IT might not be the most satisfying or hard-earned win of her BMX career, but Bathurst rider Hayley Wolfenden is still drawing some motivation from her surprise national series crown.
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On Sunday Wolfenden was shocked to discover she had been crowned the joint BMX Australian National Series winner for the 25-29 years women's division alongside Western Australia's Kishani Green.
It was the same title she won 12 months earlier, but her 2019 triumph came in much different circumstances.
Last year when Wolfenden was crowned a national series champion for the first time in her career, she had to race at three of the seven rounds to qualify.
She placed second at Penrith, third at Tuggeranong then sealed the 25-29 years crown by finishing as runner-up in the series' finale at Launceston.
But this year a change in the qualification process meant Wolfenden was eligible even though she only rode in the first stage in Sydney.
There, due to lack of numbers in her own class, she was put in the same field as the 17-24 year olds. Wolfenden placed third in each of her four qualifying motos and third again in the decider, meaning she was the best ranked performer in her age group.
"It definitely feels different doing one round compared to three and coming out with the same result ... it's still a nice little surprise," Wolfenden said.
READ MORE: Wolfenden wins first national series crown
While this season the talented rider could not commit as heavily to training and competition as in the past, Wolfenden is hoping to "step things back up" for 2020.
An appearance at the National Championships, to be staged at Launceston on March 23, is a goal as she steps up an age division.
"Next year I should get a few more [rivals] because I step up an age group again to 30 plus, once you get to national level in that age group there are some fast chicks," she said.
"Ultimately next year it would be nice to commit myself to proper training and go to nationals and have a go against the 30 plus girls.
"But I'm not going to go to Tasmania if I can't do a half decent training program before it. It's a lot of work, it's not a month before that you've got to start, it's six months before.
"The results come from a massive lead up to it. you can't decide a month out 'Yeah, I'm going to go and do it'. It's work on the bike, off the bike - it's a mixture and it's time you've got to dedicate to it if you want to do it properly. "
Wolfenden thanked her sponsors East Coast Supps Bathurst and Mitchramm Industries.
