By David Nagel
Power-packed Harla Sinclair is simply a rocket on two wheels who loves nothing better than putting her head down and riding fast.
The eight-year-old Pearcedale Primary School student showed her practice and training sessions are improving her power and skills after blowing away her rivals to win the recent Victorian BMX Championships.
More than 600 riders converged on Bendigo for the AusCycling BMX State Championships earlier this month, a pre-cursor to the National Championships to be held in Launceston in November.
And Harla has earned a trip to Tasmania after using her extremely fast-start to dominate the Girls-8 category in Bendigo.
Harla won all three heats, before putting an early gap on her rivals in the final…casting aside some early nerves and self-doubts to race away for an impressive victory.
Harla, who calls Frankston her home track but also rides out of Casey, has been honing her craft since she could barely walk.
She started by riding ‘Striders’, a balance-bike for toddlers with no pedals.
“I started riding when I was two because my brother (Hudson) was riding BMX and I wanted to do it too,” Harla said.
“When you go around the corners it’s a bit scary, because of the concrete, but when you’re on the dirt part of the track it’s really fun.
“I like lots of things about BMX, I like going fast and I like that there are lots of people that know me.
“Riding BMX makes me feel really happy and excited.”
Harla has been practising and training hard and working on her skills with her coach Bella May, an elite-level BMX rider herself who has recently competed in the US.
“I practice a lot and then I train with my coach once a week,” Harla said excitedly.
“It’s more about technique, how I pump, how my pedals are on the start gate, how I sit, my position on the track, staying on the inside and not getting passed, all of that type of stuff.
“We do races, where I have to try and catch her, it’s lots of fun.”
Harla was excited before her races, but a bout of nerves at the starting gate gave her the biggest adrenaline rush of her blossoming young career.
“I was really, really nervous at the start and when I got on the gate my whole body was shaking,” she said giggling.
“But when I got off the gate I was like, wow, I can do this.
“The whole crowd was screaming and that gave me even more power.
“I’m really excited because I had to finish top eight in my group to be invited to go to Tasmania.
“I’ve never seen dad (Mick) cry before, but they were happy tears.”
Harla explained that her hard work practising at the starting gates had provided her with a big advantage.
“I’ve practised on those gates before, like the ones at Bendigo, some gates just go straight down but these ones you start off flat then go down,” she said.
“I pedal down the gates, where some of the girls in my age-group didn’t do that.”
And Harla doesn’t have to look far for inspiration, with her coach Bella May riding a similar path to stardom from a young age.
“Bella is my main hero, she trains a lot and is working hard to try and get into the Olympics, which I think she can do,” Harla said.
The young pocket-rocket looks the part too, having her helmet specially designed by a family friend.
She will certainly look the part when mum (Kristy) and dad join her for the trip to Launceston, where a place in the world championships in Scotland next year goes up for grabs.
“I need to finish top-eight in nationals to get invited, but I’m going to try and get top three,” Harla said confidently.
“The girls in my group, I’m not afraid of them, but I’ll be racing girls from all over Australia and I haven’t met any of those girls yet…so I don’t know how good they might be.”
Harla wanted to thank her mum and dad – Kristy and Mick – for their support, while the family would like to thank Harla’s sponsors for their generous and ongoing support.
