In Tokyo, U.S. rider Hannah Roberts entered the competition as the favorite and the defending world champion as BMX freestyle made its Olympic debut. Roberts was edged for gold by less than a point and a half, instead bringing home a silver medal.
The 22-year-old added back-to-back world titles to her collection following Tokyo for a total of five since 2017. Once again, she enters Olympic competition as the favorite for gold. The two-time Olympian breaks down how she puts together a run and what fans can look forward to in the BMX freestyle competition this week in Paris.
“I think the coolest thing that we're gonna see is just like the progression level change from what 2021 was to 2024,” Roberts says. “So people who watched in 2021, they're going to get an even bigger and cooler show this year, which is super exciting.”
Requirements: None.
Athletes have the freedom to put down as creative and unique a run as they can in 60 seconds. That creativity, which is one of the criteria the judges look at, can come in the form taking different lines, different obstacles (like box jumps or the spine) and different tricks.
The approach: Once she figures out how the course will best work for her, Roberts starts determining which tricks she wants to do. Sometimes, that goes to a conversation with her coach, who will reign her back in to a realistic run.
The first 45 seconds of a run are where Roberts focuses on the big tricks. She likes to show off the progress she has made from contest to contest and do “as many tricks that I've learned, or that I know how to do as possible.” The last 15 seconds requires a different approach. "Your legs are shot," Roberts says. "You're like 'oh my gosh, this is brutal.'" That's where she adds a simple trick to gain as many points as she can without taking any unnecessary risks. Roberts also prefers having a back-up plan in case a trick doesn’t go to plan and leaves her facing in the wrong direction.
Most challenging trick: Front flips
Unlike back flips, where the rider's momentum is already taking her backwards, the approach to a front flip is different. "You have to stop all of your momentum and throw every bit of weight and force forward," she says.
Flipping forward also creates a blind landing where the athlete isn't able to spot the ground before the bike hits it. Roberts opts to close her eyes when flipping forward. “I don't want to see if I landed it, and I don't want to see what a fall is going to look like,” Roberts says.” So I just pull forward as hard as possible, and I have my eyes closed. If my tires hit the ground, sick, but I don't know, I can't see anything.”
Skill to watch for in Paris: The tail whip
It's skill that Roberts says could be seen in back flips, in 360s, multiple in the air or in oppo--where the trick goes in the opposite direction than the rider usually does it.
"You go up the ramp and your hands stay on the bars and your bars always stay straight, but the entire rest of your bike will go completely around."
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Team USA’s Hannah Roberts Explains BMX Freestyle at the 2024 Olympics.
