Molly Simpson of Red Deer, Alberta won a silver medal on Saturday and a bronze medal on Sunday in two World Cup BMX cycling events in Papendal, Netherlands. It has been a spectacular start to the 2026 World Cup BMX cycling season for Simpson as she won a gold and a silver medal at two World Cup events in Sarrians, France last weekend.
On Saturday, Simpson had a second place time of 34.515 seconds. Laura Smulders of the Netherlands won the gold medal with a time of 34.247 seconds. Bethany Shriever of Great Britain won the bronze medal with a time of 34.741 seconds. Simpson reached the podium by 0.261 seconds. Zoe Claessens of Switzerland finished in fourth place with a time of 34.776 seconds.
On Sunday, Simpson had a third place time of 34.551 seconds. Shriever won the gold medal with a time of 33.839 seconds. Saya Sakakibara of Australia won the silver medal with a time of 34.388 seconds. Simpson reached the podium by 0.321 seconds. Nadine Aeberhard of Switzerland finished in fourth place with 34.872 seconds.
Simpson leads the World Cup standings after four races in 2026 with 1730 points. Sakakibara is in second place with 1416 points and Smulders is in third place with 1173 points. The silver and bronze medals for Simpson will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
