Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifiers | Canada and Switzerland 2024
Photos Andrea Heath Photography (Canada) | Luca De Vita (Switzerland)
Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifiers | Canada and Switzerland 2024
Photos Andrea Heath Photography (Canada) | Luca De Vita (Switzerland)
With only a handful of Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championship qualifying events left on the calendar, some of the biggest names in the discipline emerged over the last couple of weeks. All hoping to secure a win, and the resulting funded trip to the World Championship finals, and a shot at winning the coveted UCI Rainbow jersey in Durban, South Africa, on November 9th!
Sicamous, Canada | 7 September 2024
This was the first qualifying event to be held at the Velosolutions creation in Sicamous, British Colombia. Known for its stunning four-season outdoor adventure offerings, Sicamous proved to be the perfect backdrop for an exciting day of racing. And with a former men’s World Champion, Niels Bensink, in attendance, it was sure to be fast! The 600+ spectators at the races were in for a treat.
In the men’s event, Niels and Bas van Steenbergen where close all day, only separated by 0.876 seconds in the opening runs. But when it came to the final, Niels put in the fasted lap of the day with a blisteringly quick 21.686 seconds. Bas was over a second back with a 22.994 second lap time.
BMX racer, Olivia Armstrong, travelled north from the USA with hopes of African adventures. She set the pace with a best time of 25.892 in her second timed run. When the final rolled around, she was slightly slower, but fast enough to take the win from Karsen Tielen, who clocked in a final time of 26.080 seconds.
MEN:
1: Niels Bensink
2: Bas van Steenbergen
3: Andrew Towler
4: Alan Mandl
WOMEN:
1: Olivia Armstrong
2: Karsen Tielen
3: Rachelle Nielsen
4: Andrea Heath
Monthey, Switzerland | 14 September 2024
Just 20 minutes from Montreux and the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the Chablais region was the host of the second Swiss qualifier of the 2024 series. And multiple World Champion, Christa von Niederhäusern, came to play, decked out in the 2023 Rainbow jersey. The World Champion had already secured her 2024 World Championship place, so Monthey was more of an ominous exhibition …
Christa dominated from start to finish despite Olympic BMX Racer, Nadine Aeberhard, looking to broaden her horizons for the remainder of the year. A reminder that the pump track has evolved into a sport with a very specific skill set. Nadine’s deep skill set from the world of racing did secure her a second place on the podium, but you’d be a brave person to bet against Christa adding to her World titles in Durban.
The men’s side of the equation was also stacked in Switzerland, with lots of riders having vast amounts of experience on the circuit. The fastest qualifier, Tristan Bore, made an uncharacteristic mistake in the quarter finals, opening the door to the finals for Renato Rufener.
But it was France’s Thibault Dupont, who dominated, again. It was his 9th time to win a pump track qualifier and he will again be one to watch when it comes to the Rainbow jersey battle in November. Didi van Tiggel had to settle for second but will be hoping to upgrade that result in South Africa.
Interestingly, but probably not surprisingly, all eight worlds’ qualifiers from Monthey rode BMX, clearly the fastest way around a pump track.
WOMEN:
1: Christa von Niederhäusern
2: Nadine Aeberhard
3: Kristina Madarasova
4: Eloïse Donzallaz
MEN:
1: Thibault Dupont
2: Didi van Tiggel
3: Sirio Grünig
4: Renato Rufener
The Worlds finals in Durban, South Africa, are so close now, and you only have a couple of chances left to qualify. Erlangen, Germany tomorrow, Saturday the 21st, and the LCQ in Durban on November the 2nd.
See the upcoming qualifiers HERE.
For all the latest info. on the series, check out the links below …
Velosolutions UCI Pump Track: Website | Instagram | Facebook
Velosolutions: Website | Instagram | Facebook
UCI: Website | Instagram | Facebook
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