Cumberland's Aleasha Wiebe took her considerable BMX talents to the international stage when she competed at the 2014 UCI World Championships, July 23-27 at Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
The event was held in Ahoy Rotterdam Arena with 3,000 riders from 42 countries racing hard and proudly representing their countries.
Wiebe, 17, was in the Challange class and her dad Mike (who accompanied her on the trip) said she raced incredibly on her two days of competition. "She made her coach, teammates, parents and her home track Coal Hills very proud of her," Mike said.
In the 20" Bike category, Wiebe made quarter-final mains, finishing top 20 in the world for 17-29 age group girls in an estimated field of 70 riders.
In Cruiser Bike, the talented Wiebe made semifinal mains, finished top 12 in the world for 17-29 Girls in an estimated field of 40 riders.
Wiebe is a provincial champion and consistently places top three in her age category at nationals.
She lives right across the street from the Coal Hills track in Cumberland, and in an earlier interview with the Record said her BMX season never really ends.
"I always train and race in the off-season," she said, adding her goal is to qualify for the Olympics. The 2016 Summer Olympics are scheduled for Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
BMX debuted at the Olympics in 2008. Tony Nyhaug of Coquitlam competed for Canada at the 2012 Summer Games in London, and Wiebe figures the sooner she qualifies to go the better. "It's better when you're younger," she noted.
Wiebe said her older brothers Travis and Jacob raced BMX, which made the sport a natural choice for her. Along with travelling and meeting people, Wiebe said what she likes best about BMX is "beating the boys" when they compete in the Cruiser class.