Laura Smulders and Jérémy Rencurel clinch wins in wild finals at BMX Racing World Cup Round 2 in Glasgow
The women's and men's elite finals in Glasgow were both marred by crashes but Smulders – winning her fifth straight World Cup race – and Rencurel held strong for victory on Sunday.
Cycling BMX Racing
There's no stopping Laura Smulders at the moment.
The Dutch BMX racer clinched her fifth consecutive World Cup race victory on Sunday (29 May) at the second round of the 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup, beating out Olympic and world champion Bethany Shriever at the line in Glasgow.
In the men's elite final, France's Jérémy Rencurel claimed a first career World Cup race win in a final marred by three separate crashes which took out six of the eight riders as Sylvain André completed a French one-two with his second second-place finish of the weekend.
This weekend marked the first time the track in Glasgow, which was previously used for the 2018 European Championships, hosted rounds on the World Cup calendar, with Great Britain's World Cup races having previously been held at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester.
Laura Smulders on a roll
The win on Sunday was Smulders' 25th World Cup victory of her career, with the last five coming in the final three races of 2021 and first two of 2022.
It had been Shriever, the home favourite who the crowd turned out to see, and Australia's Saya Sakakibara who started the strongest out of the gate.
An early crash eliminated three riders as Shriever opened up an apparently big lead, but Smulders was able to chase her down on the final straight and win in a photo-finish.
The final margin of victory of under four-tenths of a second was less than half a wheel's length.
"Racing these last couple of years with all the young girls coming up, it's getting bigger and bigger the final, and harder and harder to get those wins," Smulders said after the race. "I'm happy to have got into Beth's wheel on the second straight and hunt her down. And on the last straight I don't know how close it was but it was a very cool race.
"It was great racing out here, it was so technical and I love that stuff. Thanks, Glasgow, for cheering Beth on and it made me better getting the cheers too."
With the win, Smulders moves onto 300 points in the World Cup standings ahead of two home rounds in Papendal, Netherlands, next.
Two-time Olympic champion Mariana Pajón was eliminated in the semi-finals.
UCI BMX Racing World Cup round 2: Women's elite result
- Laura Smulders (NED) 38.326
- Bethany Shriever (GBR) 38.365
- Saya Sakakibara (AUS) 39.181
- Judy Bauuw (NED) 39.697
- Manon Veenstra (NED) 40.384
- Zoe Claessens (SUI) DNF
- Mariane Beltrando (FRA) DNF
- Hatakeyama Sae (JPN) DNF
Rencurel triumphs after crazy race
The men's elite final was a wild affair as no fewer than three crashes meant three-quarters of the field found themselves on the floor before the finish line.
Saturday's round 1 winner Diego Arboleda of Colombia was one of the fastest out of the gate, but he was involved in a first-turn crash that claimed four of the eight riders in the final as France's Rencurel hit the front.
Swiss rider Cédric Butti then went down at the second corner, as Rencurel, Australian Izaac Kennedy, and the 2018 world champion Sylvain André went clear.
Kennedy appeared to be closing in on Rencurel on the final straight, but misjudged his line and went over his handlebars to let André in to complete the French one-two.
All eight riders did eventually cross the finish line, with the six fallers managing to pick themselves up.
"It's so good to be back after two [bad] years with Covid, I'm really happy to take the win, first win in my career in the World Cup," Reuncurel said. "We're all friends, it's a good feeling to share it with [Sylvain]."
UCI BMX Racing World Cup round 2: Men's elite result
- Jérémy Rencurel (FRA) 34.070
- Sylvain André (FRA) 34.887
- Izaac Kennedy (AUS) 41.168
- Diego Arboleda (COL) 59.312
- Romain Mayet (FRA) 1:00.369
- Cédric Butti (SUI) 1:23.144
- Paddy Sharrock (GBR) 2:35.543
- Dave van der Burg (NED) 3:00.398