Elsa's Story
“It started here when I was 3 and it’s been BMX ever since”
Elsa’s story is a powerful reminder that finding your passion and a supportive community can build a life of resilience and world-class achievement!
Foundations
Starting at just three years old, Elsa’s journey began at Saturday morning club sessions. What started as a family activity with her brothers, and Mum as coach, evolved into a lifelong dedication to BMX freestyle and racing – fueled by a simple love for riding her bike with her friends.
Family
For Elsa, Cyclopark has been more than just a training ground – it became a lifeline following the loss of her mother to cancer in 2023. The track provided a vital outlet to relieve stress and a space to hold onto the memories of her mother, who spent years “carting” her to races and shaping the person she is today.
Future
Today, Elsa is a multi-time World and European Champion and the first person selected for the Olympic development squad in both freestyle and racing. As she finishes her A-levels, she is now on “podium potential” for the Olympics, continuing to train at the track where it all began, whilst inspiring others.
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Read The Story
Discover more about Elsa from her perspective, with a first person written testimonial about her journey from first pedals to podiums!
Read The Story
Discover more about Elsa from her perspective, with a first person written testimonial about her journey from first pedals to podiums!
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The Cyclopark Charity Effect
We believe that our venue provides a place for everyone in our community.
Our targeted coaching and world-class facilities create an environment where young athletes can grow from beginners into elite professionals.
Club Cyclopark
The Club Cyclopark sessions provide the fundamental building blocks for riders of all ages. For Elsa, these sessions were the “main aid” in her development, offering technical training three times a week for 11 years, which she credits for her exceptional bike control and skills.
Club Cyclopark are one of several resident cycling clubs that operate independently at Cyclopark. These clubs create their own communities within our venue and create opportunities for people to ride for fun or train for racing.
Community Centre of Excellence
Beyond the physical training, within our Intermediate / Expert BMX Coaching sessions found in our Cycle Pathway, the community at Cyclopark fosters independence and confidence for all users of the venue.
The supportive environment created by coaches within all of our BMX sessions ensures that even during difficult times—such as recovering from injury or personal loss—the park remains a safe space for mental wellbeing, physical progression and social support.
Check out our BMX Sessions.
Impact On Elsa
For Elsa, the technicality of the Cyclopark track was key to her success, allowing her to reach the top 6 in the world every year since she was seven. The facility provided the “freedom and independence” she needed to grow, turning a childhood hobby into a professional career that has taken her, her bike and family around the world.
Tabitha Rendall Obituary
At Cyclopark, we were privileged to know ‘Tabby’ not just as a leader in British Cycling, but as a champion of our community and everything we stand for. Tabitha gave her time, energy and expertise generously as a coach, volunteer and event organiser at Club Cyclopark, always driven by a deep belief in inclusive, accessible cycling for all ages and disciplines.
Her warmth, determination and ability to bring people together left a lasting mark on our and the wider BMX community.
Elsa's Story
I started riding at Cyclopark around 3 years old. I attended the club Cyclopark sessions on a Saturday morning. My parents were coaches within the club, so me and my brothers all did the mountain biking sessions. When I was 4, my brother Zach decided that he wanted to try the BMX sessions, and I tried it as well. After that, me and Zach kept doing the BMX sessions on a Saturday morning.
I just loved riding my bike and that motivated me to keep riding. I kept going to all the Club Cyclopark sessions on Wednesdays, Fridays when they had them and Saturday morning coaching. I also tried other disciplines such as the spring in the park (I think that’s what it’s called) road races. I also did a bit of cyclocross in the winters. I think Cyclopark is a good facility because it has a bit of everything, it was so close to where I lived so it was really good.
The track was and still is one of my favourites. It has something for everyone and really encourages learning skills. I love training and competing at Cyclopark because it’s where I first started and jjthere is still so much I can do on the track. I like competing at Cyclopark because all of my friends can come and watch because it’s so close to where I grew up.
All my achievements have come whilst training at Cyclopark; at 7 I won my first world championship in the 5-7 girls age group. Since then, I have been top 6 in the world every year (W1x2, W2x5, W4x3,W6x2). I won the world championships in the cruiser girls 13-16 when I was 15 in 2023. I have also attended 4 European championships. From these I have been E1,E2x2, E4 on 20” and E1x2, and E7 on cruiser. Since stepping into Junior women this year, I have achieved world 2 and European 2.
I have also won national series titles and British Championship titles. When I was 15, I started competing in freestyle, I have been 4th in Europe and 7th in Europe in elite women since then. In the national championships, I have come 3rd in 2023 and 2nd in 2024. Unfortunately this year I was injured. In 2023, I was the first person to be selected for the Olympic development squad for both freestyle and racing in British Cycling. I am now on podium potential for freestyle and ODS for racing.
Cyclopark Charity has been a major aid for me, especially in racing. I think Cyclopark is a major part of why my skills are so good. It’s a very technical track and training here three times a week for 11 years has definitely helped. Cyclopark has contributed to my performance on the bike in all areas and since my mum died and I had to move, I still come and train at Cyclopark at least once a week.
My riding ability is mostly credit to riding at Cyclopark all the time, it was the only track I trained on for many years and I wouldn’t be where I am without it, I may have not even started BMX in the first place. The club Cyclopark coaching sessions are the main sessions that I attended and coaching from Craig Hughes and my mum in the first years when I started and then from Julian Allen since I moved away because they’re the sessions that I attend
At the end of 2024, I suffered a mild concussion which led to headaches for over 6 months without any known reason. Being able to come to Cyclopark sessions and still ride a little bit whilst I was recovering was a massive help and good for my mental health to be able to get out and do what I love however minimal the amount I was allowed to do was. I don’t have any measurable changes that stand out since I started riding at Cyclopark because I have been riding and training at Cyclopark for my whole life.
Competing in BMX has improved my confidence in all areas. Travelling around the world with my family and now with the British Cycling squad has given me a lot of life experiences to learn from and I will never take that for granted. Competitions that didn’t go my way are always learning opportunities.
Since my mum passed away from cancer in 2023, BMX has been a lifeline. For me, it has always been what I loved doing and it allowed me to relieve stress and not think about anything else. I am so grateful for all the good memories I have of going to races with my mum and brothers and I will never forget them. My mum taught me so much and everything I do is a credit to her.
I think especially, BMX has given me freedom and independence that I wouldn’t have if I didn’t do sport. I am confident in doing most things because of it. Competing, training and balancing studying has always been hard to balance, especially now as I come to my last year of A levels. I think the motivation I have for BMX helps me get things done in other areas as well. I am quite introverted and the community of support that has come from doing BMX is incredible. I think my family would say I am more independent because of BMX. I think everyone would say from watching me ride that I love riding my bike and that will always help me get the hard and boring things done.
The club Cyclopark community has supported me all the way through my journey. There are so many people who have supported me along the way. I would like to thank is my mum and my brother Zach, I wouldn’t be where I am now without their support. I think that my brother is a big reason as to why my skills are so good and he always believes in me. The other coaches I’d like to thank from Cyclopark are Craig Hughes and Julian Allen. Outside of Cyclopark, I’d like to thank Keith and Ike Duly for getting me into BMX freestyle, my coaches at British Cycling (Greg Illingworth, Marcus Bloomfield and Declan Brooks).
I would like to thank the rest of my family for always supporting me as well. However, the biggest thank you will always go to my mum for carting me around to races day in day out, and shaping me into the person I am today, not just on the bike but off the bike as well.
I have built lifelong friendships from riding BMX and my closest friends are from BMX. I love sharing the same passion with them and the support that we can all give each other throughout our careers. It’s so cool to be friends with some of my biggest competitors. Club Cyclopark sessions have always fostered an environment that motivates you to get stuff done from a new jump to extended laps. Races at Cyclopark are always so exciting. Seeing people from all around the country ride the track I learnt on has motivated me to try new things when I was younger. Nowadays, races at Cyclopark are opportunities for my friends outside BMX to see me race and I love sharing races with them. I’m always faster at my home track and there is always a good vibe even when the weather is not good.
My goals in BMX is to go to the Olympics in BMX racing and BMX freestyle, and hopefully get a medal. I would love to achieve a world title in elite women and mark my name in the sport. I hope to continue to love riding my bike throughout my career and continue riding after my competitive career is over. Riding BMX is an outlet for me and I hope it continues to be that rather than becoming a job. I am grateful to be able to do BMX for a living and will continue to work my hardest to try and get the most out of the sport that I can. I will continue to train at Cyclopark until I move to uni, and will definitely return for sessions whenever I can. Cyclopark will always have a special place in my heart because it was such a big part of my life for so long. It will always be the place that I first started and I will always love coming to ride such a sick track.
The main thing I would say to a younger rider is to have fun. I think working on your skills is the most beneficial thing at a young age. It teaches them fundamental skills and keeps riding a bike fun. I believe getting younger children to do sprints and gym at a young age can be detrimental because they could lose the love for the sport. When you’re young, it isn’t about winning everything, it’s about having as much fun as you can on the bike and making lifelong friendships. BMX teaches you so much as a person not just riding a bike. BMX is also the best discipline to be able to transfer to other disciplines as the bike control you gain is more than most other disciplines. I think access to facilities and coaching at Cyclopark is the only reason that I do BMX and it has supported me in my riding so much over the years.