New competition key to discovering next generation of BMX stars, says Declan Brooks

Olympic bronze medallist Declan Brooks believes British Cycling’s new BMX Freestyle National Series can fast-track the nation’s next generation of talent in the sport when it launches next month.

The six-leg competition has been designed to capitalise on the success that came when Brooks and Charlotte Worthington flipped, twisted and spun their way to bronze and gold respectively when BMX freestyle made its Olympic debut in Tokyo last summer.

Taking place between April and October, the new series will bring together riders from elite, amateur and youth categories from the ages of four to 14, starting with round one at the Asylum Skatepark in Sutton-in-Ashfield on April 9.

At the end of the year, national series winners and national champions will be crowned at Adrenalin Alley in Corby, home to Great Britain’s freestyle squad, on the weekend of October 22-23.

“When I was a kid we didn’t have any series like this, so for me I’m just trying to jump on it and push it as much as possible,” Brooks told the PA news agency. “Kids need to have a pathway to see where they can eventually get to. In the UK we’ve not had one.

“When I was younger I tried to compete as much as possible because that’s the way to get better and to get more competition ready. It’s good that we have that now. They’ll also be able to see elite-level riders riding in the same place as them on the same days and that’s what’s always cool in BMX.”

The series is part of a rapid expansion of Britain’s BMX programme. More than £1million has been invested in facilities across five sites, three of which will host legs of the new competition, with British Cycling also recruiting a talent development coach.

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At 25, Brooks has plenty more competitive riding in him yet, but, with one eye on a future coaching role, he believes the series format is ideal for the nation’s elite competitors to gets hands-on in passing on their experience to young riders.

“It will be good for us to see what talent is coming up and who we’ve got to watch out for and it will be good for them to see the level they need to be at the compete with the best in the country,” he said.

“It’s a great pathway to see how they can get on to something like British Cycling and then on to the Olympics, so it’s a much-needed series.”

The Olympic spotlight shone brightly on Brooks last summer as BMX made its debut on the biggest stage.

His medal brought a whirlwind of attention he could never have imagined when he first got into the sport, but one he did his best to savour.

“You’ve just got to take it in your stride,” he said. “Be yourself. I never really expected anything like that. Obviously you want to go to the Olympics and be the best you can, but I didn’t get into BMX to go the Olympics, it wasn’t in the Games when I started, so it wasn’t a goal.

“But when it came about, I just want to compete at the highest level of BMX and that’s the Olympics, so that’s the route you’ve got to take.”

The rewards keep coming too. Brooks is heading back to Japan in three weeks’ time for the X Games, which take place on Chiba on the outskirts of Tokyo from April 22-24.

“It’s the first time I’ve been,” he said. “That’s a big one. The X Games is our biggest competition of the year.

“Before BMX got into the Olympics that was our Olympics, but I was never invited before. Coming off the back of getting bronze I don’t think they could not invite me, so it’s pretty sweet.”