BMX: Kiwis ride away with more medals

Cailen Calkin from Hamilton, Jeanette Davies from Rotorua, Paul Luttrell from Rotorua, Jessie Smith from Hamilton, Adam Coker and Tess Bates from Auckland. Photo / Nico Vandartel

New Zealand age-group riders earned two further medals in the finals of the Cruiser class category at the UCI BMX World Championships in Belgium.

The Kiwis earned silver medals to 14-year-olds Jessie Smith and Rotorua's Jeanette Davies in the cruiser class, which is for BMX bikes with larger 61cm diameter wheels.

Four other New Zealanders made finals which brought the age group campaign medal tally to eight with 17 riders reaching grand finals.

Smith almost made it a double after she won the 14 years Challenge world title on the first day. The Hamilton club rider, who rides in the sponsored team set up by Sarah Walker, was competing in the 16 years and under class in the Cruiser division.

She won her qualifying motos and was second in the quarterfinal, semifinal and final to complete an outstanding championship.

Davies, competing in the 30 years plus category, was in excellent form to win her motos, quarter-final, semifinal before being pipped to finish second in the final and retain her W2 plate won last year.

Defending world champion Adam Coker (East City, Auckland), who was coming back from injury, made his second grand final at the championship, finishing sixth in the 25-29 years age group. Coker, who won his motos and was second in his semifinal, led coming into the final corner but was taken down in a crash, got up and still managed to finish sixth.

Cailen Calkin was seventh in the 13-14 years class after impressive form during the day, while fellow Hamilton rider Paul Luttrell was eighth in the final of the 45 years plus. Both riders had been in winning form throughout but both were caught up in crashes in the final.

Auckland's Tess Bates (East City), was fifth in the final of the 30-plus, after winning her motos but just scraping into the final after finishing fourth in the semifinal.

Attention now turns to the elite riders with the time trials on the evening programme and elimination racing today at the new track at Zolder, at the former racing circuit used for Formula 1.