We went to the Canadian Grand Nationals for BMX this weekend and he did really well. BMX racing is a mix of highs and lows and this weekend was no exception! In two years of racing Finn went 32 straight wins and blasted through Novice and Intermediate classes, finally moving to expert in late July. His first encounter with 8 experts was in Kelowna where he failed to make any of his main events. This is common for new experts, most spend a year or so adjusting to the new level of competition, often missing the mains.

This weekend was his second race event with the experts and there were a number of American kids up in addition to the Canadian regulars. This group has been dominated by five kids for some time and Finn was certainly not seen as a threat. On Friday he managed to make his main event and finished off the podium in a respectable fifth. Saturday was the last National points race of the year, Finn raced well and was on his way to the main when he got disqualified for moving over in the final straight. (all time low!). Sunday was the Grand National finally for the season worth more points (and bigger trophies) than all the other races. It was obvious Finn was out for redemption when he blasted out of the second moto in first beating a rack of the best racers. In the main event he was in third place behind two American kids when they crashed in the second turn. Finn managed to avoid them and pulled into first, in the third corner the #1 Canadian kid caught him and ran him up over the berm, his mountain bike skills kicked in and he monster trucked through the soft dirt and pulled back onto the track, losing some momentum but holding on for third place at the line. I think the dad's of the regular five were pretty surprised to see the kid with no national ranking and no team affiliation give their kids a run for the money. Next season will be interesting indeed.

As an aside Finn was also the top fundraiser in Canada for the Race for Life cancer research event. One of his bike mentors Nick Geddes was diagnosed with leukaemia this summer and he worked hard to raise funds for cancer research. He was recognized by the Children's Hospital with a trophy for his efforts.