Anyone paying attention to the BMX rider on Lane 1 during the Race of Champions in Tulsa, Oklahoma, would鈥檝e seen a sky-blue bullet whipping through the dirt track to clinch first place.
And if Squamish viewers were to look closely enough, they鈥檇 recognize that this gold-winning racer was, in fact, 14-year-old Teigen Pascual of the Garibaldi Highlands.
Pascual鈥檚 success in the Nov. 24 race is a big milestone.聽
Just entering the Race of Champions can be a big challenge, as the top riders are selected from districts worldwide to compete in a series of races organized by USA BMX until only the best remain.
鈥淚鈥檝e been training very hard this year, so it feels very good,鈥� Pascual said.
She鈥檇 been putting in six days a week, at least one hour each day.
Some of the training also involved travelling to Abbotsford and Burlington, Washington, because the Squamish tracks can鈥檛 be ridden when there鈥檚 too much water.
Pascual鈥檚 gold-medal victory in her age group wasn鈥檛 the only accomplishment over that聽 November weekend.
Pascual managed to take fourth place during the American Grand National, which was the final event of the weekend.
Her performances earned her third place for the season in her national age group.
鈥淕etting the best gate I could get and trying to get first out the gate鈥� was the one thing that Pascual said was on her mind during the races.
The events pushed her to do things she never thought possible.
One of the biggest highlights, said Pascual, was 鈥渂eat[ing] a lot of people that I never beat.鈥澛�
It was one of the moments where Pascual seemed to realize how far she鈥檇 come.
鈥淚鈥檇 never thought I was going to go into BMX and one year my friend started before me, and her mom just said for me to try it,鈥� Teigen said. 鈥淚 just tried it and loved it.鈥�
鈥淚 actually don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e seen her this happy,鈥� said Amber Pascual of her daughter鈥檚 performance at a semi-final race during that weekend.
Amber added that Teigen was facing stiff competition from around the globe, which made the Squamish rider鈥檚 performance all the more remarkable.
That sentiment was echoed by the man in charge of Squamish鈥檚 BMX club.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just insane, really, the level of competition that is there,鈥� said Todd Pope, president and track operator of the Squamish BMX club. 鈥淏MX is an Olympic sport and they had some Olympians and world champions [at the USA BMX events that weekend] racing.
鈥淛ust to get there and do it is an accomplishment in and of itself,鈥� he said.
Locally, that accomplishment wasn鈥檛 just Teigen鈥檚 alone.
Garibaldi Highlands rider Robyn Schenk also made it to the Race of Champions.
Schenk managed to clutch eighth place in the same age category as Teigen in that race. Also, Pemberton resident Erin Tierney managed to place 2nd in her age group of 41 to 45.
