Life for Wodonga’s Fletcher Klepiak is not the same as most 10-year-olds on the Border.
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The youngster has become a rising star of the Australian BMX scene and will fly the flag for his home town in the US at the UCI BMX World Championships at Rock Hill, South Carolina this month.
From all reports, this will be the biggest World Championship in the history of the sport and Klepiak is entering the event full of confidence after a massive national season.
Klepiak is the current Australian number two for his age group and holds both the Victorian and South Australian state titles.
He jets off next week to prepare for the biggest event of his young career on July 26.
“I’m feeling brilliant, I’m really excited for it and this is going to be one of my hardest races ever,” Klepiak said.
“I’ve raced a couple of the Australians that are going over and they’ve beaten me before and I’ve beaten them.
“I haven’t met other countries before, so it’s going to be hard and they’re brilliant at riding.
“I think I can make the final and I’m confident for that because I’ve been training hard.
“My first title was the Victorian state championship and as soon as I won that I was as confident as anything to go anywhere.”
After the race, Klepiak will get the chance to meet one of his idols in the sport, Sam Willoughby, who is on the long road to recovery after a horrific fall while training in the US last September.
Outside of his state and national duties, Klepiak has competed in several open events in Victoria and NSW, as well as the national Grands Assault series at Shepparton, Bathurst, Cairns and the final round at the Sleeman Sports Complex in Brisbane.
Klepiak claimed first place in each round of the series to win a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to compete in the USA Grands.
He trains at his home track in Wodonga, but spends most of his time at modern tracks between Shepparton and Melbourne to further hone his craft.
Klepiak's favourite track at Shepparton is currently undergoing a major upgrade with an eight-metre start hill, sealed berms and lights.
The upgrade will potentially bring international events to the Goulburn Valley region, with elite riders from all over the world required to compete in World Supercross events to gain valuable UCI points.
Other Victorian clubs to receive recent upgrades are Eastfield, Wyndham Vale and Frankston, while Casey Fields BMX Club is the newest addition to Victoria with a brand new state-of-the-art supercross track.
The sport has gained steady popularity since its inclusion in the Olympics with major track builds and facility upgrades occurring across the country.