Hard work pays off for W2 Molly McGill

My world titles campaign started with 30hours of travel and arriving at our hotel at 2am in the morning. As soon we got our room I went straight to sleep while my dad set my bike up, because I had practice that day at 8am.

My first day of practice went well, the track was so smooth and in fast conditions. I worked on the first 2 straights as much as possible to get things sorted. I got about 6-7 laps of the track which was really good because usually at World events you never get that many laps. By the end of that session I was feeling confident leading into my second day of practice and racing. The following day, i was packing my gear for practice then realized that I had left my race shoes at the track the day before. Luckily Julia Botfield came to the rescue and let me borrow hers. Once that was sorted, practice went well. I had my lines sorted and was feeling ready to go.

Wednesday was a much needed rest day after all the travel and practice. I got to watch and cheer for the younger Australians in action on their race day. Our country had some awesome results. Watching them race made me nervous for tomorrow but I was also keen to get out there and mix it up with the best in the world. The night before racing it rained all night. On the way to the track we got the news that the track was damaged and the start to the day had been delayed. The officials informed us that they would let us know what was happening at 10:30. It was a long wait at the back in staging and not knowing what was happening made me a bit nervous for what to expect. The officials finally told us that motos would drop to only 2 then straight to transferring finals. Racing got underway at 12:00 after a 4 hour delay.

I had the current World Champion in my motos so I knew I had to be switched on from the very first Moto. My motos went well, placing 2nd & 1st which qualified me for my 1/4 final. The start of my 1/4 final didn't go to plan, not getting the best gate, I was in a bad position down the first straight and came out of the first corner in 4th. I then gained a position on the 2nd straight putting me into 3rd place, which I held onto from there. After that race my confidence dropped because I knew that I shouldn't have been in that position. But I had to quickly move on from that and look towards my semi final. In my semi-final I had 6th gate pick and by the time it got to my pick I only had outside lanes to choose from. I took a risk in choosing lane 8 but believed in myself and prepared for a drag race down the first straight for the top 4 spots. I had an awesome gate and first straight which put me into 3rd place which I held onto from there. After crossing the line and qualifying for the final I was so excited. When qualifying for any final I'm always happy but the best thing is the feeling of relief, knowing that all that hard work has paid off and your finally here. Although it is only short lived because you know the jobs not over yet. I didn't have much time to prepare for my final, I got back to the pits after my semi then pretty much had to make my way to staging for the final.

Once again I had 6th pick for my final which left me outside gates. I knew that lane 8 worked in the Semi so I was willing to try it again for the final. I got another great gate from the outside and was in the top 2 down the hill. As I went over the first jump I could see Jordan Scott (USA) out the corner of my eye and I knew it was her and I out in front. Coming out of the first corner, I was in 2nd spot. I was feeling confident and relaxed through the race and maintained my 2nd position until the end. Once I crossed the line, I sat down and smiled. I was so proud of what I had just achieved. Being number 2 in the World and knowing that I had worked so hard for this result.

Overall, my worlds experience was a success and I couldn't have done it without my great support crew. Thanks to Mum & Dad, Luke Marsh, Justin Lamb, Caroline Buchanan & BuchananNextGen, Jayco Australia, Cam Small & Mitch Ramm from MAC Components, FD2 BMX & all their sponsors and to everyone cheering for me. Molly McGill #W2 | Image courtesy of UCI