Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifiers | France 2026

Photos: Philippe Foto

Velosolutions UCI Pump Track World Championships Qualifiers |France 2026

Photos: Philippe Foto

The Pump Track World Championship Qualifiers Series rolled into Valence, France, last weekend and with it some big names in the BMX World. The Aeberhard siblings, Loris and Nadine where both hoping to bring their recent BMX race form to the smaller Pump Track and roll away with a ticket to Beijing for the September finals. New Zealand’s Michael Bias was also back on the Pump Track after what seems like a long time away. We’re not sure he’s back to 100% fitness just yet either …

In the women’s field it was always going to be Olympian Nadine Aeberhard who set the tone with the fastest qualifying time of 31.146, but local young gun Lola Mejean was not far behind, just 0.26 seconds back and looking more dangerous with every lap.

The pair met in the big final, where Lola risked it all in front of the home crowd but a mistake opened the door for Nadine, who soaked up all the pressure to take the win and secure her ticket to China. Margaux Cezanne dominated the small final to claim third, with Lily Soler rounding out the top four.

In the men’s draw neither Loris Aeberhard or Michael Bias could tame Malo Dusseau Brossard, who was quite simply on another level all day. He set the bar in qualifying with a 27.877 lap, more than a second clear of Bias, then saved energy when he could and went all in when it mattered.

Michael’s return to pump track racing gave everyone the final they were waiting for. Even after two flat tyres, the Kiwi pulled out his fastest lap of the day with a 28.655. Malo answered by lowering his own track record once again, stopping the clock at 27.423 to take a well-deserved win.

Loris Aeberhard recovered from a mistake in the small final to grab bronze, while Axel Durand stayed consistent all day to finish fourth.

Elite Women:

1: Nadine Aeberhard

2: Lola Mejean

3: Margaux Cezanne

4: Lily Soler

Elite Men:

1: Malo Dusseau Brossard

2: Michael Bias

3: Loris Aeberhard

4: Axel Durand

Next up in the series is the USA and Sweden, both on the 15th of August, with Slovakia following on the 29th. Find out more at https://pumptrackworldchampionships.com/

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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 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT 

Speedline Spinners Cranks …

Follow Speedline Parts on Instagram | Website

Speedline Spinners Cranks …

Follow Speedline Parts on Instagram | Website

Speedline Parts, the sister company to Supercross BMX, have released, or rather teased us with the new Speedline Spinners Cranks. The new cranks are hollow forged Aluminium arm with a bonded Toray Carbon fibre back arm, which we believe is unique in the BMX world. The 175mm set we managed to abscond with weigh in at a svelte 737g! Once we get a new bottom bracket for the 30mm spindle we will mount them up and go testing. We believe the cranks will come with a bottom bracket when released this coming October.

See the Press Release from Speedline Parts below:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Speedline Spinners Cranks: The First Hybrid Forged Aluminum and Toray Carbon BMX Crank.
Forged hollow aluminum arms, a bonded Toray carbon back arm, a 30mm spindle, and more than 1,300 newton meters of torque handled in testing

APPLE VALLEY, Calif. — July 16, 2026 — Speedline Parts today released the Speedline Spinners Cranks, the first BMX crank we know of to pair a forged hollow aluminum arm with a bonded Toray carbon fiber back arm. After 45 years in this industry, we have not seen anyone build a crank this way.

BMX cranks have been aluminum or carbon for decades, and each one asks you to give something up. Aluminum forges strong and takes abuse, but flexes. Carbon is stiff and light, but expensive to do right. The Spinners use both where each one works best: a forged hollow 6061-T6 aluminum arm for strength and low weight, with a Toray carbon fiber back arm bonded on to stiffen the whole structure. Your power goes to the rear wheel instead of flexing away in the crank.

Getting it right took time and tooling. We changed the forging tool twice during development to pull more strength out of the arm and more weight off of it. And we put the cranks in front of the riders who would race them. Maris Strombergs, Kye Whyte, Oli Moran, Gaige Gomolicke, and Justin Perkins all gave input through development to make sure everything was 100% correct before a single crank shipped.

Then we tested. In EN 16054 dynamic fatigue testing, the European safety standard for BMX bikes, the Spinners handled over 1,300 newton meters of torque (about 959 lb-ft) for 100,000 cycles at 30 degrees, then again at 45 degrees. No failures. No cracks. Full test reports are on file.

“Thirteen hundred newton meters converts to 959 pound-feet of torque. That is more than a Cummins diesel puts out,” said Bill Ryan, founder of Speedline Parts and Supercross BMX. “And that is what these cranks took without a single crack. We forged the arm hollow to keep it light, bonded a Toray carbon back arm on to make it stiff, and changed the forging tool twice until the numbers were where we wanted them. When your legs are the engine, you do not get to waste power on flex.”

The Spinners run a 30mm spindle for strength through the center of the crankset without a weight penalty. And the name says the job: Spinners are built for riders who pedal fast.

Specifications:
Forged hollow 6061-T6 aluminum arms
Bonded Toray carbon fiber back arm
30mm spindle
EN 16054 dynamic fatigue tested: over 1,300 Nm (959 lb-ft), 100,000 cycles at 30° and 45°, passed
Arm lengths: 180mm tested; 177.5mm, 175mm, 172.5mm, 170mm, 167.5mm

The Speedline Spinners Cranks will be available through the Speedline Parts collection at supercrossbmx.com and through Speedline dealers.

About Speedline Parts:
Speedline Parts has built premium BMX racing components since 2007: carbon cranks, forks, rims, hubs, stems, chains, and titanium hardware. The brand started as a way to put pro-grade parts on complete bikes and to give riders on any frame brand access to top-tier components without a sponsor conflict. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Maris Strombergs ran Speedline parts during his years on a rival frame brand. Speedline Parts is owned by Bill Ryan, founder of Supercross BMX, and sold through the Speedline Parts collection at supercrossbmx.com.

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Off Script in Brisbane!

The 2026 BMX Racing World championships derailed by wind.

Photos: Navada Photography

Off Script in Brisbane!

The 2026 BMX Racing World championships derailed by wind.

Photos: Navada Photography

The opening day of the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Championships went off without a hitch. With the early rounds in the books, the qualified riders retired to their hotel rooms to rest for the following day and the opportunity to race for the World title.

But the universe had other plans and tossed the proverbial spanner into the works …

Sunday in Brisbane was windy, persistently windy, and as we know, BMX racing and wind do not play well together. As the Jr. Women lined up for practice, UCI officials were approached by two veteran racers who shared their safety concerns. The UCI then issued a statement stating that they regret ‘to announce that due to strong winds at the venue and in the interest of rider safety, the competition format for the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Champions in Brisbane, Australia, has been modified’. Racing was to move to the 5m hill, and the second straight pro section would also not be used.

Our understanding is that the plan to switch to the 5m hill was almost immediately rejected by the team managers preferring to instead wait for a weather window for the 8m hill.

We waited …

Later that day the UCI announced a further delay due to the continuing weather conditions.

We waited some more … but it felt like a cancellation was coming, the weather was not improving, and it wasn’t predicted to improve any time soon. We even shared our assumptions on who the declared winners might be should the cancellation come. We’ve been here before after all …

Then the dreaded announcement came … cancelled! ‘Following repeated assessments of the prevailing weather conditions, it was determined that safe racing could not be conducted within the available competition window. The decision was taken with the support of the UCI Athletes’ Commission representative on site, the National Federation Team Managers, and the Local Organising Committee’. The podiums were announced based off times from the previous day’s last run rounds in each class and the BMX social media world lit up!

We do wonder if the 5m hill had of been agreed to on Sunday would we have had racing that night under the Sleeman lights?

But like we said we’ve been here before. The now infamous Bathurst World Cup was called the same way, and for much the same reason. The final challenge day, which included Masters, of the 2024 Worlds in Rock Hill was also called the same way, albeit the cancellation was under different circumstances. There was lightning in the area, which was clearly taken very seriously by the local authorities and resulted in a mandatory site evacuation. We also believe the organisers were operating under agreed finish time constraints with the local community due to noise, lights etc. … but maybe that saga is a story for another day.

I guess what we’re not so subtly alluding to here is the fact that if we knew how this was going to be called before it was, well then, all the stake holders in Brisbane probably, or should have known too. Connor knew in Bathurst, Jesse knew in Brisbane.

The social media shouts of ‘this would only happen in BMX’ are easily disproved with a simple google search. The Andorra Jr. MTB Downhill World Cup suffered the same fate in 2025, as did other cycling events, but its irrelevant … we’re here to race, we’re all here to race, the riders, the fans, the federations and the organisers.

Initially the possibility of a cancellation, and ultimately the cancellation itself in Brisbane was met with at least some understanding by high-profile riders, although there was no doubting the underlying disappointment. France’s Eddy Clerty commented, ‘The safety of the riders is what matters most, let’s not wait for someone to have a lifechanging accident to just cancel it. You can’t predict where the wind will come from, 5 meter or 8 meter will not change anything (the past has proved it), 50+ kmh wind should make the decision’.

Romain Mahieu, also stated that ‘cancelling the race was 100% the right thing to do today due to the weather’ but he went on to make it abundantly clear that he was unhappy with how it came about.

A recurring theme from riders in Brisbane was the disappointment in the channels of communication but its proved hard to pinpoint anything in particular.

Two-time Olympic Champion, Maris Strombergs said ‘Today’s UCI decision was a disgrace to this sport’ and requested the opportunity to sit down with the UCI to discuss. Hopefully Maris follows up and shares what he learns from the potential meeting, we look forward to an update.

Over the years, we’ve been lucky enough to get a glimpse behind the curtain at these big events, and we’re always amazed at the scale … we see them as a massive juggernaut, always moving forward towards the conclusion. We suspect the juggernaut is far from easy to divert or redirect and we often wonder if the Championship and Challenge World Championships were separated, would we have more fluid experience … we’re also assuming this is an unpopular opinion, so we’ll park it here for now.

As the evening rolled on in Brisbane the internet swung into high gear, it was relentless, and vicious at times … but despite the calls for heads to roll, boycotts and endless advice on how and where to run the event in the future, we ultimately saw six riders go home with the coveted Rainbow jerseys, and have their names etched in the history books as the 2026 World Champions. Did they get lucky? Or did they remember Connor in Bathurst, and skew the game to their advantage?

Jesse Asmus posted, ‘I’m a racer at heart, so for me this one doesn’t feel right. Yes, I am able to say I’m now an Elite World Champ, but It definitely feels like there’s an asterisk next to it. Obviously, this wasn’t a decision that I was a part of, and I wish there was a way we could have completed the race day to allow us athletes to race for that jersey. Coming into the weekend, I knew racing being cancelled on Sunday was a possibility, so I really put a lot of emphasis on getting clean and fast laps on Saturday to allow myself to get the best ranking possible coming into a questionable Sunday. Things went in my favour, and I was able to become the World Champ based off placing and lap time in my 1/8th final.’

The backlash will rumble on and on, but we hope lessons were learnt. We hope riders, federations, and organisers have genuine and productive discussions. We hope the same thing is avoidable in the future. We hope.

No one, not the riders, not the fans, and not the organisers, after the years of work it takes to make these events happen, will want to revisit this scenario in the future.

When we look back to the 2026 World Champions we may remember it for all the wrong reasons … but the fact is, Jesse Asmus, Bethany Shriever, Josh Jolly, Renske van Santvoort, Lucas Zhou and Freia Challis are the 2026 World Champions. Remember what it took for them to get to Brisbane …

Record breaking, Four-time World Champion, Beth Shriever concluded, ‘I’ve dreamed about doing this, but obviously not in this way, it’s a crazy, crazy day. I think all of us feel like it’s a bit of a dream right now, but I laid down a solid lap yesterday. I feel like everything happens for a reason. The lap yesterday, I couldn’t believe it, to be honest, how quick it was. We’ll take it, I’m still happy. Obviously, we wanted to do it properly today, but we can’t control the weather, we can’t control the wind, and it was too dangerous for us out of there today.’

Is it too early to say that the dates for France 2027 have been released …

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