The third stop of the UCI North American Series in Oldsmar, FL would turn out many of the usual suspects, we have seen previously in Guthrie and Perris, but ha nice helping of not-so-usual suspects from the East. In both Elite and Junior Men, the competition was In Elite Men, the competition was so heavy, that it really was any man’s race. In the end, Free Agent’s Cristian Becerine beat a stacked-to-the-rafters main event gate, and 32 of the best BMX racers in the world (who were eliminated earlier in the day) to take the top podium spot in the one-lap, winner-take-all main event. Nic Long, who has proved to be the most consistent rider, with podium finishes at all three 2009 UCI events thus far, was second, and jason Rogers on the right-step.

In Junior Men, usual AA pro Sam Willoughby had his hands full with the likes of Connor Fields, Tory Nyhaug and fellow AA Denzel Stein, but in the end pulled the win by a few bike lengths, with Fields and Nyhaug joining him on the podium, and Denzel in fourth, and looking to Phoenix in two weeks.

Elite Women, saw more-than AA-action, with six of the 11 woman field with “A” names (Amanda, Arielle, Alaina, Allie and two Amandas). In the end, though it was 3D, Dominique Daniels who logged a perfect in motos and main alike for podius maximus.

Photo Galleries

Elite Practice	UCI Elite	Gator Nats-Sat	Gator Nats-Sun

The NBL’s return to Columbus, while two months later than most people expected, was well worth the wait for many of the party faithful. As you may remember, the Christmas Classic had been here for more than a decade before being moved to Virginia for the 2008 installment. So, a new year, a new venue, and for some, the first chance to rock some of that new holiday hardware on a national track.

Since this was not an Elite-series race, the Elite Open of the Big A would have to provide the heat at the top of the order. And they did not disappoint, with 23 riders on Saturday and 17 on Sunday, there were Bawls to the walls battles throughout the weekend. In both mains, wrecks would help decide the fate of the finishes.

On Saturday, the main was shaping up to be a “clash of the titans,” with Jeff Upshaw and Jason Jewell (both going into the main with perfects in the motos), and an ever-fast Weston Pope dusting off after a third round dust-up and a successful semi. Leroy Moses was also looking speed-dial fast on Saturday, but tangled with a couple blokes in the second straight of the semis, and had to sit the sidelines. When the gate dropped on their main, four riders hit turn one at mach5 (Upshaw and Pope being Siamese twins to the bitter end, with Scott McMahon and Pat Romero right there for all the first turn fun). Jewell made like Cole Trickle and powered through the pileup, taking home the skrilla at the stripe.

On Sunday the herd was thinned a bit, but the action was still slammin. Jewell was out of the main due to a digger in the second round (from which he did not come back to race round three), and Upshizzle was gated up for the main with a perfect in the motos. Weston was also wicked fast on Sunday, maybe even a bit TOO fast for this track’s own good. This time, the pair survived the first turn, though, as the photo above proves, they were still spot-welded together going in. Through the second straight and into turn two, Jeff pulled a bit of a lead, and Pope railed the high side. Not sure if he hit some soft stuff near the top, a rut, or just washed out at-speed, but the net result was Weston down in turn two and Jeff cake-walking to the win.

Photo Galleries

Friday Pre-Race	Saturday National	Sunday National

We’re talking about all classes and all aspects of the weekend over on Vintage, so come on over.

 

Who cares about rain, mud, gloom, cold or a flock of sea gulls, when you have racing this hot. The second ABA-run installment of the UCI North American Series was more off the hook than my grandma’s phone on a Sunday morning! 12 Racks of Elite Men, Elite Women and Junior Men in all.

The Podiums went:
Elite Men: Joey Bradford (GT), Maris Strombergs (Free Agent), Randy Stumpfhauser (GHP)
Elite Women: Dominique Daniels, Arielle Martin (GT), Stephanie Barragan (RacePlaceBMX.com)
Junior Men: Denzel Stein (Redline), Connor Fields (Free Agent), Corben Sharrah (Redman Rockstar)

Check out the Photo Gallery from Sunday’s Race

Meanwhile, feel free to download the hi-res version of the above Elite Men’s main.

 

GT’s Mike Day overcame some of the most formidable competition known to man or beast to win Saturday’s AA Pro class. And the other riders were only the half of it…as Mother Nature proved to be a most pesky opponent for her part. Barry Nobles was right up there with Nature, however, leading the AA Main (they only ran one round due to weather) from gate to the middle of the second straight. But the finish line ain’t in the second straight, and Mike staged one of his famous come-from-behind charges to add another 2009 Pro win to his credit. Check out the Pro and Class results.

Click to view the photo gallery from Saturday.

 

After ongoing rains Friday night, the decision was made to bump the scheduled UCI program from Saturday to Sunday, in hopes of a sunnier forecast. The normal ABA pro classes that were scheduled for Sunday will now be run on Saturday. Saturday racing is scheduled to start at the normal time (11:30AM), but that could be nudged back due to conditions. Sunday start times are not known by BMXNOW as of this writing. Follow BMXNOW on Twitter for the most current info, as we receive it, Saturday morning, and throughout the weekend.

Check out the photo gallery from Friday night’s practice

 

With Junior Dev camp winding down, here’s the group, all decked out in their (USAC, USA, GT) Jerseys. In the photo (Left to Right):

Top Row: Nathan Padilla, Taylor Wolcott, Anthony Derosa, Brooke Crain, Bryan Kipp, Meghan Matthews, A.J. Hiatt, Shelby Stacy, Justin Posey
Bottom Row: Tiffany Bontorno, Jordan Ryan, Tyler Schaefer, Justin Riddell, Audrey Zuolaga, Austin Loebe, Jazmyne Harvey, Rusty Nesvig

Word on the street is that Austin Loebe and Taylor Wolcott won the male/female time trials, respectively. Congrats to both!

Thanks to Mike King and Jeff Glynn for the photo.

Wednesday afternoon/evening at Lake Perris BMX saw a who’s who of the pro class turn out for practice. When asked “why so early?” the answer ranged from “well, we had to set up the trailer, so just figured we’d pull out the bikes” to “Wanted to get some track time before the rain starts on Thursday and Friday.” Among those gettin gates were Danny Caluag (pictured), David Herman, Dale Holmes, Maris Strombergs, Cristian Becerine, Javier Columbo, Khalen Young, Derek Betcher, Kris Fox, Nic Long, and a few other jerseyless types. Pre-registration numbers were said to be very high for the race, with people coming in from all over the country to get down with some of the most solid competition in the world. The silent sentiment is that Mother Nature does her rainmaking on Thursday/Friday, and makes Saturday/Sunday “sunny and 70s.” BMXNOW.COM will be reporting here throughout the weekend, and sending as-it-happens updates via Twitter (follow BMXNOW).

View the Photo Gallery from Wednesday Night

Following the success of its various junior and U23 programs across other disciplines of competitive cycling, USA Cycling is expanding its efforts to develop America’s extensive pipeline of Bicycle Motocross (BMX) athletes. With a focus on the future, the national governing body announced today plans to roll out a national BMX junior development program in 2009.

“Throughout the course of the last two years, our primary attention was focused towards preparing our elite athletes for the Olympic Games and providing them with all of the resources necessary to succeed in Beijing,” remarked Mike King, director of BMX programs for USA Cycling. “But now that the Games are behind us, it’s imperative that we begin focusing more intently on developing up-and-coming athletes. We have an extremely deep talent pool here in America with more kids racing BMX compared to any other county. Now we need to encourage them to think on an international level and prepare them for the opportunity to compete at the sport’s highest level.”

One of the main goals for USA Cycling’s BMX junior development program is to bridge the gap between traditional BMX racing and the “Supercross” style – a bigger, faster and more technically demanding style of racing utilized at major international events such as World Cups and Olympic Games. As youngsters ready themselves to step into the international racing scene, they must prepare to tackle the 40-foot jumps and 26-foot start ramps that are commonplace in Supercross racing.

“We want to make sure these kids are well prepared for the transition to Supercross,” continued King, “which is why we’re initially focusing on 15- and 16-year-old athletes. As they complete our program and move into the UCI junior elite racing class, we want them to be confident and capable of racing on a Supercross track and ready to make some noise on the international circuit.”

The first immediate initiative of USA Cycling’s BMX junior development program is a testing and instructional camp set for Feb. 1-6 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. – home of the only permanent Supercross-style BMX facility in North America. Next week’s camp will welcome 17 junior men and women who were invited by USA Cycling coaches based on several factors, including past results and future potential. The camp’s agenda will feature training sessions on a replica of the Olympic track in Beijing, instructional clinics on nutrition, weight training and sports psychology, baseline physiological testing and a Q&A session with Olympic silver medalist and former resident athlete Mike Day.

The February camp is one of four that are tentatively scheduled for 2009.