BMX Booty Suit Gets the Boot

“BMXAustralia press release An official decision by the UCI has stopped National Series leader, Wade Bootes (Gold Coast) from wearing his QAS (Queensland Institute of Sport) skinsuit in the BMX round at Knox today. The 32 year old won the previous UCI Round on the Gold Coast wearing the controversial suit known now as the Booty Suit. Today Bootes missed out on getting into the final however it allowed Jared Graves (Toowoomba) the opportunity to win. Graves led into the first corner.”"I felt quick down all the straights, said Graves. Ive got a lot of confidence after betting Bubba Harris (2005 BMX World Champ from USA) a few weeks ago. Second was Luke Madill (Penrith,SYD) the favourite to win after placing first in his semi-final. Khalen Young (Campbelltown) passed New Zealander Marc Willers on the final straight to take third. Bootes still maintains the National Probikx Series lead by 38 points with Madill second and Michael Tiger Robinson (GreenbankQLD) in third overall. In the UCI ranking New Zealander, Matthew Cameron leads with Robinson the top Australian and Billy Jolliffe (Tamworth) in second and third respectively. UCI Series leader, Sarah Walker from New Zealand was too strong for Australians Tanya Bailey and Melissa Mankowski. The 19 year old Walker lead from start and Bailey could not pass. Mankowski suffered a sprained foot from the elite womens crash yesterday but rode herself into third place to gain precious international points. Walker leads the UCI ranking now and Bailey takes over the lead in the National Probikx Series. Nicole Callisto (Perth) was leading but an injured knee yesterday saw her sidelined. There is concern in the High Performance Training squad for Callisto who had a case of deja-vu when she badly injured the same knee on the same day last year. The injury required major knee reconstruction and saw her miss the entire 2006 season. Official Comment on the Skin Suit Ray Stanley, UCI BMX Commissaire Training Co-ordinator from Australia. Since Wade Bootes wore the skinsuit there has been a lot of discussion. The Booty Suit has generated a great deal of debate with BMX technical commission with a view to clarify what is now seen to be the other cycling disciplines on a new emerging Olympic sport.In the rule book it basically deals with the rider jersey and pants in terms of specifying the types of material and the length of sleeves and the fit at the ankles. It does not specify that it can not be a one piece construction. The rule book states that the pants must be of a tear-resistant material and be tight fitting at the ankles. The jersey just needed to have a long sleeve to the wrist. There has been discussion about whether or not they should introduce a loose fitting jersey as a means of combating the skin tight cycling style outfit. Now the UCI will have to specify what limits are required if such a term as loose-fitting was to be applied to the description.”