Cycling: Sarah Walker gets silver at BMX worlds

BMX star Sarah Walker. Photo / Paul Estcourt

New Zealand's Sarah Walker won silver at the UCI BMX World Championship in South Africa overnight.

The final proved a battle of the world champions as the 2008 winner Britain's Shanaze Reade edged out Walker, the 2009 champion in a superb battle on the big supercross track at Pietermaritzburg.

A double medal haul for the New Zealand team looked likely with in-form Marc Willers jumping strongly out of the gate in the final, only to be brought down by Australian Sam Willougby coming out of the first corner.

Willers got back on to finish sixth, his best ever finish at the world championships, but disappointing for the Cambridge rider who felt he was capable of winning a medal.

It was the first time that the world championships have been ridden on a bigger supercross track, with the monster circuit also the longest at over 400m to test riders both in skill and endurance.

"Overall I am pleased with today," Walker said. "We came here to find they had made the track a lot longer than in their plan and therefore I hadn't really prepared for that. It made for a really long and tiring day.

"I did not really ride that well in the qualifying but got better as the day went and gave the final everything I had.

"While I was not quite good enough on the day, it's still pretty encouraging," she said of her fourth podium placing in as many years.

"Now I have to rest and recover. Tomorrow is the final time that elites will race in the cruiser class, so I want to go out with that title."

Walker cruised through her three motos, making strong starts before easing back with three second placings to easily qualify into the semifinal.

While she was slower to the snap in her semifinal, she showed her class to ride back into third place and turned off the after-burners on the final straight.

Walker got a superb start to the final to nestle in behind the powerful British rider, who had crashed heavily in practice in the morning.

This time Reade, who also crashed out of the Beijing Olympic final, did not make any mistakes to hold off Walker as the pair distanced themselves from the field.

Willers said the championships held mixed emotions for him.

"I am happy that I have raced really strongly and that I can foot it with the best in the world," he said.

"At the same time I am not feeling that great because I know I had a medal within my grasp.

"It was a really hard day. The track was so long and after seven races I was cramping up and certainly had nothing left.

"Now it is back to the US later this month for more racing, with a couple of World Cups to come and then focus ahead on the US Nationals."

Three New Zealanders qualified for the elite juniors in Trent Woodcock (Pukekohe), Daniel Franks (Christchurch) and Nic Fox (Gisborne) - all first year in the junior ranks.

- NZPA