July 29, 2007 (Victoria, BC) — Just a little more, and Alberta athlete Samantha Cools would have been in the finals of the Elite Women challenge at the BMX World Championships in Victoria, B.C. on Saturday. In the end, however, British rider Shanaze Reader (39.025 secs) had the best time, followed by New Zealander Sarah Walker (40.027 secs) and the Czech participant Jana Horakova (40.968 secs).

“I wasn’t very happy with my result,” said Cools. “It was close. I got crowded by the fourth racer in the last turn. I ended fifth in my group, which wasn’t enough to go on to the next round. My goal today was to make it into the finals, maybe even into the top three.”

“However, I’m happy I had the chance to measure myself against the world’s best women. The top 16 riders here in Victoria will be at the Olympic Games, and I’m one of them,” said the rider who ranks fifth in the world.

In Elite Men, British Columbian Scott Erwood was the top Canadian to make it into the quarter-finals. Kyle Bennett of the USA finished first, ahead of Australian Khalen Young and American Randy Stumphauser.

“I was seventh after the first turn, then caught up to two riders in the second straight stretch, closing in on fifth place. I tried to overtake the fourth rider, we went shoulder-to-shoulder for a bit, but I couldn’t give that extra push I needed. The guy behind me overtook coming off the second jump. After that, I just couldn’t seem to catch up.”

The BMX World Championships in Victoria are an important challenge with just one year to go before the Olympic Games in Beijing. It’s the seasonal event that garners the most points for countries in their bid for international ranking.

“Ultimately, my aim was to make it to the quarter-finals today, so I’m very happy with my result,” adds Erwood. “Unfortunately, I would have had to get to the semi-finals to get the UCI points for Olympic qualification.”

Erwood and Cools are both riding in the Cruiser challenges on Sunday.

More than 2,000 BMX athletes from 39 countries are in Victoria, B.C., from July 26 to 29, 2007, for the World Championships.