Hunter BMX riders Gavin Joyce, Noah Joyce and Luke Patroni take on the world in France

Luke Patroni, the son of a rally driver, "needed to race something".

The Hunter trio will this week leave for Nantes, France, where they will represent Australia at the UCI BMX Racing World Championships, starting July 26.

Gavin, the Oceania champion, will contest the 40-44 year cruiser division.

Noah will race in the under-9s and Luke the under-10s.

Incredibly, it will be Patroni's second crack at a world title. He finished seventh in the under-7s in Belgium in 2019 - the last time the titles were held due to COVID.

All three are members of the Lake Macquarie BMX club at Argenton and qualified for the Worlds at the Oceania Championships in Brisbane in April.

"Luke was three when he started riding in balance-bike races," his mum, Leanne Pearce said. "His dad was racing rally cars at the time and he needed to race something. It has progressed from there."

Gavin Joyce rode motocross and mountain bikes before following Noah to BMX racing.

"I made the switch about four years ago," Joyce said. "Noah had just turned five. He has been on a bike since he could walk. He progressed to BMX and loved it. I thought it looked fun and joined him. I started to take it more seriously a couple of years ago."

Joyce senior won his division at the Oceania Championships. Noah was fifth at the nationals and is top two in the state.

In year five at Medowie Public School, Patroni finished second in Brisbane and is currently the equal leader of the NSW point series.

"He has always had that drive. Since he was aged five, we have taken him to the state rounds as a sprocket, which is non-competitive until they turn eight. "For him it is also about friendships. His best mates come out of all the other clubs in NSW. There is the social aspect of travelling to see his friends at the state rounds."

Patroni has 121 competitors in his division.

"He is at that stage where he is getting competitive," Pearce said. "He follows all the Olympians. It is one of those sports where riders get the chance to interact with the Olympians at the track regularly. Saya Sakakibara and her brother Kai would always be at state meets racing. Same with Caroline Buchanan. They are not hidden away. They race at the same space."

The track in Nantes, which is about 370 metres long with four straights and three turns, has only recently been constructed.

"Luke has watched a couple of YouTube clips," Pearce said. "Riders will get two practice sessions and warm-up."

Gavin expects to clock about 40 seconds for the course. Noah is not far behind him at "about 45 to 47 seconds".

"My starts have been strong in the past 12 months. I probably lack a little bit on the skill side," Joyce said. "The first and second straights feature bigger jumps. The third and fourth are rhythm sections with jumps closer together and are a bit more technical."

IN THE NEWS:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: