The outdoor event took place under excellent weather conditions which was a nice change from Sweden for instance where wind played a big factor in the race and the Time Trials Superfinals had to be scrapped from the schedule. Santiago Del Estero brought sunshine, a nice temperature for the athletes, and had no wind making yesterday a perfect day for BMX racing.
The non pre-qualified girls and the boys started off with racing three motos where 48 Men and 24 Women would get to ride with the top 16 qualified men and top 8 in the women standings. It was clear from the start that Argentina had some fast racers in the game. Three of them won all their qualifying races with 2015 Junior World Champion Exequiel Torres setting the fastest time in the last lap for the first place qualifying spot. Argentinian Elite Men champion Gonzalo Molina and son of the event organiser Federico Villegas (ARG) also qualified with three wins. It had the crowd on their feet and it's a reason for them to check back in today.
Laura Smulders (NED) was the only girl to win all of her qualifying motos followed by a 2-1-1 of Brooke Crain (USA) and the third qualifying spot went to Gabriela Maria Diaz from Argentina.
When the one-lap time trials Superfinal started, a few times the leader had to step out of the Hot Seat to make place for the fastest rider. In the Women class it was Mariana Pajon (COL) who stayed in the leader's seat till the end. She's the current UCI BMX Time Trials World Champion which is a sign she can pull off a good lap when it matters.
In the Men Time Trials superfinal, 14 riders set a time within a second of winner Connor Fields (USA). The small time differences indicate that tomorrow's World Cup racing will be nothing short of spectacular. With the absence of Sam Willoughby (AUS), Maris Strombergs (LAT) and Joris Daudet (FRA), the riders can't wait to move up a spot or two in the World Cup standings after round number four.
Racing starts today at 13:00hr local time and can be followed on www.bmxlive.tv