Thursday, September 27, 2012 • John Hill
BMX - BROKEN bones but not a broken spirit . . . that’s Gisborne BMX rider Nick Fox after posting the biggest results of his career.
The 18-year-old arrived home after making the final of the last of five rounds in the UCI Supercross World Cup series at Canada to discover he had a fractured bone in his left elbow and two fractures to his forearm.
But you could not wipe the smile off the face of the former Gisborne Boys’ High School student, now studying extramurally for a Bachelor of Sporting Exercise through Massey University.
After six failed attempts at world cup qualifying rounds and two years after a major disappointment at the world championships in Birmingham, England, Fox exceeded all expectations with some sensational rides in Canada.
He was only the second New Zealand male rider to make a Supercross World Cup final — former world No.1 Marc Willers was the first.
“After failing in Birmingham I’ve had some shocking results in the past two years and there were times I began second-guessing myself,” said Fox.
“I always felt I had the ability to compete with the best in the world but that wasn’t being backed up by my results.
“It never got to the stage where I contemplated giving up the sport — I love BMX — but your confidence takes a battering.
“But after qualifying for a Supercross time trial final, where I came 16th, and then making the final, those results, as well as others in the Canadian Cup and Canadian nationals, has given me a huge boost in confidence.
“There have been times over the past two years when I thought maybe the Oympics was a pipe dream . . . not any more. I know now I can compete with the best riders in the world,” said Fox, a member of the New Zealand 2016 Olympics podium potential squad.
Fox arrived in Canada three weeks before the world cup series and competed in a Canadian Cup event in Alberta.
“It was a pretty big event. The whole Canadian BMX team were competing apart from their Olympian rider. I won both races and didn’t lose a lap the whole weekend.”
Fox then trained and competed on the world cup track at Abbotsford, Vancouver, as part of the Canadian national championships.
“I couldn’t race the first two days, as it was their closed national champs, but I was allowed to race the third day which was also round five of the Canadian Cup series. Unfortunately I ended up crashing.”
His earlier two wins helped Fox to third overall in the series.
“That set me up for the Supercross World Cup round because I knew what I had to work on.”
Two weeks out from the supercross series qualifying races, Fox and his family headed to the Alberta Grand Nationals in Calgary, which attracted over 500 riders.
“It was a spur of the moment decision and involved a 12-hour car drive, which gave us the chance to see some amazing countryside, including the Rocky Mountains, Lake Louise and other Canadian landmarks.
“You don’t often get to see these places when you’re competing in a team. That was cool.
“I finished second on both days which was another boost to my confidence.”
It was another 12-hour car drive back to Abbotsford for the world cup series where Fox met up with fellow NZ high performance team members.
“The qualification race is a single-lap timed race. I’d been trying for the past two years but hadn’t made it out of qualification.
“The top 48 qualify for racing but if you make top 16 you do another lap, which is a super time trial and medal event. I finished 13th in the first time trial and 16th in the final.
“It wasn’t the best but I’d qualified for racing which was a huge confidence boost — beating guys who went to the Olympics. It also put me in with a good choice for lane position.”
Fox raised the bar another notch when he qualified second for the quarterfinals just behind the current world champion and London Olympics silver medallist Sam Willoughby (Australia).
A fourth place finish put Fox into the semifinals.
“At that stage I would have been stoked just making the quarterfinals but my goal now was to make the final.”
Mission was accomplished. He placed third in his semi, beaten only by Willoughby and American Olympian Connor Fields (USA Olympian).
Fox was the only non-professional in the final. Lining up alongside him were five Olympians — three of whom made the Olympic final — and two Olympic Games reserves.
“It was crazy but exciting and with only 20 minutes between the semis and final, and being the only Kiwi rider in the final, the adrenalin was pumping . . . but I was also relaxed, if that was possible.
“I ended up with seventh lane choice which meant I got stuck on the outside. I knew I had to have the gate of my life to have a chance at a podium finish.
“I had the best gate of the day for me and then after the first jump I got stuck between two riders and got shot out the back a bit.
“About halfway down the first straight the top four riders collided and it was like a domino effect.
“I thought I was alright but a bike bounced, up hit me and took my bike away from me.
“My face hit the next jump and that was the end of my race. I was pretty sore but it wasn’t until I came home and got my arm checked out that I found out I had fractures.”
But you can’t keep this good man down.
“I can’t wait to get the cast off and get back on the bike.”