The final rounds of the 2024 UCI BMX Racing World Cup at the BMX National Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma, confirmed a historic Australian ‘Clean Sweep’.
Following rounds five and six at the American venue, the irrepressibleSaya Sakakibara retained her Women Elite title and was joined by first time overall winners Izaac Kennedy (Men Elite), Teya Rufus (Women U23) and Oliver Moran (Men U23).
It is the first time any nation has won all four categories in the same year.
Women Under 23: relentless Rufus
Teya Rufus claimed Round 1 (Rotorua, New Zealand) ahead of the USA’s Ava Corley and Japan’s Jui Yabuta. The next day Corley – 2022 Junior UCI World Champion – repaid the compliment, with the Australians Isabell May and Rufus completing the podium. Rufus then asserted her dominance, winning both rounds (3 and 4) in Brisbane, Australia.
In Round 5 final in Tulsa, May was caught in a collision and saw her chances of improving on her three consecutive 2nd places slip away. Rufus went on to win ahead of Bolivia’s Grecia Cristodulo Hassenteufel delighted with silver: a podium in her first UCI World Cup race.
While Rufus hadn’t quite sealed the overall with her fourth consecutive victory, the gap to May was significant (782 points to 594) with Veronika Stūriška (LAT) a distant third. Round 6 saw Rufus and May crash together and a superb home win for McKenzie Gayheart, 2nd for Sabina Koŝárková (CZE) with Sharid Fayad (COL) third.
“This is unbelievable,” said an emotional Gayheart.
Final standings:
Teya Rufus, AUS (849 points)
Isabell May, AUS (651)
Veronika Stūriška, LAT (428).
Men Under 23: Moran makes it stick
Kiwi Jack Greenough took the win in Round 1, beating his brother Bennett, who took second. Bennett stepped up the sibling rivalry in Round 2, taking the win with Jack in fourth.
In Australia, we saw Australian winners! Jesse Asmus, followed by Oliver Moran. Another Aussie, Jordan Callum, won Round 5 at Tulsa, his first UCI World Cup victory in what he described as “feeling like a home race”, having moved to the USA at the age of 16.
Five different winners in the first five rounds. With one race remaining, Moran was leading the standings on 554 points, Bennett Greenough 517 and Joshua Jolly heading a tight chasing pack in third overall with 393. The final round delivered an all-Aussie podium, with Moran on the top step, flanked by Asmus and Callum.
Final standings:
Oliver Moran, AUS (716 points)
Bennett Greenough, NZL (622)
Jesse Asmus, AUS (527).
Women Elite: Superb Saya
Saya Sakakibara won both rounds in New Zealand, leaving the likes of Laura Smulders (NED), Manon Veenstra (NED) and Olympic and UCI World Champion Bethany Shriever (GBR) in her wake.
Then for Rounds 3 and 4 in Brisbane, it was Zoé Claessens who hit top spot in both races, with Sakakibara placed 2nd on both Saturday and Sunday. With the Swiss Claessens not competing in Tulsa, Sakakibara knew that she already had the UCI World Cup overall title sewn up, taking the pressure off for the two rounds in America.
There was no stopping the Australian in Round 5 in Tulsa: she headed off a top quality final line-up, including Manon Veenstra (NED), Alise Willoughby (USA) and Mariana Pajón (COL), with Beth Shriever limping home in 8th. Sakakibara’s 9th UCI World Cup win wasn’t as easy as it looked: “I had a crash on Tuesday and it set me back a bit, I was really hesitant on track, didn’t want to crash again obviously. Every race today I just kept stepping it up.”
Sakakibara also stormed to the Round 6 win with home rider Willoughby 2nd, Australia’s Sienna Pal 3rd and Shriever DNF.
Final standings:
Saya Sakakibara, AUS (2860 points)
Manon Veenstra, NED (1996)
Alise Willoughby, USA (1880).
Men Elite: Kennedy clinches
The two New Zealand races saw French winners: 2023 overall UCI BMX Racing World Cup winner Romain Mahieu and Joris Daudet. In Brisbane, Australia’s own Izaac Kennedy won on Saturday, while Great Britain’s Kye Whyte took victory on Sunday.
Many of the French contingent did race in Tulsa, instead focussing on the UCI BMX Racing World Championships coming up in Rock Hill, USA, in May. Kennedy pushed Niek Kimmann (NED) all the way in Round 5. The Dutchman’s victory – from lane 1, dispelling the ‘lane 8’ myth – made five different winners in five races and also made Kimmann the only rider to go sub-35-sec on Saturday.
“Oh man it feels amazing,” said Kimmann, “The last time I won a UCI World Cup was 2022… this one feels good!”
With 3rd place, Switzerland’s Cédric Butti went into the final round on 1615 points from Kennedy (1357), and Daudet, not racing in Tulsa, on 1104. Sunday saw Butti exit in the semi-final then another powerhouse performance from Kimmann for his first double since 2019, just edging out Kennedy, with USA’s Kamren Larsen taking third.
Final standings:
Izaac Kennedy, AUS (1787 points)
Cédric Butti, SUI (1764)
Niek Kimmann, NED (1456).
The riders head to the UCI BMX Racing World Championships at Rock Hill on a wider, outdoor track, 12-18 May, followed by the race for BMX Racing Olympic glory in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, in August.