Team USA comes out swinging.

Team USA came out swinging, and this was one of their best weekends to date, with USA riders taking four of the six available spots on the podium.

Photos via Bart DeJong // FAT BMX

The women's runs and tricks continue to progress, with Team China now being at the forefront of the movement. Riders Jaiqi Sun, Sibei Sun, and Qian Zhang placed 2nd, 4th, and 5th in the finals, with Huimin Zhou placing 13th in the semi-finals...just one spot from the finals. That would have been 4 Chinese women in the 12-person final. See what we mean about China now being at the forefront? Just a year ago, they were barely making the semi Finals. Now they consistently have 2-3 riders in finals fighting for wins.

Back to Team USA, staples Hannah Roberts and Perris Benegas held it down for the Red, White, and Blue with a First and a Third. Not a bad way to start the 2023 contest season.

The men were equally as impressive, with DK Bikes Marcus Christopher placing 2nd and Brian Fox earning 3rd. Also- pretty cool that Team USA had an additional three riders in the Final, making it a total of five...in a 12-man final. Google math tells us that 41.67% of the Men's Final were Americans. Free Agent Bikes Kaden Stone and Daniel Sandoval placed 8th and 11th, respectfully, with Hyper Bike Co's Justin Dowell having an off day and finishing 10th.