· Silver medalist in Tokyo 2020, Daniel Dhers hopes to end his professional career in Paris 2024.
· Daniel is one of the best BMX athletes ever and an Urban World Series icon.
Today in Urban World Series WE RIDE OLYMPICS, we talk with Daniel Dhers.
“Right now I’m in full swing, haha. I ride BMX every day, always looking to be more efficient and more specific with my preparation and everything with the team China.”
After Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, BMX is in one of the highest moments and with more level in the world of competition.
“It would be amazing to finish my competitive career in Paris! I know it’s a dicier qualification this time, there are more very good riders compared to the Tokyo qualification. Also the way the places are distributed, is a bit unfair for the riders, there are places that are not given to the best riders but depend on which country or continent you represent.”
Daniel is an Urban World Series legend: 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal in Extreme Barcelona.
“After Paris, I have a few events on my list that I would like to visit once again as a competitor, and of course Extreme Barcelona is on that list!”
“I would like to continue with my YouTube channel too. I think if I can get someone to help me edit the videos I would be more encouraged. Editing is what takes me a lot of time and in between training myself and preparing the China team I don’t have much free time at the moment.”
“Beyond sports, I think I am inspired by athletes or people who make an effort. I don’t believe much in luck but I do believe in the effort you put into something and I think those people who commit to their projects inspire me to commit to what I do. That’s why I don’t take on many projects nowadays, if I don’t think I can invest the time and achieve the goals I’d rather say no to them. Being good at one thing I like better than being mediocre at many.”
“One of my role models was Dave Mirra, I think his influence is what made me last so long at the competitive level. I learned that a professional athlete is not just about being good at your sport, you have to know how to express yourself in public and on television, have a good presence and help the sport grow.”
“It has been a very interesting year! The level of discipline is incredible which makes the job easier when it comes to riding, the girls have a lot of passion and drive to improve. It does have its challenges like managing expectations of a team of 20+ people, team planning, role distribution, specific plan for each rider and follow up. The language barrier makes it a bit complex because I still don’t speak much Mandarin and the food is the final barrier for me haha.”
“Right now I am very focused on the Olympic project. Once I’m done with that I would like to be more involved at the organizational level of BMX, I think unfortunately we have not had good leadership at the institutional level and the sport, the athletes and the events have suffered because of that. I would also like to focus a little more on the development of the sport in Venezuela. But I think first I’m going to take a vacation and have a good celebration of 20 years of professional career!”