UCI Urban Cycling World Championships: Miyashima, Dandois, Roberts and Martin new UCI BMX Freestyle World Champions

Park and Flatland competitions round off the event

The 2024 UCI World Champions in BMX Freestyle were crowned after an unforgettable display of Flatland and Park competitions in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Following the thrilling action in the trials events, the final rainbow jerseys of the 2024 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships were awarded.

The BMX Flatland Women Elite title went to Japan’s Ayuna Miyashima, while the men’s competition was won by France’s Matthias Dandois. Hannah Roberts, USA, claimed her sixth UCI World Champion title in BMX Freestyle Park while Australia’s Logan Martin secured the men’s title for the third time.

Women’s BMX Freestyle Flatland: victory goes to Miyashima

The BMX Freestyle Flatland final was a battle between two Hungarian and two Japanese riders. While the Japanese duo had qualified in the top positions, the Hungarian riders were not going to give up easily.

First place qualifier Kirara Nakagawa (JPN) had an off-day and ended up in fourth position, leaving the door open for the Hungarian pair – Anna Mondics and Veronika Kadar – to grab the podium spots. Kadar put on a great run and grabbed second place, behind Japan’s Ayuna Miyashima who claimed the gold medal. Mondics secured the bronze medal.

Men’s BMX Freestyle Flatland: Dandois bows out on a high note

The finalists in the men’s competition set the expectations incredibly high, their collective quality meant it would take a perfect run to claim the 2024 UCI World Champion title.

Finally, it was Matthias Dandois (FRA) who bumped up to a provisional first place with a perfect run that he had been working on. This being his last competition put extra pressure on his performance, but with his professionalism he managed to put an impressive score of 90.67 on the board, with only two riders to go.

Japan’s Yu Katagiri pushed himself a little too hard after having watched Dandois’ final run. A few touches and links that did not work out as planned saw him score 83.53, which put him in a final 5th position. His countryman, 2023 UCI BMX Flatland World Champion Yu Shoji, was the last rider up, and despite an original performance, his score could not beat Dandois.

Another Japanese rider, Moto Sasaki, came closest to Dandois’ mark and grabbed the silver, while Jean-William Prevost (CAN) took the bronze medal.

Women’s BMX Freestyle Park: Roberts makes it 6!

The progression in the Women Park competition does not seem to stop, not the least thanks to the Chinese delegation. With a representation of six riders in the final they did however not manage to beat five-time UCI World Champion, Hannah Roberts (USA), from claiming her sixth title.

First place in the qualifications, Sibei Sun (CHN) had a chance to beat Roberts in the last run of the final but her spin on the box jump ended with a bang as she got a flat tyre. Her first run was enough to earn the silver medal, and bronze went to young Xiaotong Fan (China).

Men’s BMX Freestyle Park: Logan wins a third title

In the Men Park final, Logan Martin set the bar really high by scoring 91.10 in his first run, forcing the other to give their all to top it.

Olympic champion José Torres Gil (ARG) tried, and ended up with a 0.5-point margin (91.60) while Justin Dowell (USA), Rimu Nakamura (JPN) and 2023 UCI World Champion Kieran Reilly (GBR) also scored runs around 90 points, demonstrating the high level of the competition.

In his second run, Martin stepped it up even more and scored 94.30. Only Nakamura could get close, as the rest of the field performed lower than their first run.

Logan Martin won his third UCI World Champion title with Torres Gil grabbing the silver medal and Dowell, who had been working hard to get back on the podium, happy with bronze.