Published: January 13, 2009
Burnham-On-Sea BMX cyclists gear up for a busy season

Riders at Burnham-On-Sea BMX Club are gearing up for a competitive year as they seek to bring home more silverware this year.

In the 7-year-old male category, Ben Saunders starts his first year as an expert rider, riding well in the novice classes he has proven he will be a force to be reckoned with in both the Regional and National competitions this year.

In the 8-year-old male category, the club has quality abound with the South West 1 and 3 plate in the form of Josh Coppin and James Duckering, both of which had impressive National performances, finishing an amazing 2nd and 6th in the UK respectively.

Ben Wainwright, who was in his first season last year, worked hard and has shown massive improvement over the winter. All three riders have had the bit between their teeth all winter, training hard to improve on last season's results.

Riding in the 10-year-old males this year will be the experienced rider but newcomer Eddie Moore, who finished third in an extremely hard class nationally but regionally will be riding under the coveted South West 1 plate this season.

To complete the double act, Eddie's brother Josh Moore has also joined the club riding in the 11-year-old males, and will no doubt prove to be an asset finishing a very respectable 4th nationally and a podium finish in 3rd regional.

In the 12 year-old-male category the club has the trio of Kurt Pugsley, who finished 6th within the region in 2008, plus Howard Manaton, and Roy Jones who after only starting to race after the halfway point of the season proved his quality by posting consecutively high finishes to finish 8th.

Within the teenage race categories competition is extremely tough, both at a regional and national level. Burnham riders continued mixing it with the best of Britain - Ryan Stack worked hard last season, racing in an age category above his age in order to gain valuable experience and it is estimated he will do the same this year with a view to travelling to the World Championships in Australia in 2009.

Several riders are on the verge of riding in the coveted Elite male category, with Adam Brazil, Dan Tipton and Tom Palmer all showing great potential. They may decide to make the leap into the top flight as the season begins.

Burnham's girls are ensuring that the boys won't be taking all the glory. In the 10-12 year-old girls we have the trio of Sophie Gilroy, Rebecca Duckering and Lauren Stack.

Both Rebecca and Lauren achieved high national finishes last season and with all three training hard we are expecting great things this season.

In the 13-15 year-old female category, Amelia Silvestre came back from a broken leg to just miss out on the South West number 1 plate. Amelia has now got the bit firmly between her teeth for 2009 and is determined to be in pole position.

Leading the girls out this year is Kim Scoones, who timed her best result to perfection by finishing in an impressive second place in the South West Championships at Cheddar last season.

Finally for the girls a big cheer for Isla Harvey, who has just joined the club and is its youngest rider at 4-years-old! Hopefully Isla's preparations for the season will enable her to slip on a Burnham jersey and show the elite how it's done!

Burnham has seen a lot of new potential joining the ranks recently with riders such as Curtis Pickard, Hamish Mcainsh, Isla Harvey and James Cameron to name but a few. It is hoped that all the new riders will make an appearance at the South West races this season and build on Burnham's reputation as a home of BMX.

The first race of the season will see some of Burnham's riders venturing to Belgium to take on the best that Europe has to offer in a double race series that combines part of the winter indoor race series and the Belgium indoor championships.

The trip to Kortrijk will be the first race outside Britain for James and Rebecca Duckering and Joshua Coppin, but they will be in good hands with experience abound in the form of Ryan and Lauren Stack, Amelia Silvestre and the Moore brothers. The riders from Burnham will be accompanying a large dedicate British BMX community, and it is hoped the Burnham riders will perform to their potential.

At the highest levels of British Cycling, Burnham are leading the way. Liam Phillips, who represented Team GB in the Olympics as the first British BMX rider ever, has fully recovered from a shoulder operation and is now back in training with London 2012 firmly set in his sights. Liam will shortly move to British Cycling Headquarters in order to fully prepare for a podium finish.

Following closely in Liam's footsteps is Curtis Manaton, who has just been successful in the initial filter stages of British Cycling's selection progress for the Olympic Development Program. If successful, Curtis will join the country's elite cyclists striving to bring home Britain's future Olympic medals.

Burnham BMX Club is renowned as one of the best facilities not only within the South West but within the UK. The club is growing in numbers with member numbers topping 70 at the end of 2008 and it is hoped that further expansion will see membership exceed 100 during 2009. The club hopes to do this by continuing to improve its facilities throughout the coming year.

The track is open on a Tuesday and Thursday evening for members and non-members alike - and the Tuesday session includes an organised training session for all.

"All you require is a serviceable BMX/mountain bike, a long sleeve top, trousers, a pair of gloves and a helmet, although these can be provided by the club. The final requirement is a willing pair of legs and a good set of lungs!" said club secretary Matt Duckering.