Image caption, Andre Gillie says it’s been great seeing cycling celebrated in his home city of Glasgow By Jack Gray & Riyah Collins
BBC Newsbeat
Imagine the eyes of the world being focused on your home city and your favourite sport.
If you’re Andre Gillie, you don’t have to.
The BMXer is from Glasgow, where some of the world’s best riders are taking part in the World Cycling Championships.
Andre says having the event on his doorstep is "so good", helping to change attitudes and boost the sport’s image.
His friend Dan Banks, another rider, agrees that people are starting to view them differently."If you saw kids on BMXs you’d think they’d be bad kids," Dan tells BBC Newsbeat."And now it’s like, this is a legit sport that can be world recognised."It is having its time to shine and show the average person that that kid on a BMX on the corner… maybe that kid could have a future and get on a world stage, winning medals for his country."BMX freestyle, where riders perform tricks, was first added to the Olympics at the Tokyo Games in 2021.It’s set to return at the Olympics in Paris next year and both Andre and Dan say people are starting to take it more seriously. Image caption, Dan says the BMX scene in Glasgow is a huge community and was part of his decision to move to the city The cyclists spoke to BBC Newsbeat just after Great Britain’s Kieran Reilly won BMX freestyle gold in the […]
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