Tory Nyhaug claims second place at the end of a damp, dramatic BMX Supercross World Cup
It was wet, rainy, and generally speaking, not the sort of weekend that might make a spectator think that the year's best BMXers would be turning in an incredible performance.
It was wet, rainy, and generally speaking, not the sort of weekend that might make a spectator think that the year’s best BMXers would be turning in an incredible performance. But with so many of 2015’s greats gathered in one place, ready to fly on the Rock Hill, South Carolina track at the BMX Supercross World Cup finals, the season’s ultimate competition was full of surprises.
At its conclusion, England’s Liam Phillips won the supercross world cup title in the men’s race, while Colombia’s Mariana Pajon took the championship for the women.
The opening metres of the women’s race in Rock Hill didn’t suggest such a conclusion, though. At the outset, Alise Post of the United States took the lead, eliciting roars of excitement from her home country’s crowd. Going into the track’s first turn, though, Post somewhat bungled a landing, losing just enough control to allow Pajon to capitalize on an opportunity to sneak up from the inside. In an attempt to recover, Post kept on the attack — but in the end, attacked just a bit too hard, going down on the Rock Hill course and allowing Stefany Hernandez of Venezuela to take the lead. It was a lead that Pajon denied the Venezuelan rider on the final stretch, though, sprinting to cross the finish in first place — despite Hernandez’s best efforts to block her.
Pajon took the win at the race’s end, with Hernandez in second place and Holland’s Laura Smulders, who kept up a consistent, steady pace through the competition, claiming third. In final Supercross World up standings, the win went to Pajon, second place went to Hernandezm and third went to Post from the United States.
Things were equally surprising for Liam Phillips, for whom the start of competition didn’t go as well as its end. On the first straight, the British rider inadvertently unclipped his pedal, opening up a chance for the other riders to go on the offensive. Wasting no time, Latvia’s Maris Strombergs took that critical first term in first place, flanked on the outside by Connor Fields of the United States and on the inside by France’s Amidou Mir. The second straight saw Strombergs trailed by five riders, at which point a good deal of jockeying on the track saw the dynamic of the race changed.
France’s Joris Daudet poured it on, but only until coming neck-and-neck with Mir, riding hard in second position. A tangle followed, and Daudet bailed, crashing out and leaving the course with Mir, meanwhile, losing precious speed. At that point, it was down to Canada’s Tory Nyhaug and Fields, with both riders blasting past Amidou Mir, the French rider’s momentum all but lost. Strombergs crossed the line with an impressive lead, with Nyhaug taking second place and Fields, riding on home soul, coming in third.
2nd today at the World Cup Finals! YES! To end the SX year on the podium feels sweet . Thanks everyone ! pic.twitter.com/cSDoki1gCX
— Tory Nyhaug (@Tnyhaug49) September 27, 2015
In terms of overall results, Phillips also took the year’s overall win, with Niek Kimmann of the Netherlands in second and Amidou Mir — despite his disappointment on the track — claiming the final overall podium spot.
