The first stop on the 2010 UCI BMX North America Continental Series proved a fine accomplishment for Free Agent, as Connor Fields and Cristian Becerine dispensed with the Junior and Elite Mens main events, respectively. Friday podium topper Dominique Daniels piloted her Avent to the win in Elite Women. Andres Holguin raced well on Friday, but did not make the main…but turned the tables on Saturday to win the main, followed by Purse, Fallen and Murray.

More words on the Disney Cup next week, but check out the Saturday Image Gallery…and check back Sunday for the third gallery for the Disney Cup Weekend.

Within sight of Florida’s “Space Coast,” ABA’s 2009 Disney Cup Fall Nationals blasted off with 156 motos, including 27 AA Pros. Kyle Bennett took the lemons dealt to him by a couple of over-zealous baggage handlers (who ran over his bike with their tug on the way into town, bending the headtube), and made some mighty fine lemonade with a tasty AA win. So, too, did Dominique Daniels, minus the baggage handlers and bent up scoot.

BMXNOW sister site, BMXNEWS.COM will be reporting throughout the weekend and, as always, you can count on more action photos coming your way from us right here at BMXNOW.COM on Saturday and Sunday.

The Full Friday Photo Gallery is posted, so check that out now.

Follow “BMXNOW” on twitter for updates.

The final installment of the 2009 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup saved the biggest for last. With 140 Elite men and 33 Women starting out, time trials proved to be a wild ride, with Quentin Caleyron of France getting the top time of 32.133 for the men, and Mariana Pajon of Columbia taking top time for the ladies at 35.734.

Through qualifying on Saturday, Pajon was one of three ladies with only three points (Lauren Reynolds of Australia and Leticia le Corguillé was the other). Pajon and leCorguille won their respective semis as well, and it was definitely going to be down to the main to see if Leticia could keep her SX winning streak in tack after topping the podium in Chula Vista last month. No doubt that Pajon was riding incredibly and was hoping for a special birthday present atop the Fréjus podium (Team USA’s Joey Bradford is also celebrating a B-Day today in France).

In the main, it was le Corguillé with the inside gate, Caroline Buchanan next to her. Despite the right-hand gate, however, it was Pajon into the first turn, and Leticia, with Arielle Martin (the sole Team USA Woman in the main) in the chase. Rounding the last turn, it looked like it was going to be all Co-LUM-biaaah, when le Corguillé mounted a last minute charge, egged on by her home country crowd, and slipped by Mariana about seven feet from the stripe (ending it up only 0.098 of a second ahead of Pajon). A very good main event, and one that also saw a series Winner crowned, as Leticia also locked the overall (which may have been in the bag before the gate dropped, we did not get the 411 on that). The Womens main was 1.419 seconds slower than Mariana Pajon’s time trial run.

The turns in Fréjus were dirt—not the normal asphalt many are used to running. Whether directly related to this, or owing to the overwhelming competition and speeds the guys were getting, the turns had claimed their share of podium pipedreams.

On the men’s side, all eyes were on Sam Willoughby, even as early as the first round, when a front wheel washout brought an in-the-lead Sam and, consequently, most of the pack, down in the first turn. Sam’s two following runs were aces on the board, so he went into the quarters with 12 points. Meanwhile, Khalen Young, Donny Robinson, Ivo ven der Putten of the Netherlands, and Maris Strombergs all had not lost a lap after three rounds of qualifying.

The quarterfinals claimed top Time Trial qualifyer Caleyron who, along with notables like Tyler Brown, Tory Nyhaug, Marcus Bloomfield of the UK and Carlos Oquendo of Columbia, were sidelined for the Semis. Your Quarterfinal winners were Willoughby (who had the fastest time of the four groups at 31.729), KY, Maris and David Herman (who won this SX last year).

Probably the most profound thing about watching a BMX Supercross race is the very real knowledge that, as the qualifying rounds progress, the amount of talent gets compressed, and compressed, and compressed, to the point where you are left asking yourself “HOW, in the world is this going to turn out?” With a traditional national, you can sometimes handicap the top three based on who is looking good in the motos, or who seems to like the track over the others. Not so in SX. Compress, compress, compress, till KABOOM!— that main event gate drops down.

Before we get to that, though, the Semis stepped off with maximum compression as well, with the first rack being stacked with the Team USA-funded Corben Sharrah, Jelle van Gorkom, Donny Robinson, Cristian Becerine, Ivo van der Putten, French rider Vincent Pelluard, Khalen Young and Sam Willoughby on the far inside. Unfortunately, my Freecaster feed went wiggy just as the gate dropped, and came back just as dR was crossing the line in third and Becerine for that final qualifying spot, edging our Sharrah (first and second in that rack went to Sam and Khalen, respectively). With Sam’s win, and Ivo not making it, word was that the overall UCI SX title was locked up by Willoughby as of that moment (will confirm that, just for the record). A main event win would be the topper…perhaps.

The second rack of Men’s semis saw Nic Long and Joris Daudet tangle in the first turn (then shake hands before dusting off). Maris strombergs was already way-clear of that carnage as he shuffled in for the win, followed by Bisseling of the Netherlands, Ramiro Marino and David Herman.

That left the main set as (in order of gate position from outside to inside): Ramiro Marino, David Herman, Cristian Becerine, Sander Bisseling, Maris Strombergs, Donny Robinson, Khalen Young and Sam Willoughby.

Sam got a clean start, and it appeared KY cased the first jump, or got squeezed inside a bit, because he lost momentum and was unfortunately, more or less, out of podium contention from that point. The first turn was one place that could have tossed the deck in the air, making it any man’s race, but everyone’s line held, and Sam powered out of the pack, with dR, Cristian and Maris in pursuit. The balance was straightforward to the stripe, save for Maris shuttin it down in the depths of the last straight, thus allowing Marino slide by for the fourth.

We’ll have more on Fréjus as BMXNEWS can reach riders for comment.

“Twenty-four little hours…” so goes the song. A collective sigh that comes with the world being, once again, the way we all like it to be—at least as far as racing weather. Sunday’s installment of the NBL Illini Nationals was a bright, sunny experience which totaled 74 motos. The race was gated up, three rounds run, mains made and raced, all by Noon. Perfect day for driving home!

Don’t forget to check out Saturday’s writeup on BMXNEWS.COM. The Sunday writeup wll be posted once we get the results.

Check Out the Photo Gallery from Sunday.

With BMX roots spanning more than three decades, Riverside BMX in Springfield, IL has seen a lot of talent through it’s starting gate. Today, as stop number two on the 2010 NBL National Tour, riders braved a cold, dreary, cold, grey, misty…and did we say “Cold!,” day to get it on with the some of the best the Midwest had to offer. Run as the prelude to the 2009 Midwest Regional Championships, the Illini’s 82 motos provided the heat, and gave many the first chance to test drive their 2009 NBL National numbers.

Main event standout shout outs go to John Sabatini, John MIller (Doubled on 20 and Cruiser), Erin “Too Sweet” Moore (making a Kenda-inspired trip from ABA land), Jake Sherbno (flying stock Fly gear this weekend), hometown hero Jordan Ryan (rockin an Ace Bike Shop jersey instead of Excalibur threads), Tyshawn Carr, and Kurt Zizzo, with an impressive-stalking-the-lead win in Cruiser.

We’re getting a way-late start at posting these tonight, so we’ll keep it short and let the pixels do the talking. More from Springfield, including an abbreviated set from the Midwest Regional Championships, tomorrow. Meanwhile, check out today’s Photo Gallery.