Cochrane will kick off the official start of the BMX season as hundreds of riders from across the province shred around town this weekend.
“This is really big,” said Brad Christensen, Cochrane BMX Association president. “The buzz around the track is so exciting.”
Each year, the Alberta BMX Association puts on eight provincial races, with the ninth – The Grand – capping off the qualifying season in Medicine Hat in September.
This time, Cochrane’s “hard, smooth, fast” track was voted by a group of sister organizations to host the first two events of the season on June 24 and 25.
“It’s a little bit of an honour because the clubs have voted … it is decided by our peers,” said Christensen. “This is the first big one, where you see all your other clubs, you see your competition, you see friends from last year. There’s a lot of people who are excited to get going.”
Race action begins on Saturday at 11 a.m. and on Sunday at 10 a.m., with as many as 550 racers taking to the track each day – including up to 50 riders of all ages from the Cochrane group.
Fans of the sport will also get to mingle over the weekend with young riders Katie Scott and Luke Christensen, the only two locals on the 2017 Team Alberta squad.
“The competition is pretty tight right from the start,” said Cochranite Brian Otterson, currently ranked in the Top 6 in the province in his 40-plus category.
Otterson said he fell in love with the sport 13 years ago, when he at 37 years old and his then-seven-year-old son, Taylor, both signed with the town club.
Today, Taylor is 20 and focused on breaking into the U.S. pro ranks – and Otterson’s one of the best on the Alberta circuit in his 40-plus category.
“I couldn’t even tell you why I like it so much … It’s a great sport,” Otterson said. “It pushes you to try to do things a little bit different.”
Christensen said the kind of passion the Ottersons bring to the sport just adds to the energy of the weekend’s summer series celebration.
“It’s such a great experience to see what the provincials are about,” he said. “It’s really an electrifying event.”
