From August 3 to 13, 12-year-old Coteau-du-Lac resident Justin Lafleurr flew to Glasgow, UK. There, he was one of 109 BMX enthusiasts taking part in the BMX World Championships. 

In the last few hours, Néomédia spoke to the young man who will be returning to school next week. How did he find his experience overseas? " It was fun. I ended up lower in the rankings than I'd originally aimed for. I made a small mistake in the round of 16 and got passed by two other riders. Unfortunately, I didn't qualify for the quarter-finals. I finished in 54th place out of 109 runners," sums up the man who was accompanied by his parents Isabelle and Daniel, and his grandparents.

A total of 47 riders from Canada took part in this international competition, which brought together the best BMX athletes in the world. "It's not as popular with Canadians as field hockey or other sports we're known for, like cycling," he adds on the other end of the phone.

A track bigger than Coteau-du-Lac's

Accustomed to training and racing most of the time on the Coteau-du-Lac BMX track, Justin readily admits that the Glasgow track is the best he's ridden so far.

"It's 410 metres long, 50 metres longer than Coteau-du-Lac. My legs were really tired at the end of the races. Luckily, as there were a lot of competitors taking part, we had a break of about 45 minutes between each race. So we could rest and recuperate before getting out on the course again."

Having arrived in the UK on August 4, Justin was able to make one or two runs in the days leading up to the competition to familiarize himself with the course, which is forbidden to under-eights.

Did the time difference make itself felt during the competition? "Not at first. We stayed in the region for a few days afterwards to do some sightseeing. That's when the fatigue and the impact of jet lag were felt."

A rewarding experience

Despite the many hours of flying and the time difference, Justin takes a positive view of his experience. "I learned a lot, both about the region over there and during the competition. The urban area over there is a lot like here, but in the mountainous region, the landscape is magnificent. It's a change of scenery. The food is good there and the favorite dish is fish and chips, which I hear is excellent. We saw the Harry Potter train. We didn't get on it, but we saw it go by (laughs)," he confides, still in awe.  

Competitively, Justin also enjoyed the adventure. "It was a great experience and it's motivating me to return to the World Championships. Next year, it will be held in the United States, in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It's a lot closer if I take part," he concludes.

Although Justin will be entering Secondary 1 on Thursday, August 31, his BMX season isn't over yet. This weekend, he'll be taking part in a regional competition on the Coteau-du-Lac track. Then, on September 9 and 10, he'll be racing for the last time this season at the same venue.