Mount Gambier is bracing itself for a BMX bonanza this weekend when not one, but three big events come to town.

On three straight days from Saturday to Monday the Blue Lake BMX Club hosts the Retro Championships, SA v Vic Challenge, round 2 of the SA State Series and the SA Country Championships.

It might sound exhausting, but it will be BMX heaven with wall-to-wall racing for three straight days.

The height of the Blue Lake BMX season is usually reserved for the June long weekend, but has been moved three months ahead of schedule due to a calendar shakeup.

Blue Lake BMX Club president Stephen Jones said the triple-header was the highlight of the year, with Victorians being welcomed back for the first time since 2019.

“This weekend will be our one big event for the year,” he said.

“We can now obviously have Victorian competitors again, so this is the first time we have been able to have them back across since 2019.

“It will be great because in 2020 we had the state titles, but could not get Victorians due to the borders.

“We are hoping we are going to hit somewhere close to 400 riders because we should be able to get 250 SA and 100 to 150 Victorian riders.

“The facility can cope with it very easily and the success of this will set us up for the rest of the year.”

The cross-border reunion will be held on the opening day which kicks off from 2pm with the familiar SA v Vic format alongside a new addition to the BMX world.

For the first time the AusCycling Retro BMX Championships will be held and Mount Gambier will forever be in the history books as the maiden host.

Jones said the retro style event would be a spectacle with some expensive and beautifully presented bikes from the 1980s and ‘90s returning to the track.

“The retro class is not a new class because it has kind of faded out a little bit, so they decided to introduce a one-off South Australian Championship to reinvigorate it and get it up and running again,” he said.

“They are tricky to ride because the tracks and bikes have changed.

“But it will be great to see them back out because a lot of them are valuable worth over $3000 and are highly sought after.

“In the past they have tried to run retro classes in every event which put a lot of pressure on, so having everything at one event just makes it easier for everyone.”

Jones said the big attraction would be the state series with riders eager to be at the top of the tables come season’s end.

“The state series is the biggest because you go to a round at every club around South Australia, so lots of people are coming down to keep their points up,” he said.

“But it is hard to know what numbers we will get because some Victorians may just do the SA v Vic round or also do the state series.

“I think the Monday (Country Championships) event will be a bit lower on rider numbers as the other two have more meaning, but because it is our club event, we hope lots of people come and support it.”

Mount Gambier is the second stop on the State Series calendar after riders recently opened the season at Cross Keys and showed speed from the drop of the gate.

The likes of Kynan Davey, Lilly Jones, Trae Wilke, Brad Jennings, Hallam Davey, Archie Murdoch, Jenson Davey and Jackson Jones all impressed and will be some of the local riders to watch this weekend.

Jones said the strong performances had generated a lot of positive vibes around the club to defend home turf.

“I think the level of our riders has been lifted for the last two years,” he said.

“Everyone is exceptional and did a great job at Cross Keys seeing as we only ride there once or twice a year.

“Our riders are excited because the tables have turned.

“We are usually the ones travelling, but this time it is everyone else’s turn to come to us, so they are motivated to show them the way around.”

Jones and the rest of the club will be hoping for an unforgettable weekend after putting in countless hours of preparation to host an event of this magnitude.

“We have done far too many hours,” he said.

“There is stuff like track prep where we judge the weather, rip the surface up, rake it to get it smooth before painting the lines.

“Then there is a mountain of work that goes into the canteen that doesn’t just magically happen without months of preparation.

“We also have to get trophies ready, plus layout the bunting and car park areas, so it is pretty much a full time job on top of a full time job.

“Being an outdoor event, some restrictions have eased, so we encourage people to come and support it.”