SAINT-QUENTEN-EN-YVELINES, France —Bozeman cycling BMX racer Cameron Wood started by winning his opening heat in Olympic competition Thursday at the BMX Stadium and finished his day by advancing to the semifinals.
Racing out of lane three in the first heat, Wood immediately got to the front of the pack and got a clean line to all three corners before holding off Columbia’s Carlos Alberto Ramirez Yepes at the finish. Wood completed the course in 32.207 seconds compared to Ramirez Yepes’ 32.248 as all riders made it through without crashing.
The quarterfinal round is comprised of three heats of eight competitors during which riders are awarded points according to their finish with first place earning a single point, second earning two and so on. The 12 riders with the lowest points after three rounds advance to the semifinals scheduled for Friday at 12 p.m. Mountain.
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The field gets shuffled between each heat so on the second heat, Wood lined up in lane two next to France’s Romain Mahieu who was greeted by roars from the crowd. Again, all riders made it through cleanly as Ecuador’s Alfredo Jose Campo won the heat in 31.893. Wood was second in 31.967 and was ranked third in the combined results after two runs with three points.
Riding the number 12 bike and wearing black pants and a white shirt with USA printed on both, Wood took the line again for the third heat in lane two, this time sandwiched between French riders Joris Daudet and Mahieu. Mahieu won the heat in 31.768 and Daudet was third. Wood was fourth in 32.473 to finish the three heats with seven points and unscathed by any crashes.
From left, Joris Daudet of France, Cameron Wood of The United States, Romain Mahieu of France, Diego Alejandro Arboleda Ospina of Colombia and Dave van der Burg of Netherlands compete in the men’s BMX racing event, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France.
Wood qualified for the semifinals ranked fifth alongside his U.S. teammate Kamren Larsen in fourth, both of who finished with seven total points. They are behind the three French riders, Sylv
