AVID BMX riders will hit the track this weekend for the Portland BMX Club’s come and try day, after the site was resurfaced last week ahead of the 2022 racing season.

After a tumultuous few years for the club due to COVID restrictions, president Roger Middleton is hopeful the upgraded track will give interested riders the push to try their hand at the sport.

“We’ve had Max and Dave from All Tracks Australia (ATA) to come and give us a hand to resurface the track,” Middleton said.

“They came down a year ago to help us out and they’ve back again on the track getting it ready for the new season.

“2022 is going to be jam packed full of race meets and opportunities to get out on the course and so we’re looking forward to some new faces coming along for the ride with us.”

ATA’s David Gosling said he had worked closely with the club during the track’s resurfacing to ensure it could keep it in great condition for the season ahead.

“Our aim is to get the track ready for the season but also teach the club members how to take of care the track so they can maintain it themselves,” he said.

“We want to know we can leave the track in capable hands so all the minor adjustments can be handled by them, then when it comes time for a big resurface we can come back and revitalise it.

“There’s been no changes to the track at this stage, just a refresh to get it ready for racing, but that’s because the club has a great track here in Portland for the younger generation to really get their first taste of the sport.”

ATA team member and Olympic BMX hopeful Max Cairns said the Portland track was a great grassroots facility for up and coming BMX riders.

“It’s not a world class facility but it doesn't need to be,” he said.

“You need a place to get the kids into the sport.

“We just built a UCI track in Adelaide and if a kid rolls up to a track like that its going to be daunting – tracks like that are the high end of the sport.

“But you don’t go to the swimming pool and jump off the 10m platform on your first dive, so this track is the perfect starting off point for young kids to get into the sport but also something older, more seasoned riders can enjoy too.

“It’s a great feeder track and club, they start off here and they can keep going to tougher tracks once they get a real taste for it.”

With a possible future in the Olympics, Cairns said he was hopeful upgrading tracks across the country would encourage more young people to join the sport.

“We’re really trying to build the profile of BMX,” he said.

“At the moment, there’s just one funded position on the Australian team for the Olympics, but the more interest we get and the better our riders perform, the better chance we have of changing that.

“I’ve been competing for more than 20 years and went to my first world title when I was around 13, so there’s scope for young kids to do big things in BMX we just have to get them into the sport and that’s what clubs like Portland are doing.”

Cairns will continue his Olympics bid this year, heading to events in Scotland, the Netherlands and Colombia to earn points and bolster his position on the national team.

Middleton said having the likes of Gosling and Cairns visiting the club was something the young riders looked forward to.

“Max definitely has a little fan club here in Portland,” he said.

“If he’s going for a ride on the track, the kids are right there with him and if they get the chance, they’re going to try and pass him.”

Although he was previously embarrassed by his popularity at the track, cairns said it was now something he embraced.

“I can give the kids something to look up to because I think they get to 14 and think there’s nothing to really progress to,” he said.

“To be a bit of a role model for them and show them I've been overseas to race and it’s possible for them too is something I hope I can do.

“You don’t have to be from America to make it in BMX, our Aussie riders are out there doing great things and I think it’s great to showcase that to the younger generation.”

Visit the Portland BMX Club on Facebook register for the come and try day.