Words by Mike Carruth, via BMXNEWS.COM
Rad Canyon BMX. It’s rad. It’s in a canyon. And it is ALL BMX. A more fitting moniker could not be bestowed, unless going back to the day they found a name for a chunky spread made from peanuts.
Though the Great Salt Lake Nationals are always a popular stop on the ABA National tour, this year held a little something special for the Elites– the designation as the 2010 UCI North American Continental Championships. Unlike other championships, where champions are crowned and titles bestowed, this one was really more about the points, offering Class 3 UCI points (the highest points awarded at any North American race, save for the Class 2 Chula Vista Supercross, which is part of the World Cup series). But, come Olympic time in another year and a half, a Cat 3 podium spot could make a major difference in the number a given country gets to have in the 2012 London Games.
Saturday’s race topped out at a respectable 189 motos, run with drill-team efficiency (we were out of the parking lot in five hours flat). Highlights include Dominique Daniels showing up in her new Grand Canyon University jersey (not to mention aboard one of Toby Henderson’s “Speed” frames), foreshadowing a full-ride BMX scholarship to the Arizona school this fall (more on that tomorrow).
Tony Hoffman scored his first A Pro win on Saturday, besting the likes of Jake Peebles and local hero Mitch Ropelato. Saturday’s Category 3 UCI points would not find a home in the USA for the top three spots, as Maris Strombergs took home a win for Latvia, and Sam Willoughby and Khalen Young grabbed the second and third podium spots, respectively, for Australia. Don’t get us wrong, we’re big fans of all three—and the Saturday main was off the hook, with Maris getting Sam at the line by less a wheel (watch for the actual finishline-cam image in our Wednesday Race Report). Junior Women had a class on Saturday, and Dom Daniels brought her new colors to the top of the podium. Alise Post won every lap on Saturday, and USA got the full-pull UCI podium points among the gals, with Arielle Martin and Ashley Verhagen rounding out the podium
Oh, we could go on and on…and will in our full report, posted this Wednesday.
But, the Interstate awaits, and it is a haul and a half to the next stop on our mini-tour: Nashville, TN for the NBL Music City Nationals this weekend.
Meanwhile, check out the following SLC resources to temporarily quench that thirst for knowledge:
BMXNOW Twitter Updates from SLC. Just for a little “appetizer” portion of what went down.
And, of course, the BMXNOW photo galleries. Saturday is posted now. The Sunday Gallery will be posted Wednesday morning.