For the 6th year in a row the UCI BMX SX World Cup stopped over at the BMX SX track located at the Sport Centre of Santiago del Estero, Argentina. The final two rounds of the 2018 World Cup season were raced in blistering heat.
Saturday's Elite Men final was one for the books. The time difference between winner Corben Sharrah (USA) and 8th placed Kye Whyte (GBR) was just 0.642. Argentina's Gonzalo Molina gave the home crowd reason to cheer with his 2nd place, while Jared "The Jet" Garcia (3rd) scored his first World Cup podium. With the win in Elite Women’s final, Dutch rider Laura Smulders (TVE-Oegema's) clinched the 2018 UCI BMX SX World Cup title one race early. Alise Willoughby (USA) grabbed 2nd and an emotional Sarah Walker (NZL) made the podium for the first time in many years.
Joris Daudet (FRA) won Sunday’s Round 8 in front of Gonzalo Molina (ARG) and Anthony Dean (AUS), but sixth place for UCI World Cup leader Niek Kimmann (NED) was enough for him to hold on to the overall title.
In the Women’s final on Sunday, Saya Sakakibara (AUS) and Laura Smulders were shoulder to shoulder in the first turn and the second straight. On the last straight, Alise Willoughby joined the duo, and the drag race to the finish saw the three of them cross the line side by side. A mere 0.041 of a second separated the three, with Sakakibara taking the win in front of Willoughby (2nd) and Smulders.
Youth Olympic Games, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 7 October 2018.
Born in San Juan, Argentina, Gonzalo Molina is unmatched when it comes to power out of the gate. Son of a race car driver, he picked up BMX racing at a young age and won silver in the Junior race at the 2013 UCI BMX Worlds in Auckland (NZL). Three years later, his 2nd place in Rock Hill in 2016 was his first taste of UCI World Cup success. The two-time Argentinean Champion also finished 2nd in Santiago del Estero last year and has clocked a further two 2nd places in 2018. As in 2017, he finished 9th overall in the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup.
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