Story By Mike Carruth, BMXNEWS.COM | Photo: Angel Martine – UCI BMX / Getty Images

It’s been 168 days since Sam Willoughby won the 2009 UCI BMX Supercross finals in Frejus, France—and with it, the overall series title. Since then, Sam has been keeping himself busy with training, moving to San Diego, training, diligently working his way through the first chunk of the ABA Pro series…and did we mention TRAINING? Well, today, Sam proved that his efforts to keep the top spot in the SX universe in 2010 are as serious as a chili cook-off in Texas.

With a record 174 competitors (136 men and 38 women), the 2010 season opener in Madrid was the best attended UCI BMX Supercross to date. And, we believe that goes for spectators too; it was said that some 8,000 people purchased a ticket to see the three-hour show, which included a little guys race (starting on the first jump), a dirt jumping competition, and a trials demonstration as filler entertainment for the big show of world-class BMX racing.

In the Mens class, Time trials showed the top five riders a mere .166 off the pace set by time trials winner Joris Daudet of France (27.412 seconds). Steven Cisar and Cristian Becerine tied for the fastest speed on the track during time trials, at 59.999 KM/H (seems they may have maxed out the system, so one may have gone faster). For you non-metric types, that is at least 37.281 MPH. Whoa, Nelly, that is haulin the mail! A total of 64 riders made it in to eight stacked racks from the time trials. The resulting races (which is where the crowd arrives) are run like a three moto transfer race (though in SX parlance, it is three “runs” of a “1/8 final”). Standouts in the motos were Sam Willoughby, Liam Phillips from the UK, Rob van den Wildenberg of the Netherlands and Connor Fields of the USA. These four were the guys who came away with perfect scores of three points out of the motos, with Fields having the fastest time of the four, with a 26.832 in his third run (which ended up being faster than both the time trial winner, and the ultimate main event winner).

The USA contingent of Elite men had some setbacks in the Medical Tent, with Denzel Stein, Donny Robinson and Travis Ohrazda all paying a visit to the Red canopy. Travis seems to have gotten the worst of it, with a compound fracture of his right leg in practice. Word was that Denzel and Donny had minor injuries. but BMXNEWS has not been able to confirm their condition.

Newly-Crowned USA Elite Men’s Champion, Nic Long missed moving on by one point, with an unfortunate second lap that let Renaud Blanc of Switzerland squeak by in the points (even though Nic beat him third round).

Connor Fields’ performance all day long was nothing short of incredible, with strong, edgy riding, and incomparable bike skills. It was these skills that carried him to the Semis, as a split-second difficulty on the “box jump” cost him the lead in the race, but allowed him to hang on by a slim margin to grab the final qualifying spot. Josh Meyers was also in qualifying position down the second straight, but had some difficulty on the backside of the box jump, and slipped out of contention. So, too, was David Herman’s luck bad in the quarters, as he had some mojo-interruptus coming down the first straight, and was not a factor for contention of the top four spots. it was surprising to see Liam Phillips not advancing to the semis, as his riding was so strong in the motos. The quarters also claimed Corben Sharrah’s dreams of a first SX podium. So, from the semis on, it would be Connor Fields as the sole US representative for the men (though there were plenty of “Adoptive sons” advancing, such as Willoughby, Strombergs, and Becerine, the points still go to their country of citizenship). If the Con-Man did not make the main, it would be an American upset. Fortunately, he did.

The semis were as stacked as could be with the aforementioned out of the running. The first semi came off clean, with Strombergs handily taking the win, followed by Ivo van der Putten of the Netherlands, Fields and Quentin Caleyron of France. The second semi was kind of nuts, in that four of eight riders went down in the first straight/first turn. After exiting the first turn, it was a boatride for Raymon van der Biezen, Sam Willoughby, Ramiro Marino and Luke Madill (in order). Tough break for Cristian Becerine, who was riding very well all day.

Looking, for a moment, at the ladies class, pretty much every world-stage Elite Woman was in attendance, with Frejus winner, Laëtitia le Corguillé, Shanaze Reade, Mariana Pajon (now rockin’ her Free Agent/Red Bull Colors), Alise Post, Arielle Martin, ABA Number one Pro/USA Elite Women’s Champion, Dominique Daniels, and a host of other heavyweights in the hizzouse. Reigning Elite Women World Champion, Sarah Walker of New Zealand was on the start list, but was listed as a DNS (Did Not Start). Danielle Brisson of Canada was the other DNS among the ladies, due to a broken ankle in practice.

Amélie Despeaux of France won the Time Trial with a 31.260 (the fifth place rider being separated by almost a full second, at +0.994). Shanaze Reade and Arielle Martin tied for the fastest Women, at a speed of 55.384 KM/H in their first time trial run.

Things were a little tense from the get-go, when, in the third race of the day, Alise Post unclipped in the second straight, then Manon Valentino of France, came under her and took both of them out in the second turn. In that same moto, Brooke Crain, who would ultimately make her second SX main event a couple hours later (first was in Chula Vista, where she got fifth), DNF’d the race, but got consistent thirds thereafter to edge out fellow American, Amanda Carr, by one point.

In the first rack of the second round, Arielle Martin was ahead by a half a bike length going into the first turn…which was just enough to be ahead of the carnage that was to follow a split-second later, taking four or five riders down to the floor. In the second rack, Rachel Bracken of Australia was hanging with first-round winner, Amanda Geving when she unclipped in the second straight, and ended up seventh for the round. Alise mounted an impressive second straight charge to take the lead from Caroline Buchanan in the third rack.

In the third round of the ladies, Arielle Martin handily dispensed with the field to bring home a wire-to-wire win. Amanda Geving unclipped over the peak of the triple going into turn one, but still ended up with a fifth place, and a ticket to the next round. Caroline Buchanan took the win in the third rack, and Shanaze Reade in the fourth rack.

The Elite Women Semi saw Arielle Martin eliminated after a tangle in the first straight, as well for Magalie Pottier. Amanda Geving got clear of the clashes and cruised home for the semi win. Alise Post ended up with the fuzzy lillipop of fifth place in the second semi rack, but Team USA did get a second rider in the main, in the person of Brooke Crain.

Main Events
After a healthy break to let the riders recover from the semis, it was time for the main events. During the break, a Dirt Jumping contest was staged for the crowd, featuring some local Spanish talent.

The Elite Women Main Event was (in the order of gate selection): Laëtitia le Corguillé (France), Caroline Buchanan (Australia), Amanda Geving (USA), Shanaze Reade (UK), Brooke Crain (USA), Gabriela Diaz (Argentina), Nicole Callisto (Australia) and Maartje Hereijgers of the Netherlands.

When the gate dropped, it was Shanaze with a nice holeshot, and lead into the first turn. Within the turn, however, she had a moment of trouble, and Laëtitia was there to capitalize on any misfortune with a swoop into the lead. Reade held on for the second, and Caroline Buchanan rounded out the podium. Brooke Crain brought an impressive fourth place finish home. See below for complete results.

The final round of the day was a classic “best for last” situation. The Elite Men main event was (in the order of gate selection): Raymon van der Biezen (Netherlands), Maris Strombergs (Latvia), Ivo van der Putten (Netherlands), Sam Willoughby (Australia), Connor Fields (USA), Quentin Caleyron (France), Ramiro Marino (Argentina) and Luke Madill (Australia).

When the gate dropped, and gravity took over (coupled with a healthy dose of explosive muscle strength, of course), it was not instantly clear who would emerge as the leader. By the first jump, it was starting to look like Willoughby or Strombergs, and by the face of the triple going into turn one, it was definitely Willoughby, with Strombergs a strong and charging second. Where was Fields? Well, at this point, he was in fifth, and looked like he’d be watching the podium from the other side of the fence. Suddenly, he seemed to see some daylight, as momentum carried the front-runners high on turn one. Connor dove for the inside, swooping teammate Strombergs, and the others behind him, and putting himself in good proximity to Sam. For Sam, it was nothing but daylight all the way home, save for a slight challenge by Connor in the last turn (which, had Connor gone for it, would probably have taken them both down). Sam logs his first SX win of 2010, Connor edges ever-closer to the top of the podium (he took third in Chula Vista, and had to miss Frejus due to school). The “Orange Crush” Dutch Redline Team showed solid, with Ivo van ver Putten on the right step.

The next stop on the 2010 UCI BMX Supercross tour is in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 7-8. BMXNEWS will have a full report from the race, and will be on-scene for stop three in Chula Vista, September 17-18.

Results

Elite Men
Sam Willoughby
Connor Fields
Ivo van der Putten
Maris Strombergs
Raymon van der Biezen
Ramiro Marino
Luke Madill
Quentin Caleyron

Elite Women
Laëtitia le Corguillé
Shanaze Reade
Caroline Buchanan
Brooke Crain
Nicole Callisto
Maartje Hereijgers
Amanda Geving
Gabriela Diaz

Sunday Photos are posted, check out the gallery now. BMXNOW will have a recap of Sunday highlights once the results from the race are in.

Story via BMXNEWS.COM

The USA Cycling National Championships gives us an annual peek into what some people would like to see a national BMX Race evolve into. The foundation of the race, run under UCI rules, is different from a traditional ABA or NBL national in two major ways: First, the age classifications are decided by birth year and not birth date. The UCI rulebook makes it easy in its explanation: “(a rider’s age) shall be calculated by deducting the year of birth from the current year.” Secondly, there are no proficiencies. Competition is divided up by gender and wheel size only. So, no novices, intermediates or Open classes. All this certainly makes for a streamlined day of racing, despite the “NBL-style” (or, as some would argue, the “UCI-style”) three-moto transfer. At 75 motos, today’s race was 130 motos lighter than day one of the ABA Super Nationals, run the previous day. Make of that what you will, but the point is that, love it or hate it, this format is what some people are longing for.

With respect to the “National Championship” component to this race…well, that is a topic of some controversy and discussion as well. A so-called “one-lap,-no-crap” approach to crowning a national champion (via a win in the main event) may work great for countries with less-developed BMX programs. But for the United States, there is a large chorus of voices calling for this race to be re-engineered into a mini series or, dare we say, some kind of “Superbowl of BMX,” where the champions of the ABA and the NBL meet in…well, Chicago, or other neutral ground, to decide the true national champion for each class. But that, too, is another story of “War and Peace” heft.

However you feel about the format, this is the one day of the year where riders qualify (or not) for the 2010 UCI BMX World Championships, to be held in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa this July. If we did our math right, only an unfortunate few in 17-24 men (as the only class to have quarter finals) did not qualify for the worlds by default, as all riders in the semis automatically qualify (and thus, the mains as well). Also on the auto-qualify list were any riders who made the main at last year’s worlds.

Hard to launch into the highlights from the race without first talking about the weather—normally, that most mundane of topics. Well, 24 hours prior, we were enjoying a southern, breezy 68 degrees. By the first gate on Saturday, it had started raining and the temp dropped by more than HALF, to 33 degrees. People were wandering blank-faced and aimlessly around staging, like you’d expect in one of those shows about the days following a nuclear apocalypse. Seems a lot of people were caught off guard by the cold front, present company included, except we did not strip the bed in the hotel of its bedspread and wear it like a prize-fighter’s robe. As much as the parents were “on tilt” at the teeth-chattering temps, the riders were moving as if in some kind of splinter dimension where everything goes at 3/4 time. What was once a sea of picture-perfect factory uniforms was now a patchwork of T.H.E. hoodies, flannels, and the now-ubiquitous Troy Lee zip-front hoodies, on which J&R did a brisk business, when the winds turned from brisk to blistering.

The unfriendly Fahrenheit notwithstanding, there was some seriously hot racing happening on the track. In addition to the above-listed rules of the day’s race, another important aspect of today’s race was that it was open to only US Citizens (hence the name, “USA Cycling BMX National Championships”)—thus, no Maris, Willoughby or other offshore talent in the mix today.

The birth year rule brought more than a few sometimes-rivals squarely into the ring—one being in 8 boys where the now-eight-year old Julian Dittrick met his still-seven pals Wyatt Bell and Andres Papajohn, and came from way out in gate 8 to win it by a couple lengths.

Changing channels for a moment, to the Elite classes, Elite Men had 14 riders, but the scratching of Dennison Smith, Kyle Bennett and Matt Pohlkamp brought the field down to 11. Defending champ, Jason Rogers made his 2010 debut on his home turf to do battle with some familiar faces like Donny Robinson, Nic Long, and Danny Caluag, and some not before seen in the class like Riley Stair, Corey Reid, Tony Hoffman and Tyler Faoro. Nic took the lead in today’s Elite Men main, and never had a knobby not out front thereafter, with Danny C in second and Corey Reid on the right-step (well, camera-right, at least).

Elite Women had a similar flavor and flair as it had the previous day, with Alise and Dom in the same class (and the same moto in the qualifying rounds). The results tell the story as well as we could: Dominique Daniels: 1-1-1-1, Alise Post: 2-2-2-2, Stephanie Barragan (who was in the other rack): 1-1-1-3.

The six-rider Jr. Men class actually had some punch to it in the action department, when Jared Garcia snatched the win from the grasp of Elliot McGrath at the line, in one of those moments where a “correction” has to be announced (or in our case, tweeted). Justin Posey got the third for Dan’s Comp.

In Masters, Kenth Fallen walked away with a perfect day, and it was down to the final feet between Chad Street and Joey Albright who, after a quick check of the finish line camera, just to be sure, finished second and third, respectively.

Gotta give a BMXNEWS shoutout to the four riders in the “dub club,” who scored wins in class as well as cruiser. Cruisin’ Chris Blevins (12 Boys and 12-Under Cruiser), Cole Tesar (14 Boys and 13-14C), Jordan Miranda (16 Boys and 15-16C) and Kelsey Van Ogle in 12 Girls and 14-Under Girls Cruiser). Congrats!

Other highlights:

The most pint-sized podium topper was five-year-old (six in “UCI Years”) Dylan Borbely of Belvedere, IL.

In 35-39 Cruiser, Doug-E Fresh Crowell took the gold medal practically off the neck of Jason Carne$ when he sneaked in to the lead in the final few feet.

17-24 men was the largest class of the day (and the only one to have a quarterfinal), with 39 riders.

The 13 Boys main served up a heaping helping of disappointment for Walker Finch and Brock Heffron when, in a bummer of a do-over from the Friday Semi, the two tangled, this time in turn two, and handed off control to Jake Campbell and Antonio Bonessi for the 1-2 finish.

Check out the Saturday Photo Gallery for more fun and excitement from the race.

It is currently way-past-midnight on Sunday morning as we post this, and it is snowing in Dallas. There is a fair chance that we will not be shooting tomorrow (today?), as we did not pack for a snowy 30 degrees when the first gate drops at 8AM. Hopefully, some main photos or somesuch.

Story Via BMXNEWS.COM

The Super Nationals are always, as Forrest Gump said, like a box of chocolates…you never know what you’re gonna get.* No question that it is always one of the better races of the year—that much is practically assured. But with the two days of national racing bookending the USAC National Championships, it makes for an interesting chemistry of people either attending or not attending for the same reason. Add to that that this year, pro turnout was impacted a tad by the fact that the Madrid SX race is next weekend, so some either did not want to risk injury, or wanted to conserve energy and currency.

Still, we had a great day of racing under the Desoto Metroplex BMX roof. In the Elite classes, it was a short field, with only 15 Elite men, 13 Elite Women (and Jr. Women combined), and six Jr. Men. Some speculated that the non-US riders might stay away form this one, but that didn’t happen as Maris Strombergs turned in a wire-to-wire finish in the main, with teammate Kyle Bennett in for the second and Sam Willoughby in the right step for third.

Elite Women had some rare-and-welcomed action. Just as the crowd was ready to pop their No-Doze (in the motos, Dom had two firsts and Alise had adequate points to make the main), Jamie Lilly dove for the inside in the first turn, and jammed Stephanie Barragan and Alise post a little higher than comfortable, taking over the second spot. Alise was well back in the pack after losing momentum, but back on the pedals to catch Dom and Jamie, who were opening up a lead. What happens next was told to us a couple different ways: One telling has it that Dom came unclipped in the early part of the second straight, and the awkward position of the unclipped foot on a clip pedal made for a rather uncomfortable approach to the jump into the second turn. The other telling was that she got out of form over the jump into the second turn. Whatever the case, she seemed to have lost just enough speed for Jamie to tag her back wheel coming out of turn two (where Courtney Tomei saw some daylight, and looked like she might have a piece of the podium when it was all said and done. Jamie went down pretty hard in turn two, and Dom was still leading the race as the pack entered the third straight. By this time, Alise had navigated through the carnage in turn two like Rowdy Burns in “Days of Thunder” and was on Dom like she was Cole Trickle. Midway through the straight, Alise took the lead, and it was pretty much over. Final order Post, Frances Garcia, and Stephanie Barragan.

Aside from those two races, a few standout Amateur main events: In The 14 Girls Main, pals Felicia Stancil and Shay Glynn went into turn one closer than peas and carrots. They never made it out. Amy Mcintyre and Megan “The Major” Pritchard were there to take posession of the two top slots. Cole Tesar holds the deed on 13 Cruiser and does not even rent it out – especially on weekends. He also won 13x by a respectable margin with “Mojo” McMullin in the two spot. 14 cruiser in both boys and girls was worth note. Of the gents, Tyler Whitfield rode it like he stole it, and took the win. The 14 Girls cruiser was a contentious lap with Carly Dyar leading Felicia Stancil most of the way…buy we have a feeling Felicia was still smarting from her digger in turn one in 14G, and kept the pilot lit til there was no more track to chase..and got past Carly just before the stripe.

The 16x main gets the “Heartbreak Ridge” award. Rusty Nesvig was leading, with Justin Posey in second. Not exactly sure what happened as they reached the heart of the turn, but Rusty and Justin both went down, and took four other guys with them. Local Billy Russell and SE Racing’s AJ Hiatt took it from there for the 1-2 at the stripe.

Friday was a great day of racing, and Saturday promises to be equal-but-different as the USAC National Championship gets going.

Keep it here on BMXNEWS the rest of the weekend, and check out Friday’s Photo Gallery.

Today’s race could best be described as “sharp.” Not only were the motos ticked off at a healthy 100-105 moto per hour clip, but the race began and ended “on the sharps.” At no earlier, no later, than 11:30 AM, the first gate was dropped…and the final main crossed the line at, literally 7:59PM…so yes, it was a full workday (including a regulation-though imaginary-30-minute lunch) for 274 motos worth of riders.

In the Elite Mens’ main, Cristian Becerine was rocket-like as he blasted out of the gate and was first at the stripe.

View the Saturday Photo Gallery

Text via BMXNEWS.COM
On the heels of yesterdays post on BMXNEWS.COM, where we talked about the events leading up to the big day, today was akin to the moments just after the Space Shuttle lights ‘em up and begins to shake, rattle and roll up the tower. Not quite calling “Liftoff” just yet, the 2010 ABA Winternationals held its organized practice and pre-race today. And not unlike the stars arriving 300 miles away in Hollywood, a constellation of BMX stars unlike any other this year has turned out to uphold the long-standing tradition that holds “it ain’t a season until the Winters.”

In addition to top-hand American elites, Phoenix is playing host to contingents from the Netherlands, the UK, South Africa, France, Japan and even a Canadian or three. Mike Fields made a great point in his Vintage post earlier this evening when he noted that the pro turnout was thick enough to cause a 15-minute delay in getting through staging to get another gate in practice. Granted, it was mingled in with JR. Devo types, but still… Also on hand are a slew of dirt jumper stars who trekked down in the Vans rig. .

Mike Day and Khalen Young are in town—two blokes we have not yet seen in the new decade. Check out the newest episode of the Announcers Tower Podcast where Mike talks about his ongoing back injury, and long-term plans for London 2012.

GT and Free Agent are suited up in new jerseys, making it extra fun to try and pick them out of the crowd. Known no-shows thus far include Injured-reservists David Herman (nursing a minor hip fracture), and Jason Rogers.

A healthy 97 motos in the pre-race today, which Mike Fields says foretells a 280+ moto Saturday (I think the formula is suspended for this race, due to “special circumstances” of added foriegn participation and everyone wanting to escape colder days in their zip code (present company included).

No GO211 this weekend in Phoenix, so you’re going to have to kick it mid-school and get your news from us. We will be posting nightly updates here, as well as photo galleries right here on BMXNOW.COM. Also, follow BMXNOW on twitter for as-they-happen-updates from the infield. Speaking of the infield, there is an 80% chance of rain Sunday, so providing there IS an infield and a place to stand, we’ll be reporting from there Sunday as well. There was talk of the weather’s impending treachery, but it did nothing to dampen spirits in the pits. If you’re not having fun here at the Winternats, well…you just aren’t trying hard enough.

Photos will be posted by lights out both days. Speaking of photos, check the link below for an appetizer course of photo-ala-moto from Friday’s pit stroll and pro practice. Enjoy!

View Friday Photo Gallery