​As COVID-19 continues to alter how Australian Cycling Team athletes train and prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Cycling Australia (CA) has committed to a new BMX Freestyle Indoor Training Facility in Australia. 
 
Earlier in 2020, COVID-19 restrictions forced the closure of two of Queensland’s indoor skate parks, which also formed part of the daily training environment base for the Australian Cycling Team’s BMX Freestyle athletes.
 
With the athletes left with no facility at which to train, Australian Cycling Team staff and athletes held discussions to determine how to best support Tokyo 2020 preparations. 
 
Australia’s reigning world champion in Brandon Loupos, 2017 world champion Logan Martin, and women’s world number six in Natalya Diehm put their support behind a facility proposal.
 
In August, access to a warehouse on the Gold Coast was secured and in September, several team staff and athletes set to work with lead park builder Jason Watts from Universal Ramps on building the indoor training facility. 
 
The facility includes ramps, walls, transitions and quarter pipes up to ten feet, with protective matting and foam pits in both directions allowing riders to advance and develop new tricks in a safe environment.

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Australian Cycling Team BMX Technical Director Wade Bootes is ecstatic that Australia’s athletes now have access to a world-class facility with leading nations such as Japan, Russia, USA and France already boasting Freestyle training centres. 
 
“Our training facility is a learning centre to create an environment to support the athletes in a safe and controlled way as they prepare for the Tokyo Games in 2021,” said Bootes. “The park layout was designed to also enhance the riders conditioning with continued eccentric and concentric movement patterns due to the pumping action back to back.  
 
“The ramps were designed to cater towards various lines between left and right at competition size and transitions to mimic international courses. 
 
“Having the Freestyle Australian Cycling Team all now living on the Gold Coast with the support of Cycling Australia, this facility will make for some banger sessions for their progression.”

FISE is currently hosting first ever digital stage of FISE Montpellier which is taking place 100% online through August and September!
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E-FISE Montpellier is a and innovative online experience, enabling fans and athletes and fans to connect online.  ​

Aussies Logan Martin and Natalya Diehm are in the running - check out their runs below. 

VISIT THE E-FISE PLATFORM FOR MORE INFO

http://e-fise.com/en/montpellie

The Australian Cycling Team is pleased to announce the Athlete Memberships across all disciplines for 2020/21.

In all, 62 athletes will feature across the Para-cycling Track and Road (15), Track Sprint and Endurance (17), BMX Race and Freestyle (7), Road (13), and Podium Potential Academy (10) programs after being classified in the Podium, Podium Ready and Podium Potential categories. About the Australian Cycling Team Pathway. 

The Para-cycling (Track and Road) memberships include reigning Paralympic and world champions Carol Cooke and David Nicholas, plus Emily Petricola and Darren Hicks in a 15-athlete squad.  

The Track program is highlighted by Matthew Glaetzer, Stephanie Morton, Annette Edmondson and Samuel Welsford and welcomes three new members in Matthew Richardson (Sprint), Maeve Plouffe and Lucas Plapp (Endurance) who have progressed through the Podium Potential Academy^ pathway. 

In BMX, three athletes - Natalya Diehm (BMX Freestyle) and Lauren Reynolds and Izaac Kennedy (BMX Race) will receive Individual Athlete Performance Support (IAPS) memberships. The trio joins reigning world champion Brandon Loupos, 2017 world champion Logan Martin, plus Saya Sakakibara and Anthony Dean. 

Amanda Spratt, Chloe Hosking, Rohan Dennis and Michael Matthews headline the Road IAPS memberships, with five new athlete memberships to be provided to Brodie Chapman, Grace Brown, Sarah Gigante, Jay McCarthy and Lucas Hamilton.   

The Podium Potential Academy has inducted four new members in Leigh Hoffman (Sprint), Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Joshua Duffy (Endurance/Road), in addition to Kristina Clonan who will transition from the Podium Track Endurance to the Academy’s Sprint program. Caitlin Ward (Sprint) will receive transitional support as she exits the program.

The Para-cycling (Track and Road) will see six riders exit the program in Kieran Murphy, Brad Henderson (retirement), Michael Shippley, Darcy Thompson, plus Tandem pilots Lachlan Glasspool and Luke Zaccaria.  The latter four will transition to their respective High-Performance Network (HPN) state-based programs. 

Macey Stewart and Cameron Scott will exit the Podium Track Endurance program, while in Road, Rachel Neylan, Gracie Elvin, Shara Gillow, Nathan Haas, Luke Durbridge, and Richie Porte exited in December 2019.

Caroline Buchanan (BMX Race) has not been offered a new BMX IAPS membership, however, she will receive transitional support until August 2020. Kai Sakakibara (BMX Race) is receiving support as he continues recovery and rehabilitation following a racing accident in February.
  
“As we continue to prepare for the resumption of racing, and ultimately the Olympics and Paralympics in 2021, the confirmation of athlete memberships gives everyone a chance to continue to sharpen their focus on their preparation and individual progress and development,” said Simon Jones, Australian Cycling Team Performance Director. 

“I would like to thank those team members exiting the program for their commitment to their own personal development and to the Australian Cycling Team program as a whole. 

“Re-entry to the program for these athletes is possible. Sometimes, stepping back and taking time away from something can be a way to move forward if their ambition and desire remain.”

^ About the Podium Potential Academy - Launched in November 2018 with an inaugural class of thirteen athletes across both endurance and sprint disciplines, the PPA programme, which is supported and partly funded by Commonwealth Games Australia, focuses on the long term development of athletes orientated around success at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and through to the 2024 Olympic Games and beyond.
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Australian Cycling Team Athlete Membership 2020/2021 - Full list (PDF)

The #AusCyclingTeam’s ‘30 from 30 Series’ featured current and former Australian Cycling Team athletes, coaches and staff showing us the different, creative and unique ways they are keeping healthy and active both physically and mentally, and staying connected while in isolation or lockdown across Australia and the world.  

Australia's Freestyle BMX stars will continue their chase toward the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Rampfest Indoor Skate Park in Melbourne's inner west when it hosts the inaugural Oceania Freestyle BMX Championships from December 7-8. 

The weekend will include two Pro/Elite Competitions - the Oceania Championships and the Rampfest International C1.  Plus, amateur and junior competition classes for young riders to compete alongside the Pro’s.

Sydney's Brandon Loupos, who was crowned 2019 world champion earlier this month in China, will be in action along with 2017 world champion Logan Martin of the Gold Coast. 

“Winning the World Championships was a dream come true - it’s taken a bit to sink in, but I’m so grateful to everyone who helped me achieve this.  And now, I can’t wait to come down to Melbourne and ride in front of a home crowd again," said Loupos, who is also the reigning Australian National Champion having won the inaugural title at Rampfest in November 2018. 

The women's field will be headlined by Queensland's Natalya Diehm who launched into contention for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after a stunning World Championship debut for Australia to finish sixth.

With Freestyle BMX included in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games for the first time, the Oceania Championships will be a key opportunity for top Australian athletes to earn critical qualification points for the games. 

Australia currently sits in second in the Olympic Points Rankings to the USA, with the top nation at the end of the qualification period (in May 2020) securing two athlete positions in the competition for Tokyo 2020.   

An incredible two days of competition is expected at Rampfest which will be open from 9am each day for anyone to come down and watch the action.

Entry for spectators is FREE.

Riders can enter the contest via the event website.

Details

• Event Date:  7-8 December 2019
• Location:  Rampfest Indoor Skate Park, 47-85 Hillary St, Braybrook VIC 3019
• Event Website:  rampfest.com.au

Brandon Loupos claimed the rainbow jersey, Logan Martin took silver, while Natalya Diehm moved Australia a step closer to Olympic qualification, in a dominant display by Australia in the BMX Freestyle finals at the 2019 Urban Cycling World Championships in China on Sunday. 

"It (rainbow jersey) has been my phone background for 365 days, now it is on my chest, I can't believe it. I am absolutely speechless," said Loupos, the 2018 World Championship bronze medallist. 

"It just shows you dreams can come true if you put your mind and heart to it and you just go for it."

Loupos, 26, began Sunday's final in unfortunate circumstances, crashing on a backflip attempt in his first run. However, in a stunning second run, Loupos shot to the top of the leaderboard with a double backflip, flair whip, a 1080, a 720 into a double whip transfer and cash roll, before ending with a five flair scoring 93.20 points. 

"I can't believe what is going on right now, especially after crashing in my first run. I was thinking about whether I should change my run or stay consistent for my second run," Loupos said. "But I said stick to the plan, went out there and just charged. 

"I put everything into God's hands, I asked the Lord to give me the strength to get through the second run. Thank you to the man above watching over me, not for giving me the world title, but for allowing me to finish my run fit and healthy and be able to ride again tomorrow."

'sSydney's Loupos opened the 2019 season in stunning style by recording the highest score ever recorded at a World Cup at the first round in Japan in April. In September, he claimed gold at the inaugural Urban Games in Hungary. 

"I couldn't be happier. So stoked to be standing here right now, stoked to be Australian and representing Australia," said Loupos, who is targeting a spot on the Australian team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where the discipline will make its Olympic debut.
 
"My goal is to represent my country, I feel just being there (Tokyo) would be winning, but I want to go there and not just get a medal, but win a gold medal for my country."

2017 world champion Logan Martin scored 92.90 in a clean first run to sit just behind his teammate in second. But Queensland's Martin was felled by a flat tyre in his second run, the final run of the day, which sealed the world title for Loupos. 

"I was feeling good all weekend, and during practice today I also got a flat so I had to regain my composure, get my wheel fixed and back into the zone and do the run I had planned,"said Martin, 25, the dual 2019 X Games gold medallist who also finished the 2019 FISE World Series in second overall. "I did that and it got me into second place, but in my second run, I, unfortunately, got another flat.  

"But congratulations to Brandon, it was a great result for Australia."

Queensland's Natalya Diehm, 22, launched Australia into contention for the women's competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after a stunning World Championship debut for Australia.

Diehm, finished sixth in the BMX Park Final to move Australia closer to securing a position at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

"My first run didn't go as planned, but I did my best in my second run, even though I was trying to play it safe," Diehm, who took out the 2019 Vans BMX Pro-Skate Park Series in her first international season.

Only nine women will get to contest the Freestyle competition in Tokyo, which will be comprised of two riders from the top-ranked nation, one rider from each nation ranked second to fifth, and one rider from host nation Japan. The final two spots will go to the next two best countries outside the top five at the end of qualifying in May.

"I am super happy for myself, and everyone here, and I hope this means we get a spot at the Tokyo Olympics," added Diehm.

​Martin, Loupos and Diehm will head back to Australia where they will contest the Oceania Championships in Melbourne followed by the 2019 Cycling Australia National Championships in Brisbane this December.

Brisbane's Natalya Diehm will sport the Australian Team green and gold for the first time this weekend as she embarks on her maiden World Championships campaign.

The 2019 UCI Urban World Championships in Chengdu, China, will also double as a key qualifying opportunity for Diehm the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where the sport will make its debut.

Diehm, 22, who started in the sport at the age of eight years at a local skatepark on her ride home from school, only launched her international career twelve months ago.

She enters the 2019 World Championships off the back of victory in the 2019 Vans BMX Pro Cup which featured events in the USA, Australia, Germany and Mexico.

"I've had some massive highs this year like winning Vans, but coming into Worlds there's a different kind of pressure," Diehm said. "I'm just wanting to perform at my best and hope it all goes well."

Only nine women will get to contest the Tokyo 2020 Games Freestyle competition comprised of two riders from the top ranked nation, one rider from each nation ranked second to fifth, with one rider automatically qualifying from host nation Japan.

With Australia currently ranked tenth, and the World Championships one of the last key events before the qualifying ends in May, Diehm is hoping to secure as many qualifying points this weekend to Australia is one of the top two nations outside the top five.

"My goal is try and qualify for a spot in the 2020 Olympics. All I can do is my best and hopefully that gets me a spot."

As Australia's lone female competitor at the Worlds, and just one of a handful women who compete in the sport domestically, Diehm understands the challenges for women competing in the fledgling discipline.

"It has been a struggle, but when you love something so much you find a way to be able to continue. I would love to see more women in Australia get into the sport!"

Diehm will take part in qualifying on Saturday, with finals on Sunday.

2019 World Championships

The 2019 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships will take place in Chengdu, China, from 6-10 November 2019. 
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• Team Australia Hub australiancyclingteam.com/urbanworlds19
• Championship Website www.urbanworlds.cn 
  
• Results uci.org/uci-urban-cycling-world-championships 

ELITE MEN

• Logan Martin - Gold Coast: 2017 World Champion; Current leader - 2019 FISE World Cup Standings; Dual gold - 2019 Summer X Games; 2nd - 2019 Urban World Games
• Brandon Loupos - Sydney: Gold - 2019 Urban Games winner; Bronze - 2018 World Championships; Gold - 2019 World Cup Round 1,  2018 National Champion
• Jake Wallwork - Melbourne: Gold -2018 World Cup Round 3; 4th - 2018 World Championships: 3rd - 2018 National Championships 
• Jason Watts - Melbourne:  2019 Vans BMX Pro-Skate Park Series: 2nd - 2018 National Championships. 

ELITE WOMEN

• Natalya Diehm - Gladstone: Winner - 2019 Vans BMX Pro-Skate Park Series; 9th/13th 2019 World Cups