News

World Class Form for Mudd

Published Date

Written by Tony Scott

Graeme Mudd epitomised the plight of Four Cross today after taking out the first three heats at the 2012 Four Cross World Championships in Leogang Austria but finishing in 7th place.

After two days of soaking rain, the weather fined up to provide a great spectacle of hard riding and sensational skills for what must be the most dynamic spectator sports of all the cycling disciplines.

Graeme’s BMX skills come to the fore in the first heat when he got a jump on his competitors right from the drop of the gate. Able to pick the perfect line and set himself for the fastest run lane, Mudd left the others to fight it out for second as he coasted across the line in a confidence building start. Brimming with confidence, Graeme went out to repeat the run for his second round with another dominant win.

The second heat win put him up against the Czech Republic and former World champion Tomas Slavic in round 2 with a very tight turn-around time. The Czech beat Graeme to the first corner and had the pick of lines, but Mudd did not panic and refused to give in as he edged Slavic back and overtook him in mid-air as Mudd out jumped him on the final double jump to win by a bike length

Showing the best form of his career, Graeme was now a marked man. With three Czech riders to contend with in the semi-finals, Graeme was squeezed out in the first corner and forced to take a longer line with no room to come back into the race. The loss put Graeme into the small final (5-8) where again two Czech riders forced him wide early and left him with the slower run before attempting to come back in the final jumps to secure a 3^rd position in the race and a 7^th place overall at the World Championships