the final, which I did. It was a nervous wait at the finish line, especially when Mariana was racing, but when she crossed and I saw the green box next to my name I was super stoked.”
“That’s my sixth world title overall, and I am honoured to be pulling on the rainbow world champions jersey again. I am dialled into the track now and ready for tomorrow.”
Meanwhile in the men’s time trial it was two-time Olympic and world champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia who looked to be holding the aces, the stalwart of world BMX riding to provisional first place late in the session, proving to be just has hard to beat in 2016 as he was eight years ago at the debut of BMX as an Olympic sport in Beijing.
Clearly up for the challenge an unintimidated by Strombergs, Willoughby came through to shave two tenths of a second off the Latvian's time to claim the provisional lead, until Kiemmann beat the time laid down by the Aussie to the tune of 0.037 seconds. Despite the final result, Willoughby, like Buchanan is hitting strong form at the right time of the year as he aims to also qualify for the Rio Games.
Earlier in the day Sydney-based junior men’s competitor Hughes produced a fast lap to finish second in his time trial, a meagre 0.119 seconds behind France’s Mathis Ragot Richard. Fellow Aussie Joshua Boyton also produced a pleasing lap to claim fifth place.
BMX AUSTRALIA
