Riders at the Cape Coral BMX Track had their presence felt in a big way at a recent international event.

A whopping 10 riders from the Cape represented Team USA at the UCI BMX World Championships last week in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was 15-year-old Avery Jones that came out of the races with a world ranking, as she earned the title of being No. 6 in the world in her class when it comes to riding a cruiser (24 inch) and regular 20-inch bike.

Remarking on sending 10 riders to participate, Cape BMX coach and Track Director Nick Jones, who was also one of a dozen coaches of Team USA and father to Avery, said it was special to see Cape Coral represented.

“Our track has come a long way in the past eight years,” Jones said. “We have fantastic riders at our facility, and now, one of the best in the world. It feels good. Our track is looked upon as one of the better tracks in the country, especially on the east coast of the United States. I think it’s cool for our city — some recognition from Cape Coral.”

As a show of support to the riders, who range in age from 14 to 50-plus, the track is hosting a “welcome home” celebration Tuesday, May 28, where each rider will be honored for their accomplishments.

There were seven teens and three adults that represented Cape BMX.

“It was great to see them get to compete against the best, and to walk out there with ‘Team USA’ on my back and one of the riders being my daughter, it was pretty awesome,” Jones said.

The riders put in lots of hard work week in and week out, multiple times each week, to prepare and qualify for Team USA.

“They put in a lot of work,” Jones said. “BMX is a tough sport. It’s an extreme sport. There are lots of things that can happen on the track; injuries that can sometimes be pretty severe.”

Jones said on the course they were competing on most recently, they were hitting speeds of well over 25 mph. They also had to endure some less-than-idea racing conditions, as there was a good amount of rain across the competition.

Though there’s no rest for the weary, as a few riders will head to Nashville this upcoming weekend to take part in a national competition to earn Team USA points rankings.

“There’s a bit of traveling all over the place,” Jones said.

As far as an individual track sending that many representatives to compete for Team USA, Jones said it’s not a common occurrence.

“There’s over 300 BMX tracks in the United States, so it was quite a lot for our track down here in Southwest Florida,” he said. “It was a lot, for sure.”

For more Information on Cape Coral BMX, visit www.usabmx.com/tracks/1871/about. The track is located at the Strausser BMX Sports Complex at 1410 S.W. 6th Place, near the intersection of Skyline Boulevard and Trafalgar Parkway in Cape Coral.