The biggest BMX race of the season is of course the UCI BMX World Championships. An annual event that attracts over 3,000 riders from all around the World and during the course of 1 race, determines who is the best rider in each age category.

As many of you will know, Scott has won the BMX World Championships twice before and has the covered rainbow jerseys hanging proudly in his house. The goal for this year was to add a third title. Very simple!

Our journey began with the most horrific traffic queues to leave the UK. However, after plenty of diversions, lanes and shortcuts, we finally made it onto a ferry and were bound for France. Nantes in the north west was the destination and we were excited to see the track and start practice.

The first practice session was on Sunday. Riders generally get 4 or 5 laps of the track on the first day. Scott was lucky and he managed to position himself in the pens to get that vital extra lap. The track was super technical and fast with huge jumps and berms. Scott loved it and he looked great on track. Things were looking good.

Monday and it was the second practice session. The temperatures were high and the track speed moved up a notch. Lap times were 30 seconds and with so many jumps in that lap on this huge track, we were in for some interesting racing on Friday. Scott ended the session with some gates and full laps with all the jumps dialled, he was ready to race.

Midweek and on Wednesday we had a training session to keep the legs turning. Scott was flying and we were all getting excited about the projects on Friday.

Thursday and a complete day of rest. However. Scott had some shortness of breath. Nothing to worry about but we kept the activity to a minimum to be safe. Some great food and the stage was set.

Friday – Race day:

7.30am and it was final practice. 2 laps to get everything set and then game time. Scott looked ok. Nice and smooth.

First moto. Scott made a bad start and battled through to third. It wasn’t a great start, but there was a long way to go until the final.

Second moto and his start was even worse. He battled hard and could only finish fifth. There was clearly a problem. After this moto Scott met the team in the team area and said he felt weak and had no power. He felt his gates were good but he just wasn’t going forwards at all.

Third moto and it was the same story. A poor start followed by a scrap to finish third. It was enough to qualify through to the eighth finals but things were not looking good.

Onto the eighth final. Now it was straight knockout. Eight riders in a race and just four qualifying to the next round. Scott ended up with gate seven. It was his best gate of the day and he hit the first turn in third. He rode a good lap and crossed the line in third. However, he report back saying the same thing. He felt powerless out of the gate and really slow on track.

Quarter final. In an odd scene of events, Scott had sixth pick of the gate and gate two was available. He obviously went for it. Needing a good start it was full focus. You guessed it. Scott came out of the gate last. He hustled as best he could on track but, as the day had already shown, it wasn’t to be. He crossed the finish line in sixth, utterly dejected.

In the finish area, the confusion was plain to see. Scott said: “The week has gone so well. I felt strong and my lap times were fast. Everything was set. Today, all that has gone. I don’t know where but that is the worst performance I have ever put in at a World Championships. I feel embarrassed, confused and sad that on any other day this week I would have had a chance of winning this race. I feel empty and ill. Something is wrong with me and I want to get home straight away, see my doctors and work out what the hell just happened. I’m sorry to everyone who has supported me this year. This was a very bad day, but I’ll be back.”

In a twist of events, the plan was to travel straight from BMX World Championships to Falmouth in Cornwall where Scott was scheduled to defend his 4X National Championship title. However, on the journey home, Scott became more and more ill, to the point we decided he needed to go straight home and see a doctor. 

We will of course keep you updated with his health as we now look towards the next round of 4X ProTour in Berlin next week. 

Thank you again for your support. As you all know Scott is capable of racing with broken bones and eyes hanging out of his head so as soon as there is a chance of racing, he will be there.

Speak soon.

The fourth round of the 2022 4X ProTour took place at the famous JBC Bikepark in Czech Republic on Saturday night.

The race was simply incredible. Incredible. One of the best 4X events that has ever been staged.

So, to break away from the usual race reports, this one will be told using the incredible photos that Charles Robertson took for us.

Scott qualified 11th and ironically finished 11th. However. He was riding much better than the result suggests and a collision in turn 1 during the quarter final ended his run for another podium.

He has now slipped back to 3rd overall in the points chase. With 3 rounds left to go Scott is still confident about challenging for the title.

Enjoy the images and follow Charles Robertson – @charlesthetog on social media and websites.

The third round of the 2022 4X ProTour took place at Dobrany Bikepark in Czech Republic yesterday. With big crowds watching all weekend, this race is certainly here to stay on the ProTour. The track was huge. Big jumps, high speed and a real challenge for all the riders.

Scott arrived at the track late Thursday evening and was excited to see the new track on Friday for the first official practice session.

On Friday, riders had 3 hours to get to grips with this new challenge. It took Scott most of the session to really dial in the track. It was huge and a lot to work on to get up to speed. By the end of the session though, Scott was certainly looking quick and we were focused on a great result on Saturday.

Qualifying and the race took place on Saturday, so riders had to be ready for a full day of action. Seeded number 2 into this event, so he would go second from the end. When qualifying started though, the rain clouds arrived. The first riders got a dry track but by the time Scott got into the gate, the track had turned into a mess. Wet and slippery from the heavy thunderstorm meant that it was all Scott could do to stay on his bike. Impressively, Scott put together a good run and was actually able to jump some of the bigger jumps. It was a great run all things considered and he crossed the line in 7th position.

He was happy and felt good going into racing as the team immediately leapt into action. Changing Scott’s tyres to spikes, attaching a front mudguard and prepping the bike for wet weather.

Racing went well for Scott winning his early heats and moving through to the quarter finals. In the quarter final, Scott started to feel the pinch from his bad qualifying. He would be given gate 3. However he made an incredible start and managed to get across to lead into turn 1 and then go on to win the race. It was a really impressive ride.

In the semi final Scott now found himself on gate 4. However, he was clearly in the mood. He made a great start and battled down the first straight. After a bump and a bang Scott got all the way across and again led the race into turn 1. He then rode a perfect lap and won the semi final. He was unbeaten and looking great into the final. 

In the final, Scott had gate 3. The gate dropped and Scott was on point. Taking the holeshot, Scott was leading into turn 1. Then disaster struck. He landed short on a double jump into turn 1 and everything unravelled. He went from 1st to 4th in the blink of an eye. From there he battled back but just could not make a pass and ended up finishing 4th.

In the finish area Scott said: 

“I can’t believe it. I am so annoyed with myself. I had it in the final and I messed up. It’s on me. I made a mistake and I am absolutely gutted. There’s nothing else to say. This one got away and it stings pretty bad.”

The result, although disappointing for Scott moves him up to 2nd overall in the 2022 4X ProTour overall rankings. His consistency with podiums at every race so far is paying off. There are 4 rounds left and he is certainly fighting for the overall title.

The next round is this weekend, again in Czech Republic at the famous JBC 4X Revelations event. The biggest race of the year. Let’s keep the momentum going.

Thank you to all our team partners for your support in 2022.

Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2022 HSBC British BMX Series took place at Peckham in London. An incredible facility for BMX and home of the Olympic silver medalist Kye Whyte.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, parked the motorhome, set the team tent up and then it was a couple of official practice sessions. Scott looked great on track and quickly got to grips with the technical jumps. It was pretty windy but the track was in fantastic condition and we were ready for a great weekend of racing.

Saturday: Round 7

To be honest, we are going to write this race report a little differently.

Scott set the fastest times all day, winning his heats and looking like a sure bet for the win.

In the final he miscalculated the jump into the first corner and that was his race over.

7th across the finish line and Scott was clearly kicking himself at the mistake.

Sunday: Round 8

Again, like Saturday, Scott was flying. Fastest full lap, fastest start hill times in the bag and looking great heading into the final.

In the final he mistimed the gate by a fraction. Got boxed in and was then involved in a crash with another rider.

It was one of those weekends.

Scott again finished 7th.

At the finish line, Scott said:

‘I have felt amazing all weekend. It just hasn’t happened. I am frustrated. Annoyed. I’ve definitely left 2 wins on the table this weekend. You can’t win them all, but this weekend stings.

Time to go home, re group and make sure this doesn’t happen again!”

The best part about the weekend though are the images. Our photographer Charles Robertson (@charlesthetog) took some incredible images including the drone shot where if you zoom in, Scott is leading that race!

Last weekend, rounds 3 & 4 of the 2022 Schwalbe British 4X Series took place at Redhill in Gloucestershire. This iconic track with the most amazing views has a huge history as being one of the best 4X race tracks in the UK. This weekend it did not disappoint providing edge of your seat racing in every lap.

A cornerstone of the British 4X Series for many years, Redhill is fast, flowing and always a favourite for riders and spectators. With fun jumps, high berms and split lines on the track, racing is always amazing. With the sun shining all weekend, the scene was set for a great weekend of racing.

Saturday – Round 3:

Scott got on track for the first time for practice on Saturday morning to get his lines dialled and get ready for racing. All was going great and he looked fast.

The British 4X Series uses the moto system for qualification which means Scott would race 3 qualifying races against different riders to qualify through to the knockout rounds.

Racing got underway at 12.00. Scott rode flawless and took 3 convincing wins in his motos. He looked great on track and was laying down some seriously fast laps.

By the time the semi-finals rolled around, Scott was feeling confident. His track speed was very good, and gates were perfect. In his semi-final he chose gate 1, made a great gate and he stamped his authority on the race and took the win to book his place in the final.

In the final, Scott chose gate 1 again. Saving his best till last, Scott made a perfect start and checked out. Laying down a perfect lap and pulling a big lead, Scott raced past the team pit area nodding and already celebrating before the finish line. With a big whip over the finish jump, he punched the air with delight as he took the win.

“I could not be any happier. A perfect race day doesn’t come along too often but we have been able to nail it today. Thank you to everyone for their support. We go again tomorrow”

Sunday – Round 4:

Sunday morning arrived and again we were greeted by blue skies. The track was even better than Saturday and was running really fast.

In the motos, Scott didn’t have it all his own way. Taking the win in moto 1, moto 2   got a bit hectic! With 7 different passes in the race, Scott was shuffled back to 3rd position at the finish line. In his final moto Scott was leading, then back to 2nd and then made an incredible pass on the biggest jump on track. It was real ‘thread the needle’ stuff, but he executed it perfectly. The crowds were cheering as the Elite riders had brought their A game to round 4 and the racing was incredible.

Onto the final. Scott chose gate 1. It hadn’t been the favoured gate all day as the first turn high low move from gate 4 had been working so well.

Scott made his best gate of the weekend and then proceeded to catch the other riders off guard in turn 1. Instead of hugging the inside, he shot to the outside and then railed turn 1. The high low move that had caught riders out all day was now cancelled out. However the action shifted to turn 2 as a rider dived inside of Boom Boom. He carried so much speed around the outside berm that on the exit, with cm’s to spare he shot onto the third straight in the lead. From here it was all about hitting the marks and riding a clean lap. Scott crossed the line and was ecstatic.

“That was one of the most incredible British 4X Series races ever. We are so lucky to be able to do this amazing sport. Thank you to all my sponsors, the series sponsors and British Cycling. The British 4X team for putting this race on and finally the crowd for cheering us all on in that final. It was intense but the crowd made it incredible.”

Now the team focuses back onto the BMX bike with rounds 7 and 8 of the 2022 British BMX National Series next weekend in Peckham, London.

We look forward to reporting back next week.