Random Gossip, Rumors and some Fast Pants
Things have been a bit quiet on the rumor front and not much has been stirring since the exit of ManiaBMX. It remains a mystery as to who was behind the comedic postings on said site. No doubt the site sent a few people in a thizzy and it's now on the market. Kuwahara's Matt Pohlkamp is now living in California and has plans to make the US Olympic Long team. Still a ton of unsigned riders on the market; Rumors afloat about Supercross picking up a Pro include the likes of J-Rich, Tyler Brown and Jason Rogers. Speaking of Brown, he has been upping his stock lately and making those Hurley pants go fast. Fast enough to earn him a free ride to Australia courtesy of USA Cycling. He desperately needs a real uniform.
(Are these the fastest pants in BMX? The Hurley TB2008 Model >>>>)
The USA Cycling Olympic points chase is winding down quickly and with only 4 more races to go, Free Agent's Kyle Bennett leads the charge ahead of HP/AT&T's Donny Robinson and Redman's Steven Cisar. Stumpy took a big hit in Madrid and should be recovered in time for the UCI rounds in Florida. VBS-Kenda/BAWLS Rachel Smith turned a few heads at the Chula Vista Olympic BMX center last month – she made quick work of the dirt jumps behind the Olympic track. She's been a regular at the AMA trails in Ohio so it was no surprise to her. Formula's Alise Post is hoping that UCI will drop that crazy age limit so that she gets a shot at the Olympics this year. 2012 is a long time from now. Formula's Arielle Martin, Redman's Amanda Geving and GT's Jill Kintner will continue their battle to secure an Olympic spot at the UCI rounds in Florida. Kintner and Geving are both nursing injuries so this will set up a showdown of sorts at West Palm.
Tara Llanes continues to make progress on her road to recovery – check out her myspace page for more. Joey Bradford, the GT's young racer-entreprenuer, has launched yet another cool project – The Joey Bradford Disability Fund. Nice work JB. Looks like Brandon Meadows is in his first retirement – hope he makes a comeback before officially retiring. Danny Caluag and David Herman, the Intense/BAWLS duo, are the hottest property these days. The boyz grace the cover of BMXer this month and the Hermanator is rumored to get a BMX Plus! cover – the first race cover in awhile.
Supercross's Sam Cools gave the Coyote Nationals a miss to concentrate on training and her European Tour – a third place a few weeks ago was good to see. She should get the lone Canadian Olympic spot for the women. Not sure if the Canadians will get to send a guy to the Olympics based on their nations ranking. Supercross's Jim Brown or Crupi's Scott Erwood would be the frontrunners.
And what will happen with those UCI races after the Olympics? Will the Pro's head back to their respective 3-letter sanctions to chase titles or wait for the next next next next big thing from Renny Roker? Is that Greg Hill/Renny Roker series still cookin'? Or did the water boil over while no one was lookin'? New Poll today – Who's the Greatest Racer of all time. Cast away. Lots more to come in 2008 and we expect a few surprises along the way. Hang on folks…
(Cisar decided to work in a few push-ups on his way up the Olympic Replica Start hill – this kid has the five-rings written all over him)
