British BMX rider Quillan Isidore represented his nation at various international competitions. He competed in the time trial event back in the 2015 UCI BMX World Championships and in 2023, both Beth Shriever and Isidore kept their British Championship titles. In the 2023 British BMX Championships against 44 other BMX champions.
EARLY YEARS
Can you share with us your earliest memory of being introduced to your sport?
I started at Brixton, down the road from Peckham. I used to do acrobatics in school because my oldest brother did. I was quite good at it, really confident doing flips and somersaults and about 200m away in Brockwell Hill there was a very old-school BMX park. It only had about six jumps and I went there with my older brother on our mountain bikes doing the jumps, I got my front wheel off the air on the jumps and thought “I like this”.
I went back a few times and I ended up stumbling across the club sessions, but I wasn’t allowed to ride so I sat track-side with my mum watching them do a gate start for the first time and I thought “I really want to go”, so I kept pestering my mum to let me join the club and eventually she gave in and a month after that it was my ninth birthday and I got my first BMX bike.”
Tell us about your first success in your sport?
A couple of years into doing both BMX and football, I raced novice for a year in 2006 and I only lost one race that year, I won everything. I progressed onto nationals and got number four in the British Championships, then the year after became three-time national and British champion. My first world champs was in 2011 and I finished 64th after just winning the national series – so going international was a big reality check for me!
What was the name of your first sports club?
Brixton BMX Club
What inspired you to try your sport/take it further?
After the 64th place result at the world championships, I became more integrated with British Cycling, working with my coach at the time Jeremy Hayes, and the club coaches at Peckham who were very disciplined and I just really knuckled down, focused on my training and just working on the small details that I never really focused on before.
Any inspirational people, coaches or mentors who played a key role?
CK Flash, the coach at Peckham and Nigel Whyte really shaped the rider I am and kept me on the straight and narrow with their own brand of coaching. I really respect them and their diligence. Training with them was tough but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Sometimes you need tough love and I responded well to that.
At Peckham I was surrounded by passionate people like Kye Whyte and his older brother Tre. We were all chasing someone and in turn, had someone chasing us which helped keep you on the top of your game.
Did you face any major obstacles? How did you overcome them?
My biggest physical and mental challenge was in 2013 when I broke both ankles and my wrist. I was 16 and world champion and about to head into junior races and wanted to be the first to win back to back titles at that age. But two months before the world championships I had an accident racing, I was in a wheelchair for two months and it was a very very low point. I really struggled mentally to accept my competitors were getting away from me while I was still recovering. But looking back on it, it built me up for injuries I would have in the future and now I know what the steps are to get back to 100% and being able to mentally deal with it. I’ve probably dealt with more than you average BMX racer but mentally I’ve learnt to bounce back and don’t let it discourage me.
Do you think that getting involved in sport changed you as a person?
100%, I was quite a troublesome child in school, getting in trouble quite regularly and almost getting excluded and just being rude even to my mum and adults around me. When I got onto British Cycling and the potential I couldn’t go to training camps if I didn’t change my behaviour, that’s why I became more disciplined. Without the focus of BMX, I could’ve definitely carried on down that problematic path.
GRASSROOTS
What would you say to someone thinking about trying your sport?
Just got for it, it doesn’t have to be a fancy bike, just have fun with it and go with as many friends as possible, try new things, new skills and have fun with racing against your friends – don’t think about anything other than enjoying it
What do you wish you’d known when you first started out?
All I cared about was just jumping. I went into racing, got good and I think I’d say just keep listening to those above me and putting me in the right direction because they’ve always had my back.
Were there any particular role models or athletes who influenced your decision to pursue your sport?
The coaches and athletes at Peckham really shaped my path in BMX. As a club to have that kind of tight knit structure, every year for years and years – I don’t think anyone else in the world was doing it like us. Even to this day I still have them on the phone for support, it’s always there and it’s healthy and helpful to push me along.
TRAINING
How often do you train?
At the moment I’m doing two gym sessions a week focusing on heavy lifts like deadlifts up to 200kg, upper body and a lot of core work. I’ll do three or four track sessions a week with some skill practice, fitness work or technique on the starts.
Best piece of advice from your coach? Believe in yourself
Which part of your body suffers the most in your sport? Shoulders, BMXers break collarbones and dislocate shoulders a lot and if we crash, shoulders tend to take the impact!
