The biggest event on the 2023 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup calendar in terms of spectator numbers was held in Montpellier, France, as part of the “Festival International des Sports Extrême” (FISE), an event that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. It was the second round of the UCI World Cup for BMX Freestyle Park and the first for the BMX Freestyle Flatland.
Men’s BMX Freestyle Park: Logan Martin at his best
Due to the large number of participants, a first pre-qualification was organised on the Wednesday. Out of the 110 riders, only 72 participated in the next qualifying round and 24 in the semi-finals. Due to the bad weather forecast for the Sunday, the organisers decided to turn the semi-final into a final, giving the 24 riders the chance to shine in front of the thousands of spectators who came to watch the event from the banks of the Lez.
The first of the four finals saw some incredible tricks. The park offered many different lines to the riders with its step down spine and step up ramp. At first glance, the park seemed to be missing a jump box, but a high ramp with transitions on both sides connected to a new tipi ramp, that could be used as a jump box for the brave.
Favourites Paul Thoelen (GER), Tom van den Bogaard (NED) and Kevin Peraza (MEX) brought strong performances, while Jose Cedano (CHI) landed double backflips that had the crowd excited. The action was turned up a notch when three-time European Champion Anthony Jeanjean (FRA) and Olympic BMX Freestyle Park Champion Logan Martin (AUS) took off. Until then Jaie Toohey (AUS) was in the lead after having delivered some big tricks, eventually placing him in fourth place. Marcus Christopher (USA) was so fast that he was able to put in more tricks in his performance, which earned him a third place.
Logan Martin’s first run set the bar high with a score of 92.00. When Anthony Jeanjean scored 91.80, Martin stepped it up again for his second run and his fist pump at the end confirmed his victory. The crowd would have preferred to see home rider Jeanjean win, but a second place behind the Olympic BMX Freestyle Park gold medallist keeps the French hopeful for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Women’s BMX Freestyle Park: Chinese show strength
40 female riders competed in the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup. 24 of them qualified for the semi-finals and 12 for the final. When the rain on Sunday morning stopped, just in time for the finals, the banks were once again filled with an impressive fan crowd.
The UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup round in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, showed that the Chinese women’s delegation had serious assets, which was confirmed in Montpellier, where four Chinese athletes finished in the top seven.
With her many tricks, including truckdrivers, barspins and no-handers, Huimin Zhou beat multiple UCI World Champion Hannah Roberts (USA) to take her first UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup victory. Laury Perez (FRA) got the crowd cheering with her beautiful runs that included a flair, a new trick for the 19-year-old who made her first UCI World Cup podium on home ground.
Women’s BMX Freestyle Flatland: Aude Cassagne claims it
Montpellier is a popular destination for BMX Freestyle Flatland, confirmed by the large number of fans fronting the big stage.
The 2022 UCI World Champion in BMX Freestyle Flatland, Aude Cassagne (FRA), showed that she is ready to defend her title this summer at the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland (Great Britain). With a score of 82.33 points, she relegated Kirara Nakagawa (JPN) to second place, altering the Japanese domination in Flatland. With a score of 77.67 points, Kirara took silver ahead of her compatriot Sakura Kawaguchi with 2.33 points.
Men’s BMX Freestyle Flatland: Japanese double
Victory in the men’s Flatland went to Japan’s Yu Shoji, who took his first UCI BMX Freestyle Flatland World Cup win. The 21-year-old sensation beat the first placed qualifier, Kio Hayakawa (JPN) who made a small mistake in his run that did not escape the judges. Matthias Dandois had the support of the French crowd, but it was Jean-William Prevost (CAN) who took the third step on the podium.
Next round of the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup will take place in Brussels (Belgium) from 6 to 9 July 2023.
Full results from round one of 2023 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup