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Olympians and national champions highlight squad for 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Championships
Jun 23, 2022
AusCycling is proud to announce the athlete selections to the Australian National Team for the 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Championships, to be held in Nantes, France from July 26 – 31.
The elite team is headlined by world number seven Izaac Kennedy and Olympians Lauren Reynolds and Saya Sakakibara.
Kennedy heads into his third elite World Championships in stellar form, having taken two podiums from the opening four UCI BMX Racing World Cup rounds leaving him fifth overall on the World Cup standings.
Izaac Kennedy flies into the first berm during the third round of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Papendal - Photo: Craig Dutton
Reynolds placed fifth at last year’s World Championships and began her World Cup campaign in style in Papendal recently, making back-to-back finals in her first World Cup rounds for two years.
Sakakibara placed fifth and third in the opening World Cup rounds in Glasgow, a feat the Southlake Illawarra BMX club rider didn’t think was possible.
“Honestly, I just feel shocked,” Sakakibara said after Round 2 of the UCI BMX World Cup.
“A combination of relief, shock and pride... I didn’t expect to get a podium this weekend, I came here to learn and grow so that I did not have to put pressure on myself.”
The Tokyo Olympian crashed at the most recent World Cup round and is on the road to recovery ahead of the World Championships.
Josh McLean will make his third elite World Championships appearance after a successful year on the USA BMX circuit, narrowly placing second overall in the Pro Series last year and leading it currently.
Queenslander Matt Krasevskis rounds out the team, making his second elite appearance.
The Under 23 men’s team includes Oli Moran, Jack Davis and Kyle Hill.
Davis and Hill competed in all four opening rounds of the World Cup series, with each rider making a semi-final, and sitting 18th and 19th overall respectively.
Moran hopes to emulate his performance at the 2019 World Championships, which saw him place second in the Junior Elite final.
Australian Junior Elite champion Joel Marsh and the high-flying Jordan Callum will represent Australia in the Junior Men’s, whilst Bella May will don the green and gold in the Junior Women’s after a solid start to the year, boasting three podiums from three AusCycling BMX National Rounds.
“The start of my season has been incredible,” May said.
“I have so many amazing people behind me that have supported me in the off-season in preparation for these big events.”
National BMX Race Coach Sam Willoughby will oversee his first World Championships in the role and is excited by the strong team heading to France.
“It is an exciting time to be heading to the World Championships in France, with a team full of both experience and youth,” Willoughby said.
“Every rider on the team has their head down working to put themselves in the best position possible to represent Australia well.
Australian National Team – 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Championships
Elite Men
- Izaac Kennedy (QLD) - Nerang BMX Club
- Joshua McLean (VIC) - Knox BMX Club
- Matt Krasevskis (QLD) - Pine Rivers BMX Club
Elite Women
- Saya Sakakibara (NSW) - Southlake/Illawarra BMX Club
- Lauren Reynolds (WA) - Bunbury BMX Club
U23 Men
- Oli Moran (NSW) - Manning Valley BMX Club
- Jack Davis (NSW) - Tamworth City BMX Club
- Kyle Hill (QLD) - Ashmore BMX Club
Junior Men
- Jordan Callum (WA) - Rockingham BMX Club
- Joel Marsh (SA) - Happy Valley BMX Club
Junior Women
- Bella May (VIC) - Frankston BMX Club
2022 UCI BMX Racing World Championships
Tuesday, July 26 – Sunday, July 31
Nantes, France
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