OLDSMAR, Fla. - Professional BMX rider Andre LaCroix has been a busy man.
In preparation for the BMX World Championships held next week in South Carolina, LaCroix has spent hours a day in the gym, practicing at his home track in Oldsmar and reviewing race film.
It will be his first world championships as a professional racer, and despite being one to the youngest in the field, LaCroix says he’s ready.
"I’m really confident in my riding right now," LaCroix said. "I feel physically in perfect shape and mentally perfect.”
LaCroix, 19, first started riding a bike without training wheels when was 3 years old. In January 2017, he turned pro.
“I just love the adrenalin rush,” LaCroix said. “You can go to different tracks all the time, so it’s something new, every single time.”
Over the years, LaCroix has used his talents to give back, riding to raise money for the breast cancer charity, the 2nd Basemen and hosting free learn to ride clinics every other Wednesday at the Oldsmar BMX track.
“With everything I do I’ve been given so much that you have to give back,” LaCroix said.
With the free clinics, LaCroix hopes to make the sport more popular, something that may be a little easier now that BMX racing is an Olympic.
LaCroix has his sights set on racing in the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo.
"It would mean the world to me," LaCroix said. "That would be the dream come true.”
