Perago Trust Recipient Bennett Greenough provides an update on his training and competition
Hi Perago Trust,
I would just like to say a huge thank you for the funding and support you have given me over the last 6 months! It has been a huge help and I really appreciate your support.
A lot has happened in the last 6 months, with multiple overseas trips and races. Firstly, I was selected to go on a training camp with the Cycling New Zealand BMX Performance Hub, to the Sleeman Sports Complex in Brisbane. This training camp was based around getting confident using the 8m start ramp, in order to prepare for the Junior Elite category which I will be racing next year. I felt that this camp was very productive as we were able to train on and get used to one of the world’s best BMX facilities, a major stepping stone toward being ready to race Jr Elite.
Achieving a second place finish at National Champs earlier in the year qualified me for the World Champs in Belgium, in July. Preparing for this event tested me mentally and physically during a gruesome winter training block. Heading into the event I was really well prepared and was riding faster than I had ever before. At the first practice one day out from racing I was fortunate to walk away from a huge crash, however mentally I felt a bit rattled heading into the qualifying rounds the next day. In the qualifiers I got off to a bit of a rough start, coming 4th in my first race against a field of top riders, including the soon to be World Champ. However in the second and third races, I managed to achieve 2 first places, which qualified me safely into the 1/16 finals. Unfortunately, in my 1/16 finals a small mistake on the last straight resulted in me crashing whilst in qualifying position. I was bitterly disappointed in the racing outcome but I know that I have the speed and ability to make it to the top.
I have been re-selected for the Cycling New Zealand BMX Performance Hub and have a busy training and racing schedule heading into my first year as a Junior Elite in 2020. I am looking forward to seeing what I can achieve in the upcoming season and value Perago’s support, thank you.
Kind Regards,
Bennett Greenough