The white-coated Snap machinists engineered the Series IV with ultra-precise tolerances, and a zero “Q-factor” to keep the pedals under the rider’s shoulders, for maximum power transfer.

Like all Snap products, the newest member of the family is USA-all-the-way, and bolts up nice and neat to your favorite, precision-made, 1/2″ square-tapered spindle and 104mm rings.

Put more “gun” in your young gun with the Series IV arms, available now in 125mm – 155mm sizes (130lb weight limit). And like Henry Ford said, “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black (anodize).”

Snap Series IV, 104mm 4-bolt Crank FastFacts
Material: 7075-T6 billet aluminum
Process: CNC-machined
Bolt Pattern: 4-Bolt
Sizes: 125mm – 155mm
Weight: 11.7oz (125mm) – 13.5oz (155mm)
Rider Weight Limit: 130lbs
Finishes Available: Black anodize
Country of Origin: USA

www.snapbmxproducts.com

Facebook and Twitter: snapBMXproducts

This is the first opportunity the combined ABA/NBL organization has had to bring the long-time ABA and the newly-integrated NBL tracks into the same series.

The Track Operator memo, posted on Vintage, stated that while it was the initial expectation of the organization to run an ABA-branded leg and an NBL-branded leg of the series (utilizing the unique transfer system of each), those plans had been abandoned after it was clear track operators on both sides of the former aisle preferred the series run under one format and one flag. The ABA transfer system will be that format.

That said, the initial intent to have an “Eastern Division FInals” and a “Western Division Finals” has survived. Easterners will be in their familiar environs in Louisville for the “Bluegrass Nationals,” while Westerners will put all their chips on the Blackjack Nationals in Reno, per usual.

The Vintage thread is 13 pages long, and there is the expected dosage of complaining and protest over what areas of the country got shorted (Nor-Cal and the Northwest, being particularly vocal).

Classic NBL races that survived in the merger include Morristown, TN (the Volunteer Nationals, on March 2-4), and Pittsburgh/South Park’s “Stars & Stripes National” on July 6-8).

The Midwest Nationals will be shifted to July, from Father’s Day Weekend in June, due to a conflict with the US Olympic Trials in Chula Vista. That weekend, the Trials will be joined by the ABA US Open Nationals (traditionally run in September). No immediate confirmation on whether the National BMX Hall Of Fame dinner and ceremony will also be adjusted to fit the June schedule, but it seems likely.

March 30-April 1 will probably be the biggest weekend on the calendar, excluding the Grands. Four events, happening all in one weekend. If there was one “flyaway” weekend, where a trans-continental plane trip made sense, this would be it, so start saving.

The weekend features the So Cal Nationals on Friday and Sunday, the USAC Amateur National Championships on Saturday (World Championship qualifying for all in the semis), and the USAC Elite National Championships on Sunday (run on the SX track). Friday and Saturday will also feature the first UCI BMX Supercross World Cup of calendar 2012, on the newly-built London-replica track. WOW!

As the above graphic represents, the pins are well distributed on the map, and most people have at least three races in range, as well as the big “flyaway” races such as the Chula Vista race in March, and Louisville or Reno in September.

Our sister site, BMX News, plans on covering at least 15 of the 2012 events, possibly more, via contributors (so if you have writing and photography skills and there is a race without a bullet point that you plan to attend, be sure to reach out to us). We have prepared a second PDF (linked below) that has our “scheduled to appear” coverage plan. Naturally, these plans are subject to change without notice.

Download a PDF of the 2012 USA BMX National Schedule

BMX News 2012 National Coverage Schedule

2012 USA BMX Schedule Discussion on VintageBMX.com

It was a perfect-weather weekend for the final stop of the 2011 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup season, held in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista (where “sunny-and-70″ is practically the city motto). In its third year, this stop on the tour has become a favorite of Supercrossers from America to ‘Zealand.

Speaking of New Zealanders, some early disappointment for Marc Willers, who went down hard in the Thursday practice and had to pull out of the competition. This decision meant there was no chance for him to take the title home. He got to sit back and enjoy watching the races (as much as one of the fastest guys on the planet can enjoy watching someone else race and take home titles and podium honors–but a good sport as always, and we saw him on the rail of the VIP taking in the action).

Friday – Time Trials.

The Women were on the hill first, and starting off the weekend, and her SX career with it, was Fly’n Felica Stancil. Felica put down a killer time and qualified for the show. As TT’s rolled on fans would come and go throughout the event, as Amateur practice was underway for the US Open Nationals at the same time, up on the ABA track. The ABA and GSX opted for a daytime event this year, saving the coin of renting out crane lights. The day rolled on, and time trails ran smoothly and fast. Fastest of them all, Connor Fields threw down a record time of 33.87S– the average qualifying times were in the high 35’s and the low 36’s. Connor finished off the night sitting in the hot seat and taking the overall win.

Back to the ladies for a second, Brooke Crain took the win, also for Team USA. Yes you read it right– TWO Americans took the win and the TT podium! As the night wound down, the 64 men and 3 women who qualified for Saturday’s “Big Show” were all very focused on the next day up ahead of them. The 76 guys who didn’t qualify were focused on March, when the World Cup series starts up again–back in Chula Vista. Among the women, only one rider didn’t qualify–Taylor Wolcott, who crashed hard in her Time Trial lap, and messed up her shoulder.

Saturday – Show Time

One race day, 2:30 rolls around and mains are just getting started over at the ABA track. The stands are missing some bodies, who are probably still in staging up top, but the Supercross Train moves on schedule.

Four racks of eight in the Elite Women “quarters” (they don’t say “motos” in the big show). Next the 8×8 in Elite Men get a go. The 140 starters on Friday got thinned to 64. That is 64 of the of the fastest men on earth, packed together in close proximity, haulin the mail down Chula Vista’s big first straight. Qualifying rounds are complete and the 64 men are chopped-and-dropped to 32. The quarters were underway and Fields, Long, Strombergs, and Willoughby were all looking promising for a possible podium pose later in the day. Lots of racing ahead though…who would fade…who would rally?

The Women’s semi saw a big ballup in the first rack, with Amanda Carr (who had been looking fast all day), down over the first set with Magalie Pottier of France and Fly’n Felicia. That was some drama, but everyone seemed to be up and more or less OK. Arielle Martin was in, and did it from lane eight. Sara Walker looked very strong all day, and was also in. World Champ Mariana Pajon was not looking as fast as we’ve seen her at previous World Cup races, but she is never out of the mix unless she is out of the race. And of course, Brooke Crain, who won the Time Trial Superfinal the day before, was mega-fast on this track, and there were some big chips on her square to win it all.

The semis were where things got hot. “Just like every other semi in the whole wide world” (to quote ABA voice Jim Riley), two racks of eight, and we’re taking four apiece. It’s all-out berm warfare, right to the line. And the term “berm warfare” had an added whiff of truth in the last turn of semi two. Joris Daudet, who was in faraway-fifth, crashed, trying to get into that last qualifying spot. That move took out Khalen Young and Sam Willoughby, who were both sitting strong in third and fourth.  After the race, there were some VERY heated words between the three. The Aussies versus the Frenchy, and it wasn’t pretty. The three finally cooled down, eventually shook hands, and went their separate ways…great social media fodder for the week-and-a-half following the race, with a video clip of the post-race exchange, countless plays and replays of the failed move, and a photo of KY giving a flat-on-his-back Joris a single-finger-salute, seconds after the tangle.

The first main drops, and Sarah Walker came with a great pop out of the gate and took an early holeshot…but it wouldn’t last long, as she cased the first jump. But really, this was Arielle Martin’s day, and case or no case by Sarah, Arielle was going to the front. Team USA/Intense rocks out of the the pack, and rides it all the way with nothing but daylight in front of her, for the win. Copy-paste USA in the two spot, as Brooke Crain is there, and Mariana Pajon rounds out the podium. This was the first Supercross win for the Team USA ladies, ever, so a very special day for Mike King, James Herrera and the USA Cycling BMX program, as a whole.

The men are locked and loaded in the gate with four Americans in the main. It looked like we had a good shot of getting on the podium, just what step and how many would the U.S. land up there. Gate drops and the Team USA colors of Nic Long were out to an early lead… but Connor had the inside over the triple into the first corner. Connor took the hard inside, and came out in the lead… but a move for the 2nd spot from Dutchie, Jelle van Gorkom takes out Maris and Nic. Raymon van der Biezen kept it on two wheels to skate past his teammate’s troubles and got in for second. David Herman was in the right place at the right time (but had also been looking great all day), and scooted past the carnage for the third.

But it was the “young-gun,” Connor Fields on the home turf top step. It was his first winning finish since crashing at the Worlds in South Africa (while in the lead) in 2010, and he would later say that (the win) felt 10x better than he ever imagined it would.

Done.

The weekend was a complete success for Team USA! We swept the field with wins in the Time Trial, and in the Big Show on Saturday. I’d say Connor, Brooke and Arielle represented their country in style, and a Big BMXNOW congratulations to all USA Main Makers.

Check out the BMXNOW Photo Gallery From Chula Vista

Also Check Out:

BMXNEWS.COM Podcast With Connor Fields

BMXNEWS.COM Podcast With Arielle Martin

BMXNEWS.COM Podcast With Felicia Stancil

BMXNEWS.COM Photo Gallery

Mike Carruth contributed to this story

And while the Chula Vista World Cup is her official coming out party on the big hill, we got a glimpse of what she has to serve up to the Juniors at the NBL Grands earlier this month.

A six-rider class, with fellow first-timers Shay Glynn and Samantha Brown joining Felicia in the gate for a five-rider main, along with the “old ladies” of the class, Shelby Stacy and Audrey Zuloaga.

Felicia aced all eight UCI laps at the Grands, though Speed Bicycles teammate Shelby led many of the laps to the mid-point in the third straight. Of course the first front wheel across the stripe is what counts. Still, an outstanding showing for the Speed squad.

Felicia had some local press in Chicago after returning from with worlds…and it seems the sports editors were keeping tabs on her, because a post-grands writeup appeared on the Chicago Sun-Times local issue, both online and in print September 8.

This is a great example of how local media gets interested in the accomplishments of hotshoe BMXers, and it’s great that readers in the Chicago area can learn all about the sport we all love so much.

Congrats on the Press, Felicia and, of course, on your recent wins. BMXNOW will be in Chula Vista with our viewfinder on Felicia’s first SX laps, so stay tuned for the headlines.

Read the Sun-Times Article

Make no mistake: sponsorship, whether for free product or a paycheck, is a business transaction. When you accept a frame, or a factory jersey, you are taking on a responsibility that will not end until you are no longer affiliated with the company. Riders (and parents) who treat that responsibility seriously will move up in the sponsorship stratosphere, and see consistent improvements in the sponsorship offers they get. Riders who don’t, won’t.

Here’s the list:

1). Review every part on your bike or your body that you got a sponsorship deal on. If someone asks you about it, can you answer some basic questions? Do you know whom to contact to get the “customer” to the right person at the local bike shop or the company to get them an answer?

2). If you cannot wholeheartedly endorse the product (if you have to put a “but” at the end of any statement), do not accept the product in the first place. If it is a team sponsor, maybe you need to find a new team.

3). Your local track is the most important “selling ground” for your sponsor’s product–it isn’t at the nationals. Race your local track at least twice a month, and become a solid part of the scene.

4). Be sure the announcer(s) at your local track knows who you are and who you’re sponsored by…go say “hello,” if you do not already know them.

5). Speaking of announcers, at Nationals and locals alike, be sure your sponsors and “nickname,” if any, are updated when you register, so they get printed on the motosheets. The announcer uses the sheets, but so do media outlets writing the story after the race, so very important that the sponsors are listed there, and current.

6). Invite first-time racers to come pit with you on their first few times at the local track (work with the ladies in registration to make the introduction). Take our word for it when we say they are often TERRIFIED of the new experience. Have a parent or other in-the-know non-racer in your pit help them read the moto sheets, know when to get to staging and how the transfer system works. Then, give them some stickers, or a poster/catalog/whatever of your sponsor’s products, at the end of the day…invite them to pit with you next time out. That is relationship-building, and is all-important to being a valued ambassador.

7). Host a free monthly beginner clinic at your local track–all the easier if they are pitting with you at the races. Beginners are a critical audience for your sponsors, since it is all-but-certain they will be purchasing parts, complete bikes, safety gear, etc in the first few months after their first race. It is your “job” to make sure they buy the “right” stuff (read: your sponsors’ products).

8). Keep your bike and gear dialed. You are a showroom-on-wheels when you’re at the track, and appearance is everything.

9). If you are hitting nationals, cap off each trip with a race report of how it went, whatever your on-track results. Go beyond just saying “I made it out first round and got second in the main”…talk about who was there, did you talk to anyone about the brand…if so, who? Did you get any feedback on the brand from people at the race? However you did at the race, (no excuses if you didn’t do well, just talk about the facts), your sponsor is probably just as interested as your mom in hearing how it went.

Type the reports as a standard .txt file, and include two or three photos of you rockin the sponsor’s brand, as attachments in the email. TIP: do not embed images in the document file, or send as MS Word–not everyone has it. If you are on a team, send the reports up the chain of command of your team, and let the team manager send them on to the company (note to TMs: If your riders send in reports, be sure to send them on to the company within 48 hours of receiving them).

Remember that one of your central functions as a sponsored rider is to be the eyes and ears of your sponsor at the races (in addition to the “given” of winning races and looking oh-so-factory). They use you, and your fellow riders as a “force multiplier–” allowing their brand and brand image to be in more places than they could be if they didn’t sponsor riders. Your reports give them that coverage. Without documentation, you are forcing the sponsor to “hope” you did what you were supposed to do.

Marc Willers and Caroline Buchanan do a great job, on the Elite side…sending Race Reports directly to media outlets after big races.

**Watch for the BMXNOW feature “How to Write Killer Race Reports” next week**

10). If you are a team manager, put together a “media list” of BMX outlets to run your team race reports on their websites. BMX News, for example, has a “Team Sheet” section specifically for these reports (though, I have to say, we do not get very many submissions). If you want more info how to submit a report, email us at news@bmxnews.com. Even if you are not on a team, we are always interested in the “in their own words” account of how the race went down from the rider’s point of view.

11). Get some video skills together, or buddy up with someone who already has them, and put out a series of “Edits” on your riding, technique, etc. The Snap BMX Factory team put out an edit of Tyler Whitfield riding his home track last October, and it pulled over 91,000 views on YouTube. On the freestyle side, edits are all-but required for top riders, and put their sponsors front and center. BMXNOW has a sister site, BMXEDITS.COM which is always interested in new content.

12). Create a Facebook “Fan” Page. This should be separate from your own personal page. Your personal page is for your “real” friends, where you can be yourself, and post about what is going on in your life. Your Fan page is all about your “public” face…what the fans see. Take a cue from Motocross star, Ryan Dungey. He has a personal Facebook page with 996 friends. Then, another “semi-private” page, with a larger circle of about 4800 friends. And then there is his “fan” page, which has 230,000 fans.

13). Create a separate “business” Twitter account for racing-related Tweets. If you have an active social media life outside your business on the track, it is good practice to create a separate twitter account for racing-related tweets. NOTHING off-color or of a controversial nature should go out over your Facebook Fan page or fan Twitter account. Use this test: Would my Sunday School Teacher or Grandmother be cool with this (once I explained it to her)?

*****
Example: Imagine your arch-nemesis, Johnny Nagrider, put you over turn one in last weekend’s national main.

Good Tweet: @jnagrider had the first-turn pull in Oldsmar. I was pullin weeds out of my spokes on the backside–thanks jn – LOL… See you in Chula

Bad Tweet: Ready for Chula- first round take-out abt 2 be served. Not mentioning names (@jnagrider) – M*’r put me over turn one last week. #paybacktime

The difference is subtle, but in one, you’re a good sport, ready for the rematch, and in the other, you’re a vengeful punk.
*****

14). Get friendly with local media. If you’re a hometown hero with some national wins or, better yet, a national or world title under your belt, get with the sports editors at your local papers, TV Stations and Magazines. They love local-interest stories of athletes (especially under 18) doing well on the national or international stage. Check out the piece here on BMXNOW today about Speed Bicycles star, Felicia Stancil, that ran in the Chicago Sun-Times (Circulation: 312,000) this weekend,

15). Whether at a local race or a national, keep in mind that younger riders and novices/intermediates (maybe even some girl-class riders) look up to the hotshoe experts. If you’re one of them, a well-placed “nice race first round” will mean a lot to them (but only if you truly saw it). Also, if you’re in a hotel elevator with a younger rider, ask them: “how’d you do today?” “Wow, you your first novice win? Awesome!…Tear it up tomorrow!” or “Didn’t make it? Well, go get em tomorrow!” It means a lot to the young and up & comers for the factory stars to notice them. And, of course, even off-track, you’re sportin your sponsor’s T-Shirt at Chipotle, and in the hotel, so they’ll start to know you as “a real cool guy/gal…approachable and down to earth.” That is about the best compliment you can ask for in this game.

16). Get a personal website going. This is in concert with your social media efforts, and allows you to showcase photos of your riding, clickable links to your sponsors’ website, and provides a place for you to post your race reports for the world to see (sponsor reports might contain different material that a publicly-available report, such as specific info on brand relations, as noted above, so be sure to ‘sanitize” the reports of any inside intel before posting to the public). Having your own personal site will also get your name indexed by Google and other search engines, so if someone does a search for “Your Name,” your web site will likely be the first to come up.

17). Reach out to web site editors with story ideas. In the online world, every hour is a new day, when it comes to fresh content. If you have an idea for a story (or better yet, want to write one for us), definitely look us up at the races, or email news@bmxnews.com to pitch the idea. It shouldn’t be “Why I am so Awesome, by…Me” But if you have a legit angle on a story our readers might be interested in, we’d love to hear it.

18). Make yourself available for photo shoots for your sponsor, or BMX Media. When is your sponsor shooting their new ad/catalog/sell sheet? Getting into the action photos is the way to keep yourself in the action. Also, BMX Photogs love to shoot photos like you love to ride, so hit us up for a private shoot sometime. If there is time in the schedule, we’re there. But be respectful of the photographer’s way of working. Be prepared to do the same run over and over again, until we get the perfect shot. Don’t go around the track three times and start saying “we done?”

19). Make yourself available for trade shows or other promotional events for your sponsors. Your sponsors often need flesh & blood bodies to show off the product in their trade show booth, or at sales events for dealers. Maybe they don’t need you there, but you should always offer to be available to them, if needed. The gesture alone says “I got your back, promotionally.”

20). Reach out to your local park district program directors. Bicycle safety is a huge thing in the non-BMX community. Reach out to program directors in your local park districts (maybe your town, and each town it borders), and let them know you would be available to come and talk to the kids if the Park District put together a bike safety day. The best time to do this is right after the holidays, maybe the second week of January. Programs for the spring are forming, and you might even get the chance to do some school assemblies. This is huge for your image, your sponsor’s brand and BMX Racing in general.

21). Wear the brand. Your wardrobe should be comprised of various types of sponsor t-shirts, hoodies, etc. Especially on race weekends (at the track, at Olive Garden, hanging out in the hotel lobby–anywhere a fan or customer can see you). Going to a “formal” occasion? Unwrap a fresh sponsor tee.

22). Trick out your vehicle. If you have the opportunity, run sponsor stickers on your (or your mom/dad’s) ride. Believe us, they get noticed!

23). Run your full kit, any/every time on the track. That includes jersey, pants, helmet and number plate. Even on practice days. As a sponsored rider, you are a role model for the other riders in your class, those younger than you…and even some older than you, believe it or not. Professionalism is all in how you carry yourself. At nationals, the media cannot use photos of you in practice if not in full uniform. So what? Well, many of the photos we get for your sponsors are gotten in practice, becuase there are many more opportunities to shoot a variety of riders. Those photos are worthless to all of us if you’re rockin bare bars and Levis, even if you have the jersey on.

24). If someone is down-talking your sponsor’s product, do what you can to find out why. Do they have a legitimate “beef?” If so, find out what you can do to fix the problem…put them in touch with the right people to have their grievance heard. Incidentally, it is neither necessary nor advisable to engage those folks in a defensive discussion (their feedback does not need a comeback from you). Listen politely, and try to solve their issue.

25). Constantly ask yourself: “What could I be doing right now to be repping my sponsors better, and to more people?”

The discussion is underway over on VintageBMX.com, so come on over and weigh in with your stories and opinions.

—Mike Carruth

Above Photo: Snap Factory Team’s Jr. Elite sensation, Tyler Whitfield (Right) and 9x Cooper Sheldon putting several of the above points to real-world use by taking a few minutes to talk with some neighborhood kids at their local track (Rockford BMX/ Rockford, IL). Questions ranged from “do you get to go all over the country?” to “Why you wear those crazy shoes?” All answered in an unpretentious and very professional manner (with no coaching whatsoever from onlooking media types).

In Elite Men, it was Joris Daudet of France, who rode an incredible lap, and came back from fourth in the first turn, to pass Marc Willers in Turn Two for the lead, and ultimate win. Maris Strombergs, last year’s champ, was .483 second off Daudet’s pace and in for a second. It should be noted that Joris is having an incredible year, with an undefeated sweep of the 12 European rounds, French National Champion, and now the Rainbow jersey.

With Shanaze Reade out in the Semi due to some trouble coming down the hill (she got two strong cranks out of the gate, then pulled it up and coasted down), Mariana Pajon was virtually unchallenged for the win in the Elite Women’s Final. Sarah Walker was riding great today as well, but Mariana was a notch or two faster than all of them, and led the EM main wire to wire. Walker was .474/sec off the pace, and Magalie Pottier of France was in for the bronze. Americans Arielle Martin (5th) and Amanda Geving (7th) had good laps today, but were not in position to make any moves on Mariana in the main event. Still, Arielle will get something beyond birthday cake for today’s efforts (HBD AMV15!), she will get coveted USA Cycling “Power Ranking” points to jump her a few more squares toward the London 2012 team.

Junior Men had American Rusty Nesvig riding well all day, but he pulled the eject handle in the semi, and ended up watching Team USA teammate Lain Van Ogle as the sole American in the main. Alfredo Campo of Ecuador led the big lap pretty-much wire to wire, but had some heat from Antonin Dupire of France and Trent Woodcock of New Zealand. Woodcock was on Campos outside into turn one, and Dupire was hugging the inside, back in fourth (Darryn Goodwin of Australia was in third). At the top of the second straight, Dupire edged a tire in front of Campo, but the challenge was quickly knocked down, and the Yellow, Red and Blue of Ecuador stayed in the lead. Into turn two is when Woodcock laid down the technique to get past Dipire and into the silver slot. That’s how it ended up, with Woodcock mounting a last moment charge that might have put him on top, if the last straight were another 20 feet longer.

Speaking of split-second last-feet-of-the-race change-ups, Junior Women had a doozy. Brooke Crain turned the fastest lap in the time trials yesterday (first round), but Melinda McLeod of Australia was a tad faster in the Superfinal, and took the Friday Gold. Today, Brooke was riding solid all day, with a 1-2-1 in the qualifying rounds. She was going faster today too, beating yesterday’s time of 39.796, with a 39.484 in today’s first round.

Honestly, we thought the main battle would be between Brooke and Laura Smulders of the Netherlands, as Melinda came out of the qualifying rounds with a 2-1-4 and lap times that were laggin a bit (first round 40.538, third round 41.858). But the boosters were burning hot in the main. Brooke was first to the timing strip on the ramp (1.124 seconds), but Melinda was gone by the transition. Into the first turn it was firmly in the hands of McLeod and Crain, with Abbie Taylor of the UK giving chase. Brooke put the mega-move on Melinda in turn two, and came out ahead. Unfortunately, it was a short-lived lead, and McLeod took the top spot back as the pack raced down the third straight. The last turn had it McLeod, Crain, Taylor– but as the finishline cam rolled, the second and third spots were swapped. On our video of the race, it’s hard to tell whether Brooke stopped pedaling too soon, or Abbie just lunged a millimeter to the good side. But the bottom line was that GBR snatched the silver from USA by .002/sec. To put it in perspective, .002 is 16x shorter than the blink of an eye.

More content as it becomes available. Meanwhile, check out some of the links below:

Kristoffer West’s Early Saturday Photo Set

Elite Finals Photo (Kristoffer West)

Elite Podiums (Kristoffer West)

Discussion: Worlds thread on VintageBMX.com

Photo: Elite Men Main Event thunders down the starting ramp at the 2011 UCI BMX World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photo: Kristoffer West/BMX Copenhagen

According to BMX NOW sources on the ground, the event had some interesting twists & turns, and the order in the “SuperFinal” was a not the same as in the first lap, in three of four classes.

In Junior Women, Brooke Crain’s first lap was fastest of the day, at 39.796, but in the SuperFinal, Melinda McLeod of Australia bested Brooke’s second lap by +0.396/sec, with a time of 39.801. Dani George and Shelby Stacy also made it out of Time Trials for the USA to “the groups,” which will run Saturday, placing sixth and 10th, respectively.

In Jr. Men, eight out of nine Americans made it past the first elimination, with Dan Birmingham posting a DNF for his lap (hope everything’s OK). Benjamin Janssens of France was tops in the first round, with a time of 34.951. Closest American to the Janssens was Rusty Nesvig in sixth, with a score of 35.661. In the SuperFinal, it was Rusty’s turn for some unfortunate luck, and he ended up posting a DNF. Aussie, Darryn Goodwyn, who finished seventh in the first round, turned an impressive lap time of 35.237 to win it (Janssens’ first round lap was fastest of the day among Juniors).

Among the Elites, Shanaze Reade surprised everyone–first by suiting up at all (it was widely reported in the press that she would be sitting out this year’s worlds while still recovering from injury), then by winning the first round, and onto the SuperFinal. Her times were increasingly-quick, with 38.039 first time out, and a SuperFinal podium-topping-time of 37.440. Caroline Buchanan was second in the SuperFinal, and Mariana Pajon was third, with times of 37.627 and 38.154, respectively. Among Americans, Arielle Martin was 10th with a SuperFinal lap of 39.254, Amanda Carr was 16th and Amanda Geving in 27th (out of the SuperFinal, but in for tomorrow’s racing).

Sam Willoughby turned the fastest lap of the day, bar none, at 33.572 in the first round. But it was Norway’s Andre Fossa Aguiluz to capture the top time of the SuperFinal– and with it, the Gold Medal and title. Andre’s time was 33.811.

The Aguiluz win today must have been a great moment of national pride for the Norwegian team. Only one week past the tragic terrorist attacks in Oslo, today was especially emotional back home, as the first of the victims were laid to rest, and a moment of silence was observed worldwide, via twitter (#amomentofsilence).

Meanwhile, back in Copenhagen, Jelle van Gorkom and Brian Kirkham joined Aguiluz on the podium. Maris Strombergs is making his return to the International stage this weekend, and scored a 34.162 in the SuperFinal (eighth). Corben Sharrah was the top American with a 33.936 (sixth place). Nic Long and Connor Fields (who is also fresh off the injured list), finished the SuperFinal ninth and 10th, respectively

The Aguiluz victory must be especially meaningful to the Norwegian team– as a representation of national pride in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Oslo last week. Today is the official day of mourning, and there have been services, and moments of silence nationwide.

Familiar names we will NOT see in the men’s group on Saturday include Tyler Faoro (who missed the 64th place cut by .011/sec), Donny Robinson, Bubba Harris, Christian Becerine, Mike Day, Travis Ohrazda and Jake Peebles. Kory Cook posted a DNF in his first lap, and also did not move on.

Tomorrow’s racing starts at 7AM Eastern Time, and will be broadcast live on Freecaster.tv. For those without access, BMXNOW, will be posting a live-update article as-it-happens.

Links
Kristoffer West’s Pre-Event Photo Set
Kristoffer West’s Photos From Friday Time Trials
Elite Men Results
Elite Women Results
Junior Men Results
Junior Women Results

Happy Birthday to Laëtitia Le Corguillé, who finished sixth today.

Thanks to Dale Holmes for the shot of Shanaze Reade above

Day Two of the 2011 UCI BMX World Championships is now complete in Copenhagen. News is currently waiting for official results to be posted, but we can tell you, via Twitter and Facebook chatter, that Matt Pohlkamp (who rides for Dan’s Comp on home soil) took home the W1 title in Masters class, edging out Javi Colombo by a bike and a half or so.

World 1 titles also coming home on the bikes of Team USA’s Felicia Stancil in 16 Girls, Stephen Larralde (30-Over Men) and Sean Gaian (15 Boys). More may also be in the mix, but those were the ones we were able to suss out so far.

BMX Now contributor Mattias Ankrah is in Copenhagen, and posted a “Teaser” set of images from yesterday’s 14-under competition. Check them out at the link below.

Keep your eye on BMXNOW throughout the day as we update this story with tweets, vids, interviews, photos and other tidbits we pull together from around the globe.

Pete Dylewski’s iPhone Video of the Masters Main Event

Links

Videos of All Classes, via bmx-videos.com
Arielle Martin’s Blog

LINKS FROM THURSDAY’S RACE
Thursday Podium Photos
BMX Copenhagen Photo “Mashup” Page (Thursday)
Thursday Results (PDF)
Mattias Ankrah’s Flickr Set from THURSDAY

LINKS FROM WEDNESDAY’S RACE
Mattias Ankrah’s Flickr Set from WEDNESDAY
Wednesday Results (PDF)

Jack Kelly (8), Julian Dittrick (9), Bubba Gonzalez (12), Ryan Pettigrew (13) and Colin Hudson (14), Nani Peralta (9G) and a seventh that was not immediately clear to News.

Tomorrow, the 15-Over classes race–a great opening act for Friday’s Elite Class Time Trials and SuperFinal, and Saturday’s Elite Finals (and Cruisers on Sunday).

Check out more photos from the 2011 UCI BMX World Championships

Is Speed coming with a new frame, ala Redline’s Project 79? Is this some kind of thumb-on-nose salute to the aforementioned? Is Marc going to be rockin a David Herman-esque beard in Copenhagen, thus the reason for being in the shadows?

Here’s the teaser, you make the call:

Keep it right here to find out!