Strombergs the Rula in Chula
We’ve seen a lot of Maris Strombergs since his introduction to the US BMX racing scene in Reno in Januray. But this weekend, in Chula Vista, was different. It was, for many, an opportunity to see a podium rematch between Strombergs, Mike Day and Donny Robinson on the track that is nearly identical to the one on which they met last August in Beijing.
The track at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA was dressed up in the BMX equivalent of white tie and tails—with ample spectator areas, JumboTron to show replays, and a HALO drop from a US Navy SEAL team to open the event. Through qualifiers, Strombergs was running the table with a perfect score in all his starts. But so was Mike Day—and he had the advantage of both a hyper-charged, home country crowd, and a mastery of the track unmatched by any other rider in the main. Mikey also had a perfect rolling when the gate for the final dropped. With dR out of the Final (edged out by Nic Long by inches in the semis), the packed stands, and two-deep rail watchers would need to settle for two out of three from the 2008 Olympic podium…but would, instead, get a glimpse at what may, very possibly, be starters in the 2012 Olympic Final.
Joining Maris and Mike in the Mens Final were two who very well may meet in London in a few years. Sam Willoughby of Australia and Connor Fields. Connor had just made his return to competition two weeks ago at the NBL Grand National in Louisville, KY, and was in top form on Saturday (Friday, during time trials, the Con Man had a few mishaps with his clips, but qualified second round…Free Agent TM Dale Holmes made some tweaks to get things dialed for Saturday). This would be Connor’s first SX race…and with the UCI not running Junior classes in Supercross, he’d be rolling with the heaviest of the heavies. Willoughby won the previous UCI BMX Supercross race in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa last month (with a perfect score)…so the stage was definitely set for a major throwdown.
In the Final, Strombergs had the inside, with Day in lane two. In lane three was Ivo Van Der Putten from The Netherlands, Nic Long in lane four, Willoughby in lane five, Brit Marcus Bloomfield in lane six, Tyler Brown (who won a photo finish against Raymon van der Biezen in the semis, to earn his spot) in lane seven, and Connor Fields way out in lane eight. The evening dew had begun to set in, and the starting ramp was getting a little slick (which was largely remedied by a team of UCI track tenders, who manually dried the surface with towels and leaf blowers between the semis and mains…and again between the Mens and Womens final).
With the fourth horn, thae gate was down. It was immediately apparent that Mike Day had some trouble up top (we later learned he hit the gate), Strombergs leaps to the lead with Willoughby half-a-bike back, and van der Putten closely in third and Connor in fourth into the first turn. That’s how it stayed until Fields applied some manualing mojo in the third straight to pass Ivo, and put him in great position to challenge Willoughby in the last straight. Out of the final turn, Connor slipped into the second spot for a few seconds, then Sam hit the high gear and held on to the two spot by a half. The balance went: van der Putten, Day, Brown, Long, Bloomfield.
