Bendigo riders have tamed the jumps, bumps and turns in some outstanding performances at the BMX Victoria Open State Championships at the weekend.
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Eight Bendigo BMX Club riders qualified for their division’s final at the 700-rider event in Knox, with Rhian Hobbs winning the eight-year-old girls’ final.
“We had an awesome time, the club went really well with all riders,” Bendigo BMX Club president and Rhian’s father Brett Hobbs said.
“The only one that ended up with a number one was my youngest daughter, but we had twos, threes and fours and a heap made the finals.
“I was stoked for Rhian because she actually beat (number) one in Australia, who got her over at the Aussie titles so she’s beaten her back now.
“One kid, Tom Meharry, is in his first 12 months and got fourth in Victoria in the nine-year-old boys’, it’s just phenomenal.”
Other riders to perform well included Esther Woodward who rode superbly to claim second in the AA Women’s final, while Rhian’s sister Meleia Hobbs took out third place in the nine-year-old girls’.
Briana Eyles continued to show her talent with a fifth placing in the 13s girls’, while Damon Shea qualified for the final in the 15-16-year-old boys’ cruiser class on Saturday.
Racing in the 10-year-old boys’ division, Kailen O’Grady placed sixth, while he also took out second in the Dynamite Series final which led to third place overall and a place on the Victorian team.
Jed Seipolt finished fourth in his Dynamite Series race in the 12-year-old boys’ division, before taking out seventh in the state final.
All the Bendigo racers finished in the top-16 at the state titles which means they’ve qualified for the nationals in Brisbane next year.
Former cruiser class world champion Jaclyn Wilson was unable to race at the state titles, but is automatically qualified for next year’s nationals after taking out the 35-39-year-old women’s cruiser class at this year’s titles.
While Wilson represents the pinnacle of the club, a number of youngsters showed bright futures in the non-competitive sprocket races.
Will Oliver won all his races in the six-year-old boys’, while Sam O’Grady also rode well in the division.
Finn Mulcair and Seth Boyd performed impressively in the five and seven-year-old boys’ classes, respectively.
“A couple of the younger kids in the non-competitive – in the sprockets – they went through undefeated and really ripped it up,” Mr Hobbs said. “The stage is set for where the riding’s going to be in Bendigo for years to come.
“We’ve got such growth at the moment with the younger kids; the club’s booming for numbers, but some of them have come down within a short amount of time and really turned on some great results.”
Strathfieldsaye rider Abby Hayes-Tuckerman, who doesn’t ride for the Bendigo club and is coached by her father – former national champion Brock Tuckerman – also performed well in the six-year-old sprockets after just 12 months on the bike.?