A beautiful, crisp, sunny winter morn greeted hundreds of BMXers for day two of the 2010 ABA Gator Nationals (winter…yeah, right. is it still Winter if you can get a sunburn?). Some had their minds on making good on thwarted plans from Saturday, others on keeping their streak alive, others on the clock, as the moments to making their flight ticked away, and still others on the NBL Competition Congress that was happening 700 miles away in Northern Pennsylvania. More on that later.

No doubt that one of the people who had their mind on improving Saturday’s performance was Mariana Pajon. Not that Saturday’s *performance* was so bad, as it never really got off the ground (she was leading the main, before spinning into the pavement in turn one)…but Sunday would provide a good “do over” opportunity for the 2009 Elite Women World Champ. Another looking for an upgrade was Connor Fields. Word was that he was so boiled-over after Saturday’s unclip calamity that all who walked within his perimeter Saturday night received a free steam treatment and not much chit-chat.

Where Elite Men was concerned, we have to admit that, if we were a betting sort, our paper route money would have been on Long, Stumpy and Becerine for the Sunday podium (maybe, or maybe not in that order). These three were closer than the Smith brothers in every photo we had of them all weekend (minus the beards). Of course, there were a few in the mix who had spoiler potential—not the least of which was Saturday’s winner, Maris Strombergs. But Maris was taken off the spoiler list, and put on the “bummer” list after a rather unfortunate run in the semis left him on the other side of the fence for the main. Barry Nobles was lookin good, with only seven points going into the quarters (low points out of the motos was Stumpy, with four). And, then, of course, was the local-boy-done-good potential presented by the, albeit long, odds of a Josh Meyers win. Come main time, Josh was stuck way out in Lane 8, Nobles was sidelined after an OTB odyssey in the last turn of the Pro Cruiser main left him in “ugh!-my-aching-back” condition. Looking good for the paper route fund… But, as earlier written on BMXNEWS, Josh had a rippin’ gate start, and got down the runway like the Concorde. By turn two, it was Josh, followed by Nic, then Stumpy. Visions of Saturday’s late-in-the-race reversal of fortune started to appear as Nic was pushing Josh HARD to edge ahead of him, if only by a micro knobby. But this time, the lead held, and Josh Meyers scored his first AA Pro win. Josh turned A Pro on Sunday of the Disney Cup in 2008, and it was a steady march to this day on the top of the podium, his mom, dad and new sponsor looking on. Score one win for our first “M,” Josh Meyers.

Our second M got her second chance at the top-step and made it all the way home in Elite Women. Mariana moved out of the motos with only four points, tied with Amanda Geving. Alise Post was shaken a bit by a biff in the third round, but is tough as a two-buck T-Bone, so was still way-in-the-mix, come main time. No spinning into the pavement this time for Mariana, only spinning for the win. Second went to Amanda, and third was in the grasp of Alise, but she got reeled in by Ashley Verhagen in the last straight.

Junior Men set the stage for the Con Man to get some relief from his heart burn, as he had not lost a lap all day. Tory Nyhaug equaled Connor’s three points in the motos, so he would definitely be a factor. No Corben Sharrah in Jr. Men today, so that would mean one less drama straw out of the bundle. But Austin Loebe was applying more pressure than a used car salesman all weekend. As the moto sheet clip board got another gate thinner, Connor jumped to the lead and it was owned like Trump from that point on. In yet another last straight toss-up, Tommy Zula zipped in to zap the second spot from Austin, who ended up on the left step today. Great racing from all those guys though, and any step these dudes are on is a step above, indeed!

Junior Women. Well, what can we say about it? Dom decided not to go to the beach today, so you, therefore, know how this story ends. She took the win, with Ashley Lynch and Teegan O’Keeffe in second and third, respectively. Even though the contention for the top step was fairly pre-ordained, Dom and her podium pals made an opportunity out of it—for fun, cuttin up and enjoying the base of what BMX is all about.

Oldsmar 2010 was massively worthwhile, and you should buy a 2011 calendar now expressly for marking this race on it. Check out the Sunday Photo Gallery for more, and we’ll look forward to seeing everyone in two weeks at Black Mountain BMX in Phoenix for the 2010 ABA Winternationals.

ELITE MEN
Josh Meyers
Nic Long
Randy Stumpfhauser
Sam WIlloughby
Donny Robinson
Danny Caluag
Cristian Becerine

ELITE WOMEN
Mariana Pajon
Amanda Geving
Ashley Verhagen
Alise Post
Kim Hayashi
Stephanie Barragan
Madison Pitts
Courtney Tomei

JUNIOR MEN
Connor Fields
Tommy Zula
Austin Loebe
David Oquendo
Tory Myhaug
Juan Marin
Shaun O’Connor
Chase Hines

JUNIOR WOMEN
Dominique Daniels
Ashley Lynch
Teagan O’Keeffe
Tiva Feldman
Alaina Henderson
Bianca Quinalha
Kaitlyn Larson

The 2010 ABA Gator Nationals got into gear Saturday with 138 motos (said to be a few ticks higher than last year). The full four Elite classes were active, and USAC/ABA’s blossoming Junior Development Program was chock-full of superstars-in-waiting (Saturday’s honors going to Tyler Whitfield and Shelby Stacy in Jr. Devo Boys and Girls, respectively).

One bit of new process that was announced today was that Elite classes would get to pick lane assignments for the semis and main based on riders’ finishes in the previous rounds. BMXNOW did not completely understand how it all worked, as the goldenrod sheet that was handed out at the riders meeting looked a lot like “build your own computer out of everyday parts” instructions, but we will find out more about the inner working of how this will work at future races, and report back.

Elite Men was a suspense-filled race with classic reversals of fortune applied, as if at the command of a Hollywood director who had not received his shiatsu that day. In the race, Cristian Becerine lead it pretty much from the crest of the first jump to the deepest part of the last straight. Stumpy was there in second for most of it, but Maris was stalking the lead in a big way and mounted a awe-inspiring charge in the last straight to get the win from his FA teammate by half a wheel at the line. It looked a lot closer from half a track away, but Bill Morris, ABA head official zipped it up on the instant replay and there it was…Maris had his win! Tough break for Donny Robinson today. dR was sitting in second or third in the semi, when he went down double-H-hard in turn two. BMXNOW talked to him after the race, and he is OK, but had a nasty-looking scuff on his shoulder blade.

Elite Women was as stacked as it could get with Dom stuck on the undercard. Current UCI World Champ, Mariana Pajon, was up from Columbia to size up the American girls she will likely meet in Madrid in a month. Aside from Mariana, the main had most of the other “Who’s Who” names in the class, with Post, Geving, Barragan, Verhagen, Pitts and Carr in the gate. Props to Kim Hayashi for grabbing her own spot in the big lap. Into the first turn, it was Pajon, Post and Verhagen, then the balance. The omelette got scrambled in a way only the marvel of a GO211 replay will be able to confirm, but ended up with a sizable portion of the field on the pavement of the first turn. Amanda Geving got around the shards of her fallen comrades and made a successful drive for the stripe. Stephanie Barragan and Madison Pitts were 2-3.

Have you ever seen one of those Atomic bomb films from the 50s, where trees bend in half, and houses are blown into matchsticks on the test range? OK, well, that sums up pretty well how Dom Daniels dispensed with Junior Women. Nothing against the other seven ladies, as they were the only Elite class main of the day in which nobody pulled the eject cord.

Which leaves Junior Men. Connor Fields pretty well owned the class throught the day, with impressive showings at key times by Tory Nyhaug, Corben Sharrah and Austin Loebe. The stage was set for a contentious main, and we sure got one. Through the second straight, it was Connor and Austin in Siamese-lockstep. Through the Pro Section some unfortunate circumstance befell Connor (though we did not see what it was because our view was blocked), and Austin came out on top, with Tommy Zula and Corben Sharrah with the two and three. The crowd was definitely

If you are a recurring BMXNOW visitor, you probably know that, on Saturday Night, we usually are pressed between the unstoppable force of the Earth rotating on its axis, and the immovable object of the 8AM first gate. Thus, after the evening’s primary activity is complete (editing, correcting and posting the day’s photos), the time for writing is short, before the witching hour is nye.

Translation: Check out Saturdays photo gallery and we’ll hve more from Oldsmar after Sunday’s race.