2024 BMX National Championships in Ratoath, Co Meath

The BMX National Championships took place in Ratoath BMX club on Sunday 7th July, Ratoath’s first time hosting since 2018.

After a sunny start to the day, heavy showers made conditions challenging.

The Challenge groups took to the track first, and competition was stiff all day. This was especially evident in the Male 9-10, Male 11-12 and Male 13-14’s groups. There has been a massive surge in participation numbers in these groups recently.

The youngest riders on the day were the Mixed U6’s with Jude Byrne from Lucan BMX club taking the top step all day with Cian O’Brien and Katie Brereton following with 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

In the Male 7-8 category, Nathan Murray from Belfast City BMX Club took the overall top step at the end of the day, having taken first place in all of his motos. Erin Choi from Cork BMX Club who also took first in all motos but Murray pipped Choi to take 1st place overall.

Finn Noud from Lucan BMX Club held first position throughout the day to take the overall win in the Male 9-10s. Noud fought off stiff competition from Tommy Portis, Kyle Ashby and Jayden O’Connell to take the top spot.

The Male 11-12’s title was taken by Lukas Kennedy from Lisburn BMX. Kennedy just edged local rider Kurts Storkis from Ratoath BMX at the line in the Final for the overall first place, and the pair were closely followed by Joe Jordan and Tommy Caldwell. This group never fails to put on a good racing display, with only seconds between them in finals.

The Male 13-14s category turned into a day-long three way battle. David Oprey Mejia from Lisburn BMX came out on top, with his clubmate Ashton Stewart taking 2nd and Evan Bartley coming in third.

Despite missing a number of National Series regulars due to racing abroad, the female categories provided exciting racing throughout the day. Lilly Walker from Lisburn walked away with the overall win in the Female 7-10’s class. The Female 11-14’s was dominated by Summer Glynn of Ratoath BMX as she claimed several of first place positions throughout the day and overall first place. She was challenged throughout the day by Samia Hughes and Abigail Foran who took second and third place respectively.

Masters racing was dominated by Lucan BMX Club, as they took all three top places with Fabio Fiorvante, Eamon Wyer and Joey O’Neill taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively.

The Junior Men provided an excellent spectacle of racing throughout the day. Ratoath BMX dominated this category taking all three top spots with Reuben Byrne, Charlie Jackson and Josh Whitley Halvey taking 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively, as Jamie Dumigan from Belfast City Club came in a close fourth.

Round 4 of the BMX National Series was hosted by Lucan BMX on August 4th. This round of the National Series also coincided with the club’s 10th anniversary, and saw Fingal County Mayor in attendance, in what was a fantastic celebration of the club and volunteers.

Wet weather met the riders, but all met the challenging conditions head on. A massive turnout for male and female riders across all categories made for a brilliant day’s racing.

A full gate in the U6 category saw local riders Jude Byrne take top spot, followed by Finn Cohen and Cian O’Brien from Cork BMX in second and third respectively.

The Male 7-8s was won by Nathan Murray from Belfast City BMX. Erin Choi of Cork and Ollie Smith riding with Lisburn took second and third.

Kyle Ashby of Lucan BMX took top spot in the Male 9-10s, followed closely by his club mate Jayden O’Connell, with Tommy Portis of Belfast City BMX taking third spot.

Finn Noud made the jump up in age bracket to the Malle 11-12s, and took the win at his home track, ahead of Joe Jordan from Ratoath BMX and Noah Kelly from Lisburn BMX.

The Male 13-14s was hotly contested all day, but Lisburn’s David Oprey Mejia came out on top ahead of Lucan rider Devansh Nolan, with Noah Byrne from Ratoath taking third in a very tight final. The narrowly beat out Ashton Stewart and Kurts Storkis on the day.

The Male 15-29 category was won by Lucan rider Malachy O’Reilly as Patrick Dyer from Cork BMX came in second and Evan Bartley from Ratoath rounded out the podium.

Lilly Walker and India Bennett from Lisburn BMX took first and second respectively in the Female 7-10s class, followed by Orlaith Dewis in third.

A full gate in the Female 11-14 category saw tough racing all day, but Samia Hughes from Lisburn came out on top. Amelia Martin and Lucy McClintock took second and third places respectively.

Joey O’Neill grabbed top spot in the Masters category, beating Fabio Fiorvante and Igor Souza rounded out the podium.

In the Female race Anna Szmyt from Lucan grabbed the win. She beat out Demelza Franssen of Cork in second and another Lucan rider in Julie Earley in third.

Superclass saw Cork’s Danny O’Gorman dominate all day. He took the overall win on the day, as Charlie Jackson from Ratoath took second, followed closely by Brandon Mallon in third.

Round 5 of the National Series takes place on Sunday, 15th of September in Lisburn.