Pedal to medals as Hill hunts win
NERANG BMX speedster Kira Hill conquered the world six weeks ago.
Tomorrow the 14-year-old plans to own her home track.
Hill will hope to take the form from the world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, last month into Round 4 of the BMX Australia National Series at Nerang BMX Club.
For years the track has been a staple of the Aussie BMX diet, continually attracting a host of the nation’s top talent for its round of the series.
Hill will be making her first start in the national series.
“Racing at Nerang is a little more special for me because it is my home track, and my favourite track too,” the Robina resident said.
“I’m always much faster there and it’s a good track to try out some new skills.
“Since the world championships I have raced just one
event, which was the south Queensland zone titles, and I stepped into the superclass women’s class and came sixth.
“That was a good chance for me to see how the older girls ride, and it gives me more confidence before I step back into my age group this weekend.
“I haven’t raced these girls properly for a while (since the 2018 national championships in March, where Hill won), so we’ll see what happens.”
A handful of Australia’s leading elite riders will compete, including some recently crowned world champions.
While Hill will be the only one of the world beaters racing on home turf, fellow Queenslanders Fraser Vaughan (nine boys) and Thomas Tucker (13 boys), from Pine Rivers BMX Club in Brisbane, will also be eyeing a win in their own state.
The fourth and final world champ in action will be Jordan Callum, from the Rockingham BMX Club in Western Australia, who won the 14 boys’ world title in Baku last month.
With more than 500 riders taking part in the fourth of seven rounds in the 2018 series, much of the attention will also be on the elite classes.
The event at Nerang is also the final UCI-sanctioned event of the year and, as such, a round and UCI series winner will be crowned on Sunday.
Among those hoping to leave their mark will be Nerang’s Erin Lockwood, who has had a breakout 2018 by winning the elite women’s national title and being named to Australia’s world championships team.
Lockwood currently sits third in the standings, headed by Caboolture BMX Club’s Sara Jones.
NSW rider Gemma-Lee Thomas is in second place.