Carly Hibberd: Coach remembers career 10 years after cyclist’s death

The former coach of a Toowoomba cycling champion has reflected on her incredible career, 10 years after she passed away.

RIDING IN SPIRIT: David Budden was Carly Hibberd's first riding coach and mentor in Toowoomba when the gutsy six-year-old first took up BMX. Ten years after her tragic passing, Mr Budden still says he can feel Carly’s presence with him when he rides. Picture: Kate McCormack

When Toowoomba BMX coach David Budden first met six-year-old Carly Hibberd he immediately knew she had what it took to be a champion.

“Riding didn’t come as easily to her as it did for some, she had to really work at it, whether it was BMX, mountain biking or road racing,” he said.

“She was a very determined kid, and I’ll never forget how gutsy she was when she trained and raced.

“I have no doubt she would have achieved incredible things throughout her cycling career.”

Tragically, Hibberd’s promising cycling career and life were cut short when she was struck by a car while on a training ride near Milan on July 6, 2011.

“I was at work when the news came in over the radio, ‘Australian cycling champion Carly Hibberd killed in Italian road accident’ – I was in total disbelief,” Mr Budden said.

“She’d only just emailed me a couple of days before to tell me how her training was going and her plans to ride with a French team in 2012. Then she was gone.”

The loss shook the Australian cycling community and the wider Toowoomba region where Hibberd grew up and first learnt to ride BMX before progressing on to become one of the country’s most promising young female riders.

A fellow talented BMX rider, Carly’s father Mark first met Mr Budden in the 90s after moving to the Toowoomba region for work and the men have remained close ever since.

“As a father you never get over the grief of losing a child, but I still enjoy going for a ride now because it feels like she's still with me,” Mr Budden said.

“I know she’d still be riding if she was here with us today because she loved what she did, and she was never a quitter.”

“When I won my last BMX championships in 2015, I had a funny feeling come over me. I can’t describe it but I knew Carly was with me in that moment,” Mr Budden said.

“Her memory will live on through the creation of Carly Hibberd Park, which will celebrate her love of riding and sunflowers when it’s completed over the next several years.”

Originally published as Carly Hibberd: Coach remembers career 10 years after cyclist’s death