IT is almost four months until Bathurst BMX riders will vie for the title of BMX New South Wales state champion, but on Sunday five members of the club got a taste of what to expect.
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Joel Goulding, Caleb Hampton, Hayley Wolfenden plus siblings Chelsie and Liam Westman rode in a pre-state event at Castle Hill.
In a positive sign, the Westmans, Goulding and Wolfenden made their respective finals while Hampton managed a third placing in the second of three qualifying motos.
Importantly, all of them now have an idea of what to work on and the specific nuances of the Castle Hill track which will help come the state titles on September 28-30.
“It’s like a rehearsal run for BMX New South Wales … it gives the club, gives BMX New South Wales, gives everyone the chance to have a chance to have a trial run and then be able to fix things for the big day,” Wolfenden said.
“I think one or two of our riders had sussed the track out before, but I wouldn’t say we know it like the back of our hands. So it was just as much a trial run for us riders as it was for the event.
“Everyone could suss out where their weaknesses on that track are.
“It obviously attracted a lot more of your higher riders than normal open meets would, which had an impact on some of the results, but overall I think we were reasonably strong considering that.”
Goulding was impressive in qualifying for the men’s 17-24 final with a third and two seconds in his motos, while Liam Westman qualified thanks to a pair of thirds and a sixth.
Wolfenden said they “just got unlucky in their final” with Goulding placing seventh and Westman eighth.
Chelsie Westman placed fourth in the 14 girls decider after two fifths and a fourth in her motos, while Wolfenden took out her second moto before going on to place third in the 17-24 women’s final.
“I’ve got no excuse really, I dropped my training off in the lead up to it. I know I didn’t have the fitness going into it,” Wolfenden said.
“I think my first placing in the moto was the biggest surprise. The girl that won my final has also made the step up to pro, she’s a 16 girl and she’s not slow. Then the girl that came second in the final I’ve always been fairly equal with.
“Chelsie seemed reasonably happy in the end. She pointed out that she made a few mistakes in her motos that she wasn’t impressed with, but she worked on that for the final.
“Hopefully we all take what we’ve learned from this weekend and put it into our programs and come out even better at states.”