Day two of the Urban Cycling World Championships in Chengdu, China, saw action in the trials and BMX Freestyle Flatland disciplines.
Deciding who would compete in Day three’s trials finals was the first order of the day, with three semi-finals in this discipline over the highly technical stages set in Xinhua Park. The competitors battled it out over three rounds, with the top six placed riders making the cut for the finals. First up was the Trials Men Junior 26” category with ten riders from eight different nations taking part.
Germany’s Oliver Widmann put in a highly confident performance and led the field throughout with commanding scores over his rivals after every round. Similarly, Vito Gonzalez of Spain was in second place after every round, with countryman Daniel Barón finishing in third.
Trials Men Junior 26” semi-final results
1st Oliver Widmann (GER) – 770 points
2nd Vito Gonzalez (ESP) – 540 points
3rd Daniel Barón (ESP) – 430 points
4th Jonas Jensen (DEN) – 370 points
5th Charles Chibaudel (FRA) –320 points
6th Marek Pochtiol (CZE) – 290 points
Competition in the morning’s Trials Men Junior 20” semi-finals was fierce with 15 riders from ten different nations vying for the six places in Day three’s finals. British rider Charlie Rolls was way out in front throughout and made himself the clear favourite for the UCI World title, amassing a hugely impressive total of 850 out of a possible 900 points.
The rest of the field found themselves in a more closely fought battle, but the consistent scoring of Spain’s Toni Guillén was enough to finish second, seeing off the challenge of compatriot Antonio Fraile who took third.
Trials Men Junior 20” semi-final results
1st Charlie Rolls (GBR) – 850 points
2nd Toni Guillén (ESP) – 580 points
3rd Antonio Fraile (ESP) – 550 points
4th Romain Leonard (BEL) – 520 points
5th Adam Morewood (GBR) – 420 points
6th Simone Titli (ITA) – 410 points
Sixteen riders from 11 countries competed in the Women’s semi-finals, but it was defending World Champion Nina Reichenbach of Germany who once again set the standard. Reichenbach led through every round of the semis, increasing her round scores as she went and staking a solid claim to take the title yet again.
Second place in the semis was contested between the youngest and oldest competing riders. But it was the Spanish teenager, Vera Barón, who got the upper hand over Australian Janine Jungfels, a rider more than twice her age.
Trials Women Elite semi-final results
1st Nina Reichenbach (GER) – 680 points
2nd Vera Barón (ESP) – 550 points
3rd Janine Jungfels (AUS) – 500 points
4th Manon Basseville (FRA) – 490 points
5th Nadine Kåmark (SWE) – 460 points
6th Alzbeta Pecinkova (CZE) – 410 points
Day two’s BMX Flatland competition began with the Women’s semi-finals. With six riders competing for just four places tomorrow, competition was intense. Germany’s Julia Preuss just pipped Misaki Katagiri of Japan to the top spot by half a point. Austrian Irina Sadovnik took third position with Eri Funatsu of Japan picking up fourth.
BMX Flatland Women Elite semi-final results
1st Julia Preuss (GER) – 74.50 points
2nd Misaki Katagiri (JAP) – 74.00 points
3rd Irina Sadovnik (AUT) – 70.25 points
4th Eri Funatsu (JAP) – 68.25 points
The Men’s Flatland semi-finals, saw the eight finals places contested by 16 riders from eight countries. The winning margins were insanely tight with less than two points separating the top five competing riders.
It was Frenchman Matthias Dandois who took the top spot, just beating Dominik Nekolny of the Czech Republic – now back on form after being reunited with his missing bike – with France’s 41-year-old Alex Jumelin finishing in third.
BMX Flatland Men Elite semi-final results
1st Matthias Dandois (FRA) – 87.63 points
2nd Dominik Nekolny (CZE) – 87.22 points
3rd Alexandre Jumelin (FRA) – 86.70 points
4th Moto Sasaki (JAP) – 86.13 points
5th Jean Prévost (CAN) – 86.08 points
6th Alberto Moya (ESP) – 84.25 points
7th Terry Adams (USA) – 81.00 points
8th Matthieu Bonnecuelle (FRA) – 78.88 points
See the full results of all Day 2’s competition here.
Day three’s action begins with the Trials Men’s semi-finals, followed by qualification in Men’s BMX Freestyle Park and ends with the BMX Men and Women finals.