Cycling: Willoughby to reach semis in style read more at here http://spinonews.com/index.php/component/k2/item/642

Willoughby won all three runs of his heat, avoiding the kinds of problems that accounted for Latvia's double Olympic champion Maris Stromberg’s, world champion Joris Daudet of France and former world title winner Liam Phillips of Britain.

Australia's Sam Willoughby stayed firmly on course for BMX gold as three of his main Olympic rivals were eliminated after a repeating of crashes in the quarter-finals on Thursday

Four heats of eight riders, each heat comprising three runs of the spectacular red and green 399m course, decided who moved forward to Friday's semi-finals.

American Connor Fields was joined in the semi-finals by compatriots Nicholas Long and Corben Sharrah while Willoughby will have the impressive Anthony Dean for company.

Riders received points depending on where they finished in each run, with one to the winner, down to eight for the last man to cross the line. The four men with the lowest totals in each of the heats qualified.

So Willoughby's three points, for winning all his runs, represented a tidy day's work.

Not that he was taking anything for granted after watching the wind, combined with a testing course, wipe so many out.