LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hundreds of BMX riders from across the U.S., and even around the world, came to Louisville over the weekend for the three-day USA BMX Derby City Nationals.

“It’s the 40th time we’ve come to Derby City on the national level in BMX history, so we’re excited to be out here racing bikes and having a good time,” said Justin Wahl with USA BMX.

Ten-year-old Lucy Plappert of Louisville is one of hundreds who competed and is part of the Bluegrass BMX Team.

“My whole family, we, like, go to every practice,” Lucy said. “We go to a lot of nationals, and this is my home track, so I’m excited.”

She had her first race toward the beginning of the day on Saturday and felt good about how it went.

“I did good,” Lucy said. “I got third out of four in the girl expert race.”

Another female racer, Samantha Walter, is fifteen years old and came to Louisville all the way from Ontario, Canada.

“It’s kind of nice to come down here because it’s different racing,” Samantha said. “In Canada, there’s not a lot of girls, especially in Ontario, like, I’m one of the only ones so coming down here is definitely, like, different.”

On top of having more competition here, Samantha also says it’s more of a challenge. This is something she embraces and works hard to prepare for these kinds of competitions.

“I do a lot of work at my local track,” Samantha said. “I go to the gym, like, three times a week, so it’s a lot, but it’s lots of fun.”

While BMX is a male-dominated sport, Lucy hopes to see more girls participate.

“It’s always nice to see more girls on the track when they come out,” Lucy said.

More than 270 girls and women competed on Saturday.

Some BMX riders that participated in the Olympics also competed in the event over the weekend.