LOGAN MARTIN CROWNED INAUGURAL WORLD CHAMPION

Australia is celebrating its newest world champion with Brisbane's Logan Martin crowned the inaugural BMX Freestyle world champion at the 2017 UCI Urban World Championships on Sunday. Results
 
"Its amazing to win the first one (rainbow jersey) on offer in the discipline," said Martin, the 2015 and 2016 World Series champion who last week secured second overall for the 2017 season.
 
"It wasn't a bad season for me in 2017, I did get a lot of seconds, but to finish off the year here with a first  at the world championship, it is unbelievable."
 
BMX Freestyle is an exhilarating form of cycling which sees riders perform a series of tricks during a number of ‘runs’ (in qualifying, semi finals and finals) on a ramp-filled course with points awarded based on difficulty, originality, style and execution. (UCI History of BMX Freestyle).
 
On Saturday, Martin finished on top of the semi finals with an average of 91.71 points across two blazing semi final runs.
 
On Sunday, he went even better with two almost flawless 93-plus point rides to take the rainbow jersey.
 
"Every time I ride the event, it is based on consistency, they really crack down on putting a foot down or crashing, so my goal is to stay on my bike whenI come into a contest and I did that today so I am stoked," Martin said.
 
"For both my runs today, I did exactly what I planned to do. You can't put those feelings into words when everything you plan and work hard for pays off like this.
 
"This is an insane feeling."
 
Martin's win is a perfect start to his run at a spot on the Australian team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games following the IOC's decision to add the sport to the program.
 
"I can’t wait til Tokyo," Martin added. "I will certainly be putting in the work to hopefully be there in 2020.
 
"Like it was this week with the Australian team, it is such a great feeling to represent your country."
 
Sydney's Brandon Loupos, who finished second behind Martin in Saturday's semi finals, finished in tenth overall.
 
Loupos looked strong in his opening run with the fourth best score, but his chance at a podium finish was hampered following an injury to his shoulder after a crash in his second run.