Olympic gold medalists Bethany Schrieber (GBR) and Niek Kiman (NL) enjoyed success at the 2021 UCI BMX World Championships, with Schrieber taking the early lead and riding through the crash-plagued women's race.

In the women's elite race, defending champion Alize Willoughby (USA) and teammate Felicia Stancil (USA) quickly out of the gate, and it looked like Schriever was in for a tough fight. However, by quickly getting to the front on the opening straight, the 22-year-old Schriever was able to stay out of trouble when Stancil, along with Zoe Klassens (Switzerland) and Willoughby, crashed coming out of the first corner.

Among those who escaped unscathed were Judy Bauw and Laura Smulders of the host country, the Netherlands, but they had little chance to close the gap on Schriever, who charged toward the finish line with clear air and a large margin.

"Another gold medal, unbelievable. I rode steady all day and I wanted to get a good time like I did in Tokyo."

"Going into gate 8 I was relaxed and happy. I got off to a good start and managed to bite back and win. I'm fired up!"

Baauw took the silver medal ahead of Smulders, who won the Rainbow Stripes race in 2018.

In the men's elite race, the Netherlands took the gold medal, as Kimman lined up at gate 8 and took the early lead despite his knee still healing from a collision with an official who entered the course during Olympic practice. From the first corner, 2018 winner Sylvain André (France) looked like the only challenger.

Andre kept the pressure on, but Kimman held on and finished first on his gold-painted bike to win the Olympic and World Championship double in the men's and women's elite categories. David Graf (Switzerland) took the bronze medal.

"Winning at the Olympics was special, but it was a victory without spectators. I want to thank everyone who came and cheered me on."

Mariane Bertrand (France) won the junior women's race, while Italy's Marco Radaelli took first place in the junior men's race after a crash-filled final turn.