A NATIONAL BMX champion from Bovey Tracey has set his sights on representing Great Britain in 2023 – if only he can secure funding to make his dream a reality.

Ben Cornish, who rides for Exeter Eagles BMX Club, finished fourth in his last European Cup Race, a bout which saw the 14-year-old face off against riders of 15 and 16 years old. However, he can only compete in six of the 12 rounds of the 2022 series due to a lack of funding.

A typical European race weekend runs up a sizeable bill, in excess of a grand more often than not: flights, car hire, fuel costs, accommodation, bike and medical repatriation insurance are among that which riders such as Ben must foot the bill for if they are to compete at the elite level.

And so Adam Cornish, Ben’s father, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to enable his son to represent Great Britain in Olympic Race BMX at the European BMX Cup series in 2023 and, ultimately, enable his son to pursue his passion.

Dubbed ’Sponsor a Spoke’, Ben and Adam are working to identify 72 local businesses willing to sponsor a spoke for £100 or £50 for half a spoke on his winning bike – Sally and Steve of Cafe64 in Bovey have been sponsoring Ben for a number of years.

The combined sponsorship will be used to enable Ben to attend all the international races in 2023 and hopefully the 2022 European Championships in Dessel, Belgium and, ultimately, enable Ben to pursue his passion.

‘I want to be the very best, I want to do something for a living that is fun and surrounded by people I like,’ he said.

‘This year I want reach the top five in the EuroChamps and top eight in the Worlds.

‘For next year I am hoping to ride in the Junior men’s division, race the eight-metre hill and get on the new Great Britain Junior Development Academy, then it is on to the professional GB team.

‘I want to be a pro-rider, race around the world and win the big races.’

Ben is on British Cycling’s Talent Development Program where he trains with Tokyo Olympics Gold and Silver medalists Beth Shriever and Kye White – he was British Cycling’s 2021 National BMX Series winner for the 14-year-old category.

These achievements, and many more besides, are a testament to Ben’s skill, determination and persistence and perhaps more importantly show he is more than prepared to take on and overcome future challenges such as the European BMX Cup series in 2023.

Ben’s father Adam said: ‘For a young man who struggle at school is absolutely excelling at BMX, he is representing Great Britain and that is amazing - it is such a challenge though, trying to get him out there.

‘He needs the exposure and the experience which comes from international racing.

‘Myself and Ben were in the Netherlands this weekend just gone, Ben was doing some warm-ups, sprints and drills in the carpark when two coaches from the GB team rolled up to us, asked what we were doing, had a bit of a chat with us and then turned and asked us whether we wanted anything form the shop.

‘There aren’t many sports where the national team manager watches you work, gives you some feedback and then says if you need anything just give us a shout.’

To support Ben, visit his GoFundMe page here - https://www.gofundme.com/f/ben-cornish-bmx-sponsor-a-spoke-2023

The photo of Ben Cornish used in this article was taken by Cameron Smith, a freelance Sport and News photographer based in the West Midlands, whose website is available here - https://www.cameronsmithphotos.com/about