![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletter\/sport\/sport-135x135.png\")
<\/p>\nKieran Reilly has won national and international competitions in 2023 <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kieran Reilly has talked up his chances of winning a BMX freestyle gold at the Olympic Games next year, following a series of landmark victories in 2023.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old from Gateshead said victory in Paris was \u201calways going to be the goal\u201d and he does not have\u00a0his \u201chead in the clouds\u201d as focus turns to the showpiece event.<\/p>\n
Reilly won the National BMX Freestyle Championships in Nottingham last month, which added to the gold medals he won at the European Games in Krakow in June and the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow in August, beating reigning Olympic champion Logan Martin in the latter.<\/p>\n
He shot to fame in January 2021 after breaking a world record by completing the world\u2019s first triple flair on a BMX.<\/p>\n
Reilly, a Red Bull athlete, told the PA news agency: \u201cI think the year I\u2019ve had this year, the biggest growth for me has been confidence, learning so much about myself that I can beat these riders who, growing up, [were] guys that I idolised.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/09\/11\/19\/11175623-6149afce-1060-4444-aa5d-297bbda429f5.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/10\/24\/08\/4d3e314aff3f208cfcf0f02b74f4f440Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjk4MTcyOTM0-2.73264487.jpg\")
\n![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/08\/13\/15\/67a2bfb5cc282bdeea0393d9c3262c24Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjkyMDIxMDY2-2.73319913.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took a while to really flip the switch on my mindset and want to beat these guys, and I\u2019ve done that this year at the biggest events.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone who attended the Tokyo Olympics was at the World Championships in Glasgow, and if beating the Olympic champion wasn\u2019t going to give me the confidence to beat him at the Olympics then I don\u2019t know what was.\u201d<\/p>\n
BMX freestyle will appear at the Olympics for a second time after making its debut at the Tokyo 2020 games, with a total of 24 riders \u2013 12 men and 12 women \u2013 competing at La Concorde Urban Park in Paris.<\/p>\n
Two qualifying events in Shanghai and Budapest will be held in May and June next year to determine who will appear at the Games, but Reilly said the showpiece event was already firmly in his thoughts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe competitive mindset I have, the second I qualify for these Games the mindset and goal switches from getting there to getting gold and that\u2019s always going to be the goal,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that gold is a good goal for me \u2013 I haven\u2019t got my head in the clouds thinking that, and\u00a0when I get to Paris that\u2019s going to be what I\u2019ve got my sights set on.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/2023\/11\/07\/12\/CYCLING%20Reilly%20%2010170145.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Kieran Reilly has won a number of tournaments ahead of the 2024 Olympics<\/p>\n
It is likely that those two events will be only competitive BMX meets before the Olympics and Reilly acknowledged \u201cthere\u2019s a lot of unknown\u201d going into the Games, but he insisted he hopes to debut some new tricks of his own and would\u00a0\u201chave some surprises\u201d ready for Paris.<\/p>\n
He is currently practising these tricks at his training base \u2013 Adrenaline Alley in Corby, Northamptonshire \u2013 but this remains one of very few purpose-built professional riding areas in England.<\/p>\n
Reilly said BMX\u00a0was now at a\u00a0position where it deserves greater investment in facilities, particularly with the UK\u2019s recent success in competitions and its growing popularity.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cNow I think, on the British Cycling Team, we have seven or eight guys and three girls and they all are podium potential at the Games and at every single World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have arguably the biggest [and] one of the most competitive teams of riders going into any of these events, so it almost makes sense for a sport where we have this potential to dominate, why wouldn\u2019t you try and find that missing factor\u00a0and help with facilities?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reilly stressed the investment was even more critical as more people\u00a0now take BMX seriously alongside more established sports, such as football and swimming.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cNow parents are pushing their kids into it. It was more of a hobby that parents weren\u2019t really supporting.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of kids went into playing football for a Saturday\u00a0team and riding their bikes was just a\u00a0side hobby. Now parents have seen that you can have a career in this sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot more parents at the skate park now rooting on their kids and entering their kids in amateur competitions.\u201d<\/p>\n