Aussie Juniors, U23s selected for BMX Worlds

The next generation of Aussie BMXers will step onto the world stage this August, with eight junior and under-23 athletes selected for the UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Glasgow.

First-year riders Noah Elton and Joshua Jolly will represent Australia after an excellent start to the season, including gold and bronze respectively at the Oceania Championships. They will be joined in the junior men’s category by nine-time World Challenge winner Tommy Tucker.

After proving to be one of Australia’s best young riders over the past 18 months, Teya Rufus will wear the green-and-gold in the junior women’s championship. The Queenslander won the u16 Girls National Championship last year and has started brightly at junior level, winning silver at the Oceania titles.

Alongside her will be Sienna Pal, who has bounced back from a knee reconstruction with a string of top performances, including bronze at Oceanias.

The under-23 men’s team features Jesse Asmus, who is the reigning national and Oceania champion and current leader of the AusCycling BMX Racing National Series. South Australia’s Matthew Tidswell has also earned a World Championship berth after pushing Asmus every step of the way, placing second in each of those events.

Joining them is Oli Moran, who since moving to France has posted impressive results against some of the world’s best, highlighted by a podium in the opening European Cup round in Verona.

Matt Tidswell (#510) & Jesse Asmus (#633) at the 2023 Oceania Championships. (Image: Aaron Gillions-Cycling NZ)

“These riders have stepped up to show that they are ready to take on the world. As we've seen before, if they can go over there and ride like they do here, with the potential they've got, we're always a strong chance to be in that top eight,” said Luke Madill, Deputy Chef de Mission for the Australian Cycling Team.

“And, as we know with BMX, anything can happen once you get to that final.

“Out of the riders we’ve selected, all of them have the potential to be there at the end of the day. We don't want to put any more pressure on them, but I feel we've got a really strong team this year, as the selections were tough with the current depth of riders we have in Australia.”

The team was chosen in accordance with AusCycling’s selection policies.

This year’s BMX Worlds will be held in Glasgow as part of the UCI Cycling World Championships. Australia’s elite squad will be selected later this year.

Australian Cycling Team for the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships

Junior Men – BMX Racing

• Noah Elton (San Remo BMX Club, NSW)
• Joshua Jolly (Ballarat-Sebastopol Cycling Club, VIC)
• Tommy Tucker (Pine Rivers BMX Club, QLD)

Junior Women – BMX Racing

• Teya Rufus (Maryborough BMX Club, QLD)
• Sienna Pal (Terrigal BMX Club, NSW)

U23 Men – BMX Racing

• Oliver Moran (Manning Valley BMX Club, NSW)
• Jesse Asmus (Nerang BMX Club, QLD)
• Matthew Tidswell (The Cove BMX Club, SA)

Main Photo: Nico van Dartel