KNIGHTS OF IRON HORSE

Another prestigious international tournament was held in the capital of Azerbaijan. Baku hosted the BMX world cycling championships. Competition between juniors and veterans in the Challenge category was launched after the opening ceremony.

Eight athletes represented Azerbaijan in the Challenge category: Khayal Ibrahimov, Soltan Israfilov, Justinas Pavlovas, Orhan Mammadov, Vugar Nasibov, Kanan Babayev and Yelmar Shahmarzadeh. Agshin Ismayilov joined the competition on June 8 in the Elite category.

Kane Schultheis (USA) took the lead in seven categories of the competition between 5-6-year-old boys. Another American athlete Joseph Mather was successful in the competition of 7-year-old boys. Brazilian Lucas Cardoso Darriba was the first among the 8-year-olds athletes. Competitions of the 9-year-olds ended with the victory of Fraser Vaughan from Australia. Another Ozzie athlete Tama Onekawa was the strongest among the 10-year-olds. American Cole Frederick became the champion among 11-year-olds. Another US representative Ronnie Kim was the best among the 12-year-old athletes.

Mana Sawada from Japan led the race among the 8-year-old girls. Colombian Guadalupe Palacios Palomeque won the competition among the 9-year-old girls, and the first among the 10-year-old athletes was American Taylor Spratt. Australian Portia Eden was the strongest among the 11-year-old athletes. Latvian teenager Paula Kibare won the competition in the category of 12 years.

President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) David Lappartient, Vice President of the Union Européenne de Cyclisme (UEC) Alexander Gusyatnikov and Vice President of the Azerbaijan Cycling Federation (ACF), UEC Board Member Sahib Alekberov attended the ceremony.

The Transfer of Flags ceremony took place on the last day of competition when the flag was transferred to the representatives of Belgium. Sahib Alekberov presented the flag to Jeff Simons, organizer of the next BMX world championship in Heusden-Zolder (Belgium) in 2019.

The winners in Junior and Elite categories were determined on the same day. Indy Scheepers (the Netherlands) won the gold medal (38.083 sec) in the girls' competition. Zoé Claessens (Switzerland) and Gabriela Bolle Carrillo (Colombia) became silver and bronze medallists of the championship, respectively.

Among juniors, the first place was taken by Leo Garoyan (France, 33.077 sec). The second and third were Juan Camilo Ramirez Valencia (Colombia) and Mauricio Ignacio Molina Vergara (Chile), respectively. In the Elite category, representatives of the Netherlands took the first three places among women: Laura Smulders (gold medal in 35.690 sec), Merel Smulders (silver), and Judy Baauw (bronze).

Among the men, French athletes, Sylvain Andre (31.426 sec) and his teammate, Joris Daudet, took the first two places. The bronze medal went to Brazilian Ezequiel Anderson de Souza Filho. The UCI Vice-President Renato Di Rocco, UCI and BMX Commission Board Member Artur Lopez, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sport of Azerbaijan Ismail Ismayilov, and ACF Vice-President and UEC Board Member Sahib Alekperov awarded the winners.

Athletes who took the first three places were also awarded with official mascot of the championship, the Caucasian leopard, and champion jerseys. The BMX World Championship featured around 1,500 cyclists from 43 countries.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev received the UCI President David Lappartient, who was in Baku during the BMX World Championship. “Meeting with President Ilham Aliyev is a great honour for me. I am grateful to President Aliyev for the great attention and care in the development of all kinds of sports, including cycling.”

David Lappartient mentioned that he visited the Baku cycling track, where the BMX World Championship was held, and noted the high level of organisation: “Not only the VeloPark but also the wonderful conditions and atmosphere created here largely impressed me. My first visit to Baku was back in 2015, when your city was hosting the First European Games. The track has been reconstructed since and has become even more modern. This makes us very happy. The fact that more than 1,500 athletes from 43 countries take part in the championship this year is an indicator of success. The organisation of the championship is at the highest level. Coaches, athletes, and their parents also noticed this.”

“After the election as the UCI President, we have implemented a number of important events. First, we try to support national federations. Our main goal is to achieve the development of cycling in all countries. To do this, we will attract all countries in this process. We will continue combating doping and other negative phenomena. Another main goal is to make cycling a sport of the century,” Lappartient said.