BMX riders need strength and courage in equal measure, writes Reece Homfray
ON the surface, BMX riders look like grown adults on kids bikes who just couldn’t let go of the freedom that came with getting their first set of wheels. But Sam Willoughby is an elite athlete with incredible determination.
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ON the surface, BMX riders look like grown adults on kids bikes who just couldn’t let go of the freedom that came with getting their first set of wheels.
The sight of them takes many people back to when they were a kid and would do skids in the driveway or ride over a wooden plank stacked on two bricks in the backyard.
But underneath their helmets and race suits are elite athletes with strong, powerful bodies, a lion-sized heart to get on the start line in the first place and then courage that you just can’t measure to put themselves in harm’s way over every jump and around every corner.
A BMX race is short — the gold medal race in Rio last month was decided in 30 explosive and exhilarating seconds.
Eight riders in the gate go flying down a giant ramp and into the first of several jumps before taking the final corner and hurling themselves at the finish line.
Just to get to the final, riders had to go through several rounds of qualifying, then race three semi-final heats which would determine the final eight spots.
There were crashes in both the men’s and women’s racing in Rio. Riders can get tangled up at just the slightest touch of arms, pedals or handlebars.
A Dutch rider fell so hard that he snapped the front forks clean off his bike but still got up and walked across the finish line.
Tragically, when Sam Willoughby crashed while training in the US this month, he did not.
Put simply, it might look like a lot of fun and for the riders, it probably is. But BMX racing is also a serious sport and not without its serious risks to competitors.
That Willoughby suffered his injury in training is a constant reminder of that, as well as highlighting that these elite athletes who are brave enough to race at the highest level deserve so much respect.
