Nick Benetti
Have bike, will travel.
That’s been Nick Benetti’s mantra for much of the spring and early summer, as the young BMX racer has looked to make his mark on the international racing scene.
And after World Cup races in Madrid, Spain and Copenhagen, the 17-year-old Earl Marriott Secondary student is now preparing for the biggest race of his young career – the 2010 BMX World Championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, from July 28-Aug. 1. The event is sanctioned by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale).
“It’s a little nerve-wracking, for sure – it’s the biggest race I’ve ever been in,” Benetti said.
“First place, or at least top-eight, is always the goal, but I’m just going to go out there and do my best, and see what happens.”
Benetti’s best has been enough to impress Canada’s national team brass, who selected the Peninsula teen for the World Championship team over a handful of other riders, all of whom had comparable finishes, and points, on the World Cup circuit.
In order to qualify for South Africa, Benetti needed to finish in the top half of the field in either the Madrid race, which ran in March, or in Copenhagen, which hit the track in late May.
In the 64-rider Madrid race, Benetti crashed – “I bruised a couple ribs,” he said – and did not finish, and in Copenhagen, the junior elite division rider finished 82nd out of 140. Still, he’d shown enough promise to make the five-rider national junior elite squad.
He found out two weeks ago, via email, that he’d made the team.
“Only one Canadian was able to (finish in the top half of both races), and everybody else was pretty close together,” Benetti explained.
“I really didn’t know if I’d make it – it was pretty iffy there for awhile. It was a hopefully, possibly, maybe kind of thing.
“The coach and the committee didn’t really tell me why I was chosen, but I think it was probably due to my improvement throughout the season. I’ve really been able to show my stuff.”
Benetti and his Canadian mates will convene July 15 in Abbotsford for a few days of training, before leaving on the 18th for Switzerland, where they’ll stage another three-day training camp. From there, the team will head to South Africa for the competition.
“I’m getting pretty excited,” Benetti said.
The lone hurdle still remaining in Benetti’s path is funding. The national team only funds half of each rider’s trip to South Africa, which means Benetti needs to raise $3,000 on his own, and more for future trips.
Athletes who meet certain performance objectives set out by the national program are reimbursed for some or all of the costs. Athletes reaching the finals, for example, receive a 50 per cent reimbursement, and those who finish in the top three get all their money back.
Sponsorship packages of varying levels are being sought to help the young rider, from a bronze-level package (any amount) to platinum ($5,000-plus), which would also include the sponsor’s decal displayed by Benetti and a year of advertising on his personal racing site, www.nickbenetti.com.
For more information, email nick@nickbenetti.com
