BRAINTREE BMX Club made history when it hosted the first ever races to take place at the revamped Olympic track in London.
The club, based near Towerlands Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Braintree, organised round four of the BMX East Anglian Summer race series on Sunday, May 18.
"It was great to make BMX history, we had a regional race planned for our home track and the opportunity came along to hold it at the Olympic Park and be the first to use it," said Julien Allen, league coach at the club.
As many as 249 riders from all over the UK took part, including 61 from Braintree.
Winners included Adam Gilbert, who claimed the final of the under 9s, and Seb Pantlin, who came first in the under 10s.
Planning the event took nearly three weeks, making sure the layout and track was challenging for the variety of riders at the event, which ranged from under 6s to over 45s.
The 120-strong club itself was crowned winner of Essex County Council's 2013 Active Essex Sports Award in recognition of its excellent level of coaching and opportunities offered to riders to help them progress in the sport.
Mr Allen said: "Practice went well and the whole event was very well received, it was very difficult, really testing and challenging for all riders.
"The set-up worked really well and kept the riders working hard, there were very few crashes, and the club came away with some great race winners."
After the London Olympic Games in 2012, the BMX track was rebuilt for public use. Mr Allen has been working with children and school groups there on the self-employed coaching team.
In 2008 Braintree BMX Club received a grant from Essex County Council as part of the build-up to the Games in order to improve its facilities. It is maintained and run by club volunteers.
Mr Allen said: "It's great to see the track being used in the way it was intended to and for our riders who hadn't used the park before to go down and be a part of it.
"There's a very strong legacy – before the Games we got funding to build the track and since the sport has really been promoted well, kids that have joined the club say they saw BMX in the Olympics and wanted to have a go.
"The track itself can now be used by the general public for first-timers and established riders."
This event is also part of the Braintree club's 30th anniversary celebrations that will include a party and presentation night at the end of the season.
"We want to thank all the volunteers and everyone who came along," said Mr Allen.
"We're looking forward to finishing the season off well, we've got a few riders going off to the World Championships in July as well."
Braintree BMX Club who meet, Opposite Towerlands Centre in Braintree are Celebrating after Sucess at the Olympic Park
