BMX racer Tom Coleman thrilled with College Sport Wellington cycling award

Kāpiti College student Tom Coleman, 15, from Paraparaumu, was named one of two Cyclists of the Year at the College Sport Wellington annual awards.

What was your reaction to winning the award?

I was really surprised, actually. But I was also happy to see BMX represented and that my hard work and good results were recognised. I knew my results were good, but I’m just in Year 10, so I thought someone older in a different cycling code would win. I wasn’t expecting to hear my name being called out as the winner at all.

How did you get into the sport of BMX?

I started riding with friends at the Kāpiti BMX track in Te Ati Awa Park, Paraparaumu Beach when I was about 5. We went to watch the BMX World Championships at Spark Arena in Auckland in 2013, and I was inspired by that to start racing.

What have been your racing highlights so far?

Travelling to the world champs in the US in 2017 and the world champs in Nantes, France in 2022 were awesome experiences. But winning the Oceania titles in Rotorua this year – 15 boys and national points series – was my best result at a big competition so far.

What sort of training do you do to keep in top condition?

Until this season, I’ve been just riding my bike, really, and [doing] a bit of mountain biking with my friends. This year, I’ve started a gym programme and stepped up my training with a coach, Andrew Hickey, who’s been helping with my technique.

Do you follow a nutrition plan at this stage?

Not really, but I like to eat healthily anyway.

Describe the key challenges of being an up-and-coming BMX racer.

At the moment, the main challenge is being such a long way from the elite tracks with eight-metre-high start ramps and bigger jumps, like Rotorua, and North Harbour in Auckland. This means a lot of travel, and balancing that with school can be tricky. Training with faster riders means travelling too, and it doesn’t help when the Wellington region tracks are closed due to the bad weather we get down here over winter.

What has been your toughest race so far?

The world champs in France were insane! Everyone was so fast. I was pleased to make it out of the qualifying rounds and into the 1/8th finals. I learned a lot from that race, and now have a few new goals. The world champs are in Rockhill, South Carolina next year, and hopefully I can go there.

Any accidents of note?

I broke my arm when I was 6. Nothing major since then, apart from knocking myself out at the skate park, but luckily I don’t remember that! We have to wear good protective gear when racing, so I don’t think about it too much.

What are some of your long-term goals?

I’d like to race more overseas and move out of the age-group classes into the elite category in a few years. Once in elite, you can qualify for the Olympics, so that’s a big goal. But just to keep having fun and do as well as I can.

What do you enjoy about BMX?

I like that it’s an individual sport, so you can sort of be free on the track to do what you want. The competition and adrenaline are fun, too. I love that I get to race with friends from all over the country. There’s always more to learn and try to improve on the track. Just riding and playing at the track is fun — doing jumps and tricks with friends.

Shout-out to anyone?

Yeah, my parents, first! There’s a lot of driving around and organising my event entries and stuff — thanks!

Kāpiti BMX Club has been awesome right from day one. I ride there at least twice a week – thanks to all the volunteers who run the club.

I ride for the GoFast Energy team, so thanks to Ken Feist and the rest of the team for their support.

Thanks to the Kāpiti Lions Club for the sports grant I got this year, which has helped to pay for some of the training costs.

My coach Andrew Hickey has been great, too; thanks for his help with stepping up my training.

Advice for someone keen to get into the sport?

Start BMX racing! It’s really fun, and they even have races for tiny kids on balance bikes. Most BMX clubs have hire bikes and gear so you can give it a go without having to buy all the gear. Just get stuck in!

Erice van Leuven, from Raphael House Rudolf Steiner School in Lower Hutt, was the other winner of the award.