Beth Shriever set her sights on defending her Olympic crown in Paris after reclaiming the women’s BMX racing world title at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Londoner bossed every round of the competition to take back the title she won just weeks after enjoying Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2021, but there was disappointment for Olympic silver medallist Kye Whyte as he crashed out of the men’s competition in the semi-finals.
Shriever lined up in Gate 1 for the final and had opened up a bike length on the rest of field by the opening corner to leave no doubt as to where the rainbow stripes were going.
Shriever started the day as favourite on home soil, and said the way she had handled that pressure bodes well for next summer’s Games in Paris.
“Everything went well, it was pretty much the perfect lap,” she said. “I didn’t know who was behind me or how close they were so I knew to just kept pushing and I’m over the moon.
“I’ve done a lot of stuff with my psychologist practicing things and this is the perfect practice leading into Paris. I’ve trained hard, trained well, I was in the perfect position for this race and just trusted myself, I can’t believe it.
“All my processes, I’ve stuck to it, and it all worked, so it’s unreal.”
Shriever was also fully able to enjoy the celebrations this time, having won her previous titles during the pandemic in deserted venues.
“I’ve always dreamt of being able to go to my parents after the race, I’ve literally dreamt of it all week so to actually do it was next level,” she said. “I’ll have this memory for the rest of my life so I’m very grateful.”
Whyte’s hopes of a medal on a track where he has previously enjoyed success ended in the semi-final when a shot of pain through the left shoulder he has previously dislocated sent him off the track.
“I didn’t have a good start,” Whyte said. “I didn’t mind not having a good start because I knew what the plan was if I didn’t have a good start and the plan stuck, but someone came on the inside and I went slightly off track, lost a bit of speed.
“I tried to gain it back on the jump but I eased up on the jump and nearly went over the bars, took myself out of the race. I made a big mistake, it happens.
“I’ve dislocated this left shoulder before and when I hit the jump it just kind of sent a bit of pain through my shoulder and as I’ve landed, I’ve landed awkwardly and it hurt again. It felt like it came out but it was in when I felt it now. We’ll see what the doctor says when I get home.”
Ross Cullen advanced to the final, his first at this level, and finished sixth as Romain Mahieu claimed gold.
Emily Hutt won silver for Great Britain in the women’s under-23 race, narrowly beaten by France’s Tessa Martinez.
Llori Sharpe claims historic gold for Jamaica at the 2024 Elite Caribbean Cycling Championships
Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) donates JMD$1 million to Jamaica Cycling Federation for equipment upgrade
The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has made a significant contribution to the development of cycling in Jamaica by donating JMD$1 million to the Jamaica Cycling Federation. The grant, aimed at boosting the sport’s progress, was used to purchase vital racing and training equipment, including state-of-the-art smart trainers.
The Jamaica Cycling Federation expressed its gratitude for the financial assistance, highlighting the importance of this investment in elevating the sport’s standards. Smart trainers have become increasingly popular in cycling programs worldwide due to their advanced capabilities, which are integral to modern training methods.
“These smart trainers are game changers,” said a spokesperson for the Federation. “They allow riders and coaches to approach training in a more scientific manner, offering features like measuring and tracking energy output, simulating race routes, and even enabling coaches to remotely access training data.”
This technological upgrade not only enhances training efficiency but also opens up new possibilities for coaches to closely monitor and optimize athletes' performance. The equipment's ability to simulate real-world racing conditions and provide accurate data on rider performance will help Jamaica’s cyclists prepare for international competition with cutting-edge tools.
The JOA's donation represents its ongoing commitment to supporting the development of underrepresented sports in Jamaica. “This contribution from the JOA is truly appreciated and confirms the continued support for the growth and development of sports like cycling,” the Federation said.
The equipment is expected to help Jamaica’s cyclists better prepare for regional and international competitions, as the nation continues to push for excellence across various sporting disciplines.
Dream on: Paul urges young T&T cyclists to keep pushing for Olympic feat as 2028 LA Games in sight
While looking ahead to possibly making another Olympic Games appearance in 2028 in Los Angeles, Trinidad and Tobago’s cycling stalwart, Nicholas Paul, is also hopeful that he will be able to share that occasion with a few more riders from the twin island republic.
Well aware of the depth of the talent that Trinidad and Tobago possesses, Paul, who relished a second-consecutive Olympic Games appearance at the just-concluded Paris showpiece, believes it is very much possible for those cyclists to also achieve their dreams of competing at the global multi-sport event.
The decorated Paul, who has numerous championship medals under his belt, and Kwesi Browne represented Trinidad and Tobago with much gusto and pride in Paris, as they gave their all on the track in both the sprint and keirin events, though both failed to make the finals.
“Team sprint, sprint, Keirin, team pursuit, I just want as many cyclists as possible to be able to make it on the Olympic stage,” Paul told the Express.
“It’s a big, big, big pool of talented young cyclists coming up. I have been trying to be a good role model for them, to let them know that they can come out here because the dream is possible. You just have to work hard. We can make a good driving force from juniors straight up to the elite,” he added.
Having contested both the Sprint and Keirin quarterfinals in Paris, Paul expressed an even deeper desire to improve his standards going forward, especially after watching Australian Matthew Richardson and Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen erase his previous world record of 9.100 in the flying 200 metres.
Lavreysen stopped the clock at 9.088 seconds, mere minutes after Richardson clocked 9.091 seconds.
“It (the quarterfinals) was not the outcome I wanted, but you live, you learn, and you come again. But I’m happy for Harrie. That was a great ride, and at the same time, it’s giving me more hunger to get back on that length to be able to break the world record and get that fast again,” Paul noted.
However, for now, the 25-year-old pointed out that the focus is on rest and recovery ahead of his next major assignment, the UCI Track World Championships scheduled for October 16-20 in Denmark.
“I think I’ll back off a bit, have a bit of a rest, and then go into Worlds. I’m really hungry, but at the same time, the build was until Paris. It was a bit stressful, so I have to ease off and then go into Worlds with as much form as possible,” Paul said.
On that note, Paul also expressed gratitude for the support from Trinidad and Tobago’s sporting enthusiasts, though some comments were not welcoming of the athletes’ overall efforts in Paris.
“I never think about the negatives because we could only work with the positives, and we have a lot of positives to work with. Moving forward, us athletes should come together and try to make Trinidad and Tobago better as a whole. Athletics, cycling, and every sport; to raise the level not only in Trinidad and Tobago, but in the Caribbean,” he ended.
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