Loupos in action - Leo Zhukov
Australian Cycling Team athletes Logan Martin and Brandon Loupos are primed ahead of the start of the 2019 UCI World Cup season which gets underway in Japan on April 19.
An epic 2019 World Cup season includes stops in Japan, France and China, sandwiching a host of international C1 events including the lucrative X Games, before wrapping up with the World Championships in November. Sydney's Loupos is looking to replicate his 2018 form which saw him bookend the year with career-best performances including gold in Japan's opening World Cup round before storming to bronze at the World Championships in November. "2018 was definitely a great year for me and my best year so far in my BMX career," said Loupos who in unfortunate circumstances suffered a bike mechanical in round two and had his bike stolen just three hours before the final in round three. "But I'm looking forward to what the rest of 2019 has in store since I started the year off with three wins and keeping that momentum rolling will be key for 2019. "My goal is obviously to win as that's what we're all there to do! It would be really cool to go back to Hiroshima, back up my win from last year and obviously start the World Cup series off strong!"
2017 world champion Martin opened 2018 with a broken collarbone which forced him to miss the opening round of the season. He recovered in time to contest the Series' second round in May where he finished second, before storming to a third-round win in July and gold in the BMX Park Final at the X-Games in the USA later that month. unfortunately, Martin broke his ankle in October, which meant he was unable to defend his world title.
"2018 was a roller coaster for sure, a few injuries throughout but also a few very high points in my career," said Gold Coast's Martin, who has no plans to play it safe in the adrenaline-filled discipline despite his run of injuries. "My 2019 goals are to achieve more of these big wins, however with fewer injuries. "But my goal is always to ride to the best of my ability at any event. Staying on my bike through my runs are always a large part of my focus but also not to play it too safe." As the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games moves closer into view, Cycling Australia BMX Technical Director Wade Bootes is looking forward to another season. "While it is still a new discipline to UCI cycling, I am amazed by the work ethic shown by our Australian Cycling Team members, not only in their own development but the progression of the sport," Bootes said. "It is a pleasure working with such talented and committed athletes with a growth mindset towards performance."
2019 BMX Freestyle Season
Three rounds will take place in April, May and October in Japan, France and China, before the 2019 Urban World Championships wrap up the season in China in November.
More at the UCI website.
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 The Australian Cycling BMX team is celebrating after a successful weekend at C1 events across the globe BMX FREESTYLE There were dual celebrations for Brandon Loupos who claimed two C1 events in Canada. Sydney's Loupos won the Canadian Joyride150 event in Toronto, and with an international field in below freezing conditions, was grateful that the competition was indoors on an amazing skate park. Brandon followed this with a win on the Sunday at the Toronto X jam event. Brandon currently resides in North Carolina USA as he prepares for the 2019 World Cup season which begins in Japan on April 19. Logan Martin continues to sweat it up in during his Australian season, taking the win at Brisbane's Village Skate Park in his first contest back from injuring his ankle prior to the 2018 World Championships in November. Completing his rehab at his Australian base, Martin will begin a busy 2019 season in Costa Rica next weekend with for the X Knights competition / show. BMX RACING  Kai Sakakibara celebrated two wins on the Westside BMX track in Perth Australia at the first UCI C1 event of 2019.
As an official UCI (cycling’s international governing body) endorsed event, both races offered riders the ability to win Olympic qualification points, that in turn can earn quota spots for Australia for the Olympics in Tokyo next year. For Sakakibara, the victory capped a perfect weekend from a results standpoint with the 22-year-old winning all eight races he contested on Saturday and Sunday, but the notoriously hard marker was still looking for improvement. “It was really fast paced racing all the way through and obviously a little bit more on the line for me and a few of the other guys in particular, especially when we are aiming for Olympic points and our overall UCI ranking as well,” Sakakibara said. Kai will being his European tour at the end of the month and will base himself Europe from March through until June as he prepares for the World Championships in Belgium. 
With the Olympic debut of BMX Freestyle Park now less than 18 months away, Australia’s Logan Martin and Brandon Loupos have ramped up their preparations with a visit to the Australian Cycling Team Headquarters in Adelaide.
Having delivered the BMX High-Performance Program within Australia over the last twelve years as recognised by the Australian Olympic Committee and the UCI, Cycling Australia recently introduced a number of changes within its 2020-24 High-Performance Strategy. In addition to solidifying the BMX Supercross program, a select number of BMX Freestyle Park athletes were identified as medal potentials and subsequently are now supported by individual scholarships. BMX Freestyle Park, which makes its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, is an adrenaline-fuelled mix of tricks and jumps taking place over a series of ramps and large obstacles within a 30mx50m park. Athletes complete two one-minute runs each, with judges scoring on difficulty, originality, style, flow, risk, height and execution of tricks. Australia’s athletes have excelled in the format in recent years with Logan Martin, claiming the inaugural World Championships in 2017, while Brandon Loupos won World Championships bronze in 2018. The pair has medalled at numerous World Cup events over the past few seasons, while also standout performers on the lucrative X-Games circuit.
Along with Australian Cycling Team BMX Technical Director Wade Bootes, Martin and Loupos visited the Australian Cycling Team training base in Adelaide to meet performance coaching, support and operational staff.
The visit included one on one meetings with Strength And Power Coach Scott Baker, Nutritionist Jill Leckey, and Team Doctor Mark Fisher. Martin and Loupos also swapped their BMX bikes for Argon track bikes for a track session with sprint world champion Matthew Glaetzer, while also working out in the gym with the men’s track endurance squad. For Martin, the visit was a realisation of the high-quality resources and support network available to all Australian Cycling Team athletes. “It is super cool to catch up on knowledge and experience this place has to offer, we've certainly got all the resources we need to be at the top of our games,” said Martin. “We have an exciting journey ahead over the next 16 months, and we will be keeping in contact to ensure I can stay at my peak performance.” 
Loupos was equally taken back by the welcome into the program and the wider cycling Australian Cycling Team family.
“This place speaks for itself, the gym and athletes are great, a great positive vibe,” echoed Loupos. “I was welcomed by all the great staff, meeting all the track guys was a cool experience. “As we move towards Tokyo, it is only going to get better and more positive and breed success.” 
Australian Cycling Team BMX Technical Director Wade Bootes is excited about the difference the support network will have on the athletes as they fine-tune their Olympic preparations.
“It is a great opportunity to have the freestyle guys here at the Australian Cycling Team training facility in Adelaide, to see the support network and different aspects that will make a difference to them in competition,” Bootes said. “We look forward to exploring different things, going deeper and focussing what each athlete needs going into Tokyo.” 
What was your favourite cycling moment in 2018?
There were so many incredible moments for Australian cycling in 2018 it was difficult to narrow it down, but we have twelve amazing moments which make up our 2018 JLT Australian Cycling Moment of the Year. The Australian Cycling team figures prominently in the list via Rohan Dennis, Alistair Donohoe, Matthew Glaetzer and Luke Plapp's world titles, Steph Morton's triple gold at the Commonwealth Games, our team pursuit's stunning 3:49.804 ride at the Commonwealth Games, Logan Martin’s BMX-factor at the FISE World Series, and Amanda Spratt's stellar silver at the UCI Road Worlds! Choose your favourite moment via the survey and you could be celebrating another fantastic year at the 2018 Cycling Australia Awards in Melbourne on Friday 23 November. Terms & Conditions
 Brandon. Jake. Caroline. Kyle. BMX Freestyle World Champs. China. This weekend! PHOTO - CON CHRONIS The second edition of the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships gets under way in Chengdu, China, this week (November 7-11).
Look out for the Aussies in action - Brandon Loupos, Jake Wallwork, Caroline Buchanan and Kyle Baldock! Sydney's Loupos celebrated victory in the opening round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup, while Melbourne's Wallwork claimed the win in the Series' final round last weekend. Gold Coast’s Baldock took silver last month at the Sydney X-Games, while Australia’s Queen of BMX Buchanan was been selected following her ninth place at the Freestyle World Cup in China on the weekend. The Gold Coast’s reigning world champion Logan Martin, who claimed the first-ever rainbow jersey on offer in the discipline in 2017, was forced to withdraw after injuring his ankle during training in October. Catch Sunday's Finals live via the UCI BMX Freestyle Facebook page or via UCI Youtube channel. Visit the official 2018 Urban Worlds website at www.urbanworlds.cn  Cycling Australia is pleased to announce the BMX Freestyle selections for the Australian team which will contest the 2018 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in China in November.
BMX ‘Freestyle Park’, which will make its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, sees cyclists perform a series of tricks during their ‘1 minute run’ across a ramp-filled course. Riders’ tricks are judged based on difficulty, originality, style and execution. The Australian team in China will be headlined by the Gold Coast’s Logan Martin who claimed the first-ever rainbow jersey on offer in the discipline in 2017. 2018 began ominously for Martin following a training crash in March which broke his collarbone in four places and forced him to miss the opening round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup. Martin recovered in time to contest the Series’ second round in May where he finished second, before storming to a third-round win in July and gold in the BMX Park Final at the X-Games in the USA later that month. “I’m stoked to have another opportunity to ride the UCI World Championship again this year and represent Australia,” said Martin, who currently sits fourth overall on the World Cup standings. “To have won the first-ever UCI BMX Freestyle World Championship last year was mind-blowing to me and I will most definitely be going for the gold medal again this year. “I have had a rough start to the year, but my main focus was to get back to full strength leading into July’s World Cup and X-Games in which I won both Park events. “It has been a much better start to the second half, and I’m feeling really good and strong on my bike. I’m looking forward to the next few events and to finish off the year strongly.” Brandon Loupos celebrated victory in the opening round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup, however, in unfortunate circumstances, the Sydney rider suffered a bike mechanical in round two and had his bike stolen just three hours before the final in round three. The Gold Coast’s Kyle Baldock and Melbourne's Jake Wallwork round out the selections. The 2018 UCI Urban Cycling Worlds Championships will take place in Chengdu, China, from 7-11 November 2018. More → www.urbanworlds.cn Follow the Australian Cycling Team - Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Australian Team - 2018 UCI Urban Cycling Worlds Championships
Reigning world champion Logan Martin stormed to win round three of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in Edmonton.
Despite inclement weather forcing the qualifying and semi-final rounds to the same day, Martin was not fazed as he qualified in second on Saturday. In Sunday's final, Martin was left in fifth overall after suffering a flat tyre during his first run. However, following a quick tyre change, he came back to shred his final run with a sensational 95.00 and take the win ahead of Marin Ranteš and Dennis Enarson. “It was great to be back in Canada for the third stop of the FISE World Series," said Martin. "The weather played a bit of a factor during qualifying and semis, so my plan was to just stay on my bike and get through the Saturday and focus on Sunday's finals. "I felt confident going into finals. In my first run, I cased and this caused me to finish the rest of my run with a flat tyre, but after a quick tyre fix, I was ready for my second run. "At that moment, I felt some pressure because I had only this run left to do exactly what was needed to find the podium. "But I kept calm and focused on what I needed to do to win. I managed to do exactly what I wanted to do and scored a 95 finishing the contest in first."
The win continues Martin's strong comeback after he missed April's opening round in China following a training crash that broke his collar bone in four places. His comeback race came in the Series' second round in France in May where he grabbed second place.
Martin is eyeing Olympic glory following the IOC's decision to add BMX Freestyle to the programme for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Visit www.fise.fr or follow FISE for all the World Cup updates.  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. |
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