Brody McLean, 8, from Osoyoos, had another sensational spring, summer and fall competing against the top BMX racers in Canada and the United States. McLean said he dreams of becoming an Olympic and world champion. (Photo Supplied).
Even though he’s only eight years of age, Brody McLean’s eyes light up when you ask him what his goals and aspirations are as a BMX racer.
“I want to be the world champion by the time I’m 20,” says the talented and polite youngster who has proved once again in 2016 that he’s one of the very best racers for his age in North America.
“BMX is now in the Olympics and I would love to be the Olympic champion too.”
In just over two years of competitive racing, McLean has a long list of accomplishments and he just capped off a fantastic 2016 racing season by taking top spot in his age group in Canada in the 24-inch (size of tire on his racing bicycle) cruiser class and finishing second in the 20-inch expert class.
Despite his tender age, McLean finished third in Canada for all age groups in the cruiser competition.
McLean often has to race against youngsters three and four years older than him, but he isn’t intimidated one bit.
“I like racing against the older guys because they are stronger and they teach me a lot,” he said. “I can beat most of them and it really helps me against the guys my own age.”
The grade 3 student at Osoyoos Elementary School competed in competitions in Squamish, Ottawa, Kamloops and Victoria before heading to Chilliwack for the Grand Nationals, which marks the end of the racing season.
Brody’s proud parents, Len and Kirsten, along with his younger brother Zane, 6, travel with Brody to all of his competitions.
Len said he couldn’t be prouder of his son, but adds all of his success in BMX hasn’t come without a lot of hard work.
“Of course we’re proud of him, but we see how hard he works and know all of his success has come out of that hard work,” he said. “He’s extremely dedicated and sometimes we have to remind ourselves that he’s only eight.
“The first thing he does when he gets home from school is get out on his bike. He practices extremely hard and is very dedicated.”
Brody is also attending fitness classes once a week to work on his balance, core strength and cardiovascular conditioning, he said.
During the winter months, Brody stays busy playing hockey. He’s playing this season with the Atom house league team in the South Okanagan Minor Hockey Association.
While he enjoys playing hockey, it simply doesn’t compare to BMX racing, said Brody.
“Let’s just say that I enjoy playing hockey, but I love BMX,” he said smiling.
In order to achieve his goals of becoming a world-class competitor, Brody said he is confident his skills and speed will improve as his small body gets bigger.
“I know I will get bigger and stronger and that will help me go faster,” he said.
Brody only started racing BMX in June of 2014 and he is now taking on the best riders in his age group from all over Canada and the United States.
This year Brody raced as a member of the Speedline Canada Team and said he always has such a blast with all of his teammates and the team managers Ron and Julie Forbes.
Broday said he is always trying new things on his bike and when he lands a new jump or pulls off a nice, smooth move, he does it with a giant smile on his face.
“I love to race … I love the competition,” he said. “Going fast is fun, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t win the race.”
At the end of September, the B.C. BMX provincial championships were held in Pemberton and Brody finished first in his age group in the cruiser class and fourth in the expert class.
Because of his strong results, Brody is aiming to be the top racer in Canada in his age group in both cruiser and expert class next season.
He has also qualified to compete at the World Championships that are being held in Rock Hill, South Carolina next summer.
He will be racing the fastest kids from all over the world and will be the biggest race that he has ever been to so far.
“BMX is very big in many parts of the world,” said his father. “In South Carolina, there will be kids from all over South America, Australia, Japan as well as all over Europe and the United States. It will certainly be his biggest test yet, but he’s really looking forward to it.”
Brody loves competing on his bike so much, he’s also asked his parents if he can compete in the downhill mountain bike circuit.
He has competed in one downhill race in Whistler and came 20th out of 67 competitors, which isn’t bad for a kid who only gets to ride downhill about five days per year.
With winter soon to hit, Brody says he’s already counting down the days until January when he can get his race bike out of storage and start training for the 2017 race reason.
“I can’t wait until winter is over.”
