Solid start from Reade

Shanaze Reade makes a solid start in her quest for BMX gold.

Three-time world champion fifth in seeding

Great Britain’s Shanaze Reade made a solid start in her quest for BMX gold by finishing fifth in the opening seeding round inside the Olympic VeloPark. The three-time world champion was given a rousing reception as she came out third of the 16 female riders who were aiming to seed themselves as high as possible ahead of Friday's semi-finals. Reade crossed the line in first position with her time of 39.368 seconds, but four riders would ultimately go quicker, with world time-trial champion Caroline Buchanan of Australia eventually topping the standings with her time of 38.433sec. New Zealand’s Sarah Walker was 0.210sec behind Buchanan in second, with Mariana Pajon of Colombia third in 38.787. The riders had hurtled down the start ramp one at a time in a bid to claim a strong ranking for the latter stages of the competition, where eight riders will vie for position on an undulating course, full of jumps, tight turns and a tunnel. Reade is aiming to banish the painful memories she has from the 2008 Olympics where she crashed out in the final after attempting a gold-medal-or-bust manoeuvre. After her ride, she said: "It felt quite good out there. The first race is always going to be a bit rusty. "It was amazing to compete in front of a home crowd. "I have been sitting around and watching Olympic titles being won and have just wanted to get out there and compete myself."