Joshua Jolly (AUS) and Cédric Butti (SUI) took honours in the Men Elite category at the seventh and eight rounds of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Chongli, Zhangjiakou (China) on 10 and 11 October. Women Elite victories went to Bethany Shriever (GBR) and Laura Smulders (NED).
The weekend’s competition was also marked by first Elite podiums for Casper Pipers (NED) and Teya Rufus (AUS), Swiss domination of Sunday’s Men Elite final, and a similar take-over of the top spots by the French in the Men Under 23 final the same day.
Men Elite: Jolly makes his mark
Australia’s Joshua Jolly was the headline act in Chongli on Saturday 10 October, taking victory in the in 36.436 seconds. The 20-year-old crossed the line ahead of Colombia's Juan Velásquez Carmona, with Dutch rider Casper Pipers completing the podium, his first in the Men Elite category.
Jolly’s victory marked another important step in his rapid progression at Elite level. After stepping up from the Under 23 category this season, he has made an immediate impression against the established names of BMX Racing. His latest success was his second Elite UCI BMX Racing World Cup victory in a short space of time, following a win in Mentougou, China, the previous weekend. France’s Sylvain André finished fourth, while Switzerland's Cédric Butti took fifth.
Sunday brought a very different outcome in the Men Elite final. Switzerland took control of the podium, with Butti leading the way in 37.350 seconds. Mark Lüthi finished second, Filib Steiner took third and Tristan Borel completed an impressive Swiss one-two-three-four.
France’s Arthur Pilard was the first non-Swiss rider across the line in fifth. Jolly, meanwhile, fell on the first corner and did not finish the final, taking eighth place.
Women Elite: Shriever and Smulders share the spotlight
The Women Elite competition also produced two different winners in Chongli.
Great Britain’s Bethany Shriever took round seven victory in 40.817 seconds, ahead of New Zealand’s Leila Walker and Switzerland’s Zoé Claessens. Laura Smulders narrowly missed the podium in fourth, just 0.053 seconds behind Claessens.
Shriever’s win saw her take the lead in the extremely close battle for the overall title from Canada’s Molly Simpson (7th in the seventh round). The two riders were equal on points, but Shriever took the advantage with two wins to Simpson’s one.
Her reign was short-lived, however, as on Sunday, it was Smulders who came out on top, resulting in another reshuffle of the overall standings. The Dutch rider won the eighth round in 40.636 seconds, edging Shriever (40.729 seconds) and Australia’s Teya Rufus, who earned her first Women Elite UCI World Cup podium. Smulders’ victory saw her take the lead in the close-fought overall standings with 2861 points followed by Shriever (2850), Simpson (2536) and Claessens (2534). It was Smulders’ 31st win in a UCI BMX Racing World Cup round, the most victories of any rider.
Men Under 23: French domination
France’s Men Under 23 squad enjoyed a productive weekend in Chongli. Pierre Geisse won Saturday’s round in 37.038 seconds, with compatriot Clément Rocherieux finishing second. American Tommy Bruney took third.
Geisse and Rocherieux again fought at the front on Sunday, producing one of the closest finishes of the weekend. Geisse won in 37.569 seconds, just 0.001 seconds ahead of Rocherieux. Mathis Jacquet completed the podium, with Arthur Bretin Monard finishing fourth.
The result gave France all four top positions in the Round 8 final, a remarkable display of depth in the category.
Women Under 23: Challis keeps winning
Great Britain’s Freia Challis continued her impressive run in the Women Under 23 category, winning both rounds in Chongli. She took Saturday’s final in 43.188 seconds, ahead of American Derin Merten and Australia’s Isabella Schramm.
The podium was the same the following day: Challis shaved more than 1.5 seconds off her previous day’s performance to take the win in 41.553 seconds, ahead of Merten and Schramm.
With another double victory secured, Challis extends her successful campaign and remains the rider to beat in the category.
Last stop, Sarasota
With two rounds remaining, the battles for the overall titles will move to Sarasota, Florida (USA) where the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Cup titles will be decided on 31 October and 1 November.