Kristers Apels: First Elite Men Main, First Elite Podium, European Cup Finals in Norway

Nineteen years old, first season in Elite Men, and on Saturday in Norway Kristers Apels made his first Elite main and finished on the podium.

Sviland, Norway, September 5

The last weekend of the UEC BMX Racing European Cup ran in Sviland, Norway, and Saturday's Round 9 ran in the rain. Wet track, slick paint, the kind of day where getting through the motos clean matters as much as raw speed.

Kristers got through it clean. He made the Elite Men main, his first ever at that level, and finished 3rd behind Mathis Ragot Richard and Eddy Clerte. Ruben Gommers, Jakob Sardag and Simba Darnand filled out the next three spots. That is a full European elite field, and a rookie from Latvia was on the box with them.

Why this one matters

A year ago Kristers was winning the 2025 UEC European Junior Championship at home in Valmiera, on the Māris Štrombergs BMX Track. The jump from Junior to Elite is where a lot of fast kids stall. Bigger gates, faster first straights, riders who have been doing this for a decade. Getting to an Elite main in your first year is the hard part. Getting a podium out of it, in the wet, is the part that tells you where a rider is going.

He did it on the Vision F1x in the 1dea Team Edition colorway, black with Hi Vis, Cyan and Red accents. It is the same frame Kye Whyte and Oli Moran race, built in the big sizes for riders who need the reach.

The Latvian program

Kristers is the third Latvian on the Supercross BMX Factory Team, alongside two-time Olympic gold medalist Māris Štrombergs and two-time Olympian Vineta Petersone. Latvia keeps producing riders like this, and we are proud to have the next one on our frames.

Congratulations, Kristers. First of many.

Full results are on FATBMX. Follow Kristers at @kristersapels and the team at @SupercrossBMX.