Fise Birmingham AL 2026
The first Fise in the USA for a decade, and my first Fise in over two years! You can’t say no when the Fise is hosted on your doorstep.
Going into this event I was genuinely quite nervous, I knew I hadn’t done any preparation physically or mentally, I hadn’t riden on the enormous Hurricane ramps for years, or gone through the intense process that is a UCI Fise World Cup. I found comfort in not wearing a federation jersey or having any big sponsors on my shoulders, as well as having so many of my friends outside of the contest scene also there enjoying the experience. In all my years prior I had treated world cups with a lot of seriousness, structure and perfectionism, it was kind of needed at the time, although I couldn’t get out of that way of thinking, which ultimately lead me to lose my head and any enjoyment through the process. This time however I was so imperfect, so far out of being competitive, so independent, it was quite liberating! I felt free, and able to let go of the result so much more, knowing I couldn’t expect anything, and I was where I was.
Before I flew, I made a video called packing and yapping, which you can watch here, I simply pour out my thoughts as it felt like my emotions were rising with all the anxiety and unknowns popping up simply from packing. “Why am I going and doing this to myself? What is everyone going to think? What if you can’t even ride those ramps any more?”, were a few of the stand out ones. I’d also made a short form post on the anniversary of the olympics addressing what I’d learned from two olympic cycles, which you can watch here. I guess I wanted to get the raw truth out there, so I wasn’t hiding behind any narrative that looked like “I’m making this big comeback and big moves”, it was for me as well as everyone else.
My post upon arrival was greeted with lots of support, I think the honesty of “I’m showing up with nothing and just doing, no matter what people could think” hit for a lot of people. I had a lot of jitters to shake off in the first practice, and was surprisingly happy to have my former coach Greg Illingworth give me a helping hand in the corner of the course. I love that once you get into it, you’re just riding a bike and working on a new challenge, at least that’s what it feels like to me.
Whilst I didn’t make finals this time, and was feeling extremely lacking in my fitness, consistency and confidence in my riding, I was really proud of my approach. I focussed on things and perspectives I wouldn’t have done years ago; such as being okay with failure, finding space to support others, respect for the sport & my competitors, inspiration from others, connecting with my people and overall walking away from the experience with more confidence and inner strength.
I felt for the girls that went through to the finals on Sunday - as competitors we train to be ready to go whenever and wherever - however the rain delays and uncertainty throughout finals day for women & men was very difficult to navigate, on and off, hot and cold, trying to put together a high level performance under those conditions is extremely hard. The men were equally waiting with uncertainty, until the heavens finally opened for good and all finals were cancelled. Shout out to the warriors for getting through that, although it’s a shame Birmingham didn’t get the full show of a bmx freestyle finals, this event was still very impactful on the city and community, I hope the awareness grows for future years to come.
I’m not sure where my competitive journey will lead me, but I’m glad I went to the Fise in Birmingham Alabama, and I’m thankful for all the support getting here. Thank you.
I was also able to take part in a Hyper Bmx Community day at this event, which you can read about here!
