Beth Shriever: BMX world title win ‘the perfect practice’ for Olympic defence

Beth Shriever set her sights on defending her Olympic crown in Paris after reclaiming the women’s BMX racing world title at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Londoner bossed every round of the competition to take back the title she won just weeks after enjoying Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2021, but there was disappointment for Olympic silver medallist Kye Whyte as he crashed out of the men’s competition in the semi-finals.

Shriever lined up in Gate 1 for the final and had opened up a bike length on the rest of field by the opening corner to leave no doubt as to where the rainbow stripes were going.

Shriever started the day as favourite on home soil, and said the way she had handled that pressure bodes well for next summer’s Games in Paris.

“Everything went well, it was pretty much the perfect lap,” she said. “I didn’t know who was behind me or how close they were so I knew to just kept pushing and I’m over the moon.

“I’ve done a lot of stuff with my psychologist practicing things and this is the perfect practice leading into Paris. I’ve trained hard, trained well, I was in the perfect position for this race and just trusted myself, I can’t believe it.

“All my processes, I’ve stuck to it, and it all worked, so it’s unreal.”

Shriever was also fully able to enjoy the celebrations this time, having won her previous titles during the pandemic in deserted venues.

“I’ve always dreamt of being able to go to my parents after the race, I’ve literally dreamt of it all week so to actually do it was next level,” she said. “I’ll have this memory for the rest of my life so I’m very grateful.”

Whyte’s hopes of a medal on a track where he has previously enjoyed success ended in the semi-final when a shot of pain through the left shoulder he has previously dislocated sent him off the track.

“I didn’t have a good start,” Whyte said. “I didn’t mind not having a good start because I knew what the plan was if I didn’t have a good start and the plan stuck, but someone came on the inside and I went slightly off track, lost a bit of speed.

“I tried to gain it back on the jump but I eased up on the jump and nearly went over the bars, took myself out of the race. I made a big mistake, it happens.

“I’ve dislocated this left shoulder before and when I hit the jump it just kind of sent a bit of pain through my shoulder and as I’ve landed, I’ve landed awkwardly and it hurt again. It felt like it came out but it was in when I felt it now. We’ll see what the doctor says when I get home.”

Ross Cullen advanced to the final, his first at this level, and finished sixth as Romain Mahieu claimed gold.

Emily Hutt won silver for Great Britain in the women’s under-23 race, narrowly beaten by France’s Tessa Martinez.