March 02, 2019 (Markham, ON) – The first ever Canadian BMX Freestyle Championships took place on February 27, at the Joyride 150 venue in Markham, Ontario. BMX Freestyle is the latest cycling discipline to be added to the Olympic program, and will take place in Tokyo for the first time in 2020.

“We are very excited to crown our first ever Canadian Champions in the BMX Freestyle discipline,” said Josh Peacock, Events Manager at Cycling Canada. “The crew at Joyride 150 organized a top quality event, attracting some of the World’s top riders amongst Canada’s best. We are looking forward to continuing our work within the discipline of freestyle BMX, and are already looking forward to our next UCI event this weekend at the Toronto XJam.”

Jaden Chipman of New Lowell, Ontario won the men’s title, while Stephanie Nychka of Calgary took the women’s. Chipman represented Canada at the inaugural world championships in Chengdu, China, in 2017, while Nychka is a newcomer to the sport, coming from mountain biking.

“It feels unreal,” said Chipman, “I’ve never been on the podium before with all these guys. I’ve been putting in a lot of work over the winter, and I guess it shows. It’s very special, such a huge honour to be the first Canadian Freestyle champion. I’ve been looking up to the riders I was on deck with ever since I started riding. I’m planning on going to all the FISE World Cup events and proudly wearing the jersey.”

“I started riding BMX about a year and a half ago, and looking back at my progression, I’m so happy with this result. We need to get more women riding, and Joyride itself is a great place for everyone to come,” said Nychka.