Northland's Katja Stupar, 12, left New Zealand a month before the competition starts in late July to train with the Slovenian national BMX team. Photo / Tania Whyte
Northland's Katja Stupar, 12, left New Zealand a month before the competition starts in late July to train with the Slovenian national BMX team. Photo / Tania Whyte
Two of Northland's rising BMX stars will be taking to the track this month at the BMX World Championships in Belgium.
Katja Stupar and Luke Brooke-Smith will be competing in the 12-year-old girl and 11-year-old boy divisions respectively when the tournament kicks off on July 23. Both riders sit firmlyin the top 10 of their national age-group rankings and are hoping for success on the world stage.
Stupar, who saw her ranking rise from 13th to eighth in 2019, flew out of New Zealand a month before the competition was due to start, to train with the Slovenian national BMX team, a country she shares citizenship with.
Stupar's performances this year have left only smiles as she saw her national ranking move up five places to eighth in 12-year-old girls. Photo / Tania Whyte
Starting BMX at five years old, this will be Stupar's first World Championships and she hoped to learn a lot from Slovenia's top BMX riders.
"I'm feeling good, just a little nervous I think, but I'm kind of excited," Stupar said in June before she flew out.
"I just love learning new things and talking to someone from a different country is really cool."
The young female rider said she was excited to interact with girls her age who were just as passionate about BMX as she was and had made a top-five finish her target for the competition.
"At least to get top-five, that's my goal. I'd still be proud if I made the final, I'd be so happy with that but if I won, it'd just be even better."
Stupar will be joined by Northland comrade and training partner, Luke Brooke-Smith, who will be eyeing a high finish in the 11-year-old boy division in what will be his fifth consecutive appearance to the World Championships.
This year's World Championships in Belgium will be Luke Brooke-Smith's fifth appearance at the global BMX competition at just the age of 11. Photo / Tania Whyte
While bad luck had marred his previous performances on the world stage in the form of crashes and poor starts, Luke said his sight was set on a top-three finish in the 164-rider division.
"I'm just really wanting to get top-three, that's my goal because every year I've been looking like I'll get top-three and I crash," he said.
The 11-year-old St Francis Xavier School pupil's best result came in 2017 where he ended up sixth in the world for his age. Paired with his five consecutive national BMX titles, Luke said training hard was the key.
"Well, I like putting in the effort, when I've been training it motivates me and I think that it makes you believe in yourself."
Brooke-Smith's attitude towards training and self-motivation explains his five consecutive national titles. Photo / Tania Whyte
Luke is coached by his father Phil, who is no stranger to the sport. In his teenage years, Phil was crowned a British BMX champion for his age and now he was stunned by the achievements of his son.
"I'm absolutely proud, I used to train very hard and wanted to make a world final but I could only make quarterfinals, so it's nice to see [Luke] making these finals."
Phil, who also helps coach Stupar, said his son's drive and self-motivation was the secret to his success.
"[Luke] is very competitive in everything he does, he loves to win and now he's older, his focus and drive have kicked in which means he's very willing to train."
To follow the competition's results, visit www.uci.org.
