The riders could feel a bit of a crosswind adding another variable to the already onerous track. France’s Joris Daudet fared just fine, however, as he grabbed the fastest time for the men posting a time of 34.617 seconds leading the pack into tomorrow’s quarterfinals. Daudet just grabbed the men’s elite championship in May and is riding on a hot streak.
The odds-on favorite for the men’s BMX Niek Kimmann, who placed second at that May event, stumbled a bit during the seeding run. He was not as smooth as many of come to expect of the 2015 World Champion. His 35.070 second time puts him in 8th place. The two-time gold medalist Māris Štrombergs finished just a hair ahead of Kimmann in 7th.
Team USA’s Connor Fields and Corben Sharrah both had great runs and showed their comfort with the track early. Fields was particularly loose prior to his ride considering he is recovering from a broken wrist he suffered in April.
Fields clocked in at 34.768 seconds good enough for 4th place. Sharrah finished just behind his teammate with a time of 34.893 seconds. Sharrah won the time trials in June to clinch his first Olympic berth.
Nic Long was the final rider of the day. Long cased one landing early in the run and that was enough to drop him to 9th place. Team USA’s Long is currently ranked number one in the UCI BMX World Rankings.
Here are the top standings: