Back on January 20, BMX News gave some heads up about the Free Agent Clinic scheduled at Bellflower BMX.

Last weekend, the full battalion of the 2012 Free Agent team turned up to teach the skills that come as absolute reflex to them, to a bursting group of Bellflower locals.

As luck would have it, ace photographer, Justin Kosman was on-scene as well, to capture the tutelage with a sharp video edit. Justin is one of our favorite photographers, and the chance to post a BMX racing edit by him is newsworthy, in its own right.

Check it!

Last week, the newly-created Texas BMX Hall Of Fame announced their first class of inductees.

The Lone Star State has an incredibly rich history in the sport, with guys like Gene Roden (ABA Co-Founder), Bernie Anderson (current ABA owner), BA Anderson (ABA CEO), and scores of top riders calling it home.

After a nomination process in October and November, seven riders have been selected as the first inductees:

Albert Delgado – Amarillo Region
Kevin Hull – Austin Region
Don Johle – Dallas Region
Rusty Roberts – Dallas Region
Dee Chipps – Fort Worth Region
Jeff Osmus – Fort Worth Region
Steve Haynes – Lufkin Region

These riders will be officially inducted into Texas Bicycle Motocross Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 17th, 2012 at a ceremony Desoto, Texas. More details regarding the induction ceremony can be found on the organization’s web site, www.texasbmxhof.org.

Congratulations to these most deserving Texans.

With six weeks off between the Grands and the first races of the year, it’s easy to forget how long a workday can be, when a 12-hour commute is tacked on to the end of it. The final gate dropped at 1:54PM today, and here it is 3:33AM, and we’re already home (after sampling the truck stop board of fare in three states).

Tales from the road notwithstanding, News used the time wisely–to edit and prep the photos from Sunday’s ABA Sooner Nationals. A total of 94 shots from today, adding to the 214 we posted yesterday, makes for a well-rounded weekend of gettin around.

KJ Romero (above) was the BMOC this weekend, acing all six A Pro motos, and both main event laps with carefree care (if that makes any sense at 3:40AM). OK, enough writing tonight…before we are tempted to go “all the way” and write the story in a language which tomorrow will reveal itself as a cross between Aramaic and Hood Latin.

Check Out the Saturday Photos

Check Out the Sunday Photos

Download the above image as a 1980×1020 wallpaper for your computer desktop

USA Cycling released a statement a week or so ago celebrating the signing of Chase BMX and Tioga as marquee sponsors of the USA Cycling BMX Jr. Development program for 2012 and 2013.

The program is entering its third year of organized camps, and has fostered some impressive talent in its time. The ABA (now USA BMX) gave a major boost to the program in July of 2009, when it added a dedicated series-within-a-series expressly for 15 and 16 year olds (using UCI Birthday criteria) to compete alongside the Elite classes in the national program.

As we look past London 2012, and on to Rio 2016, the Jr. Development program will take on added importance and prestige, with 1997 birth-year riders getting prepared to show what they have on the big track.

Pete Dylewski has been up close and personal with the Jr. Devo program since its inception. As the Marketing Manager for VSI products in 2009, it was his magic touch that brought Intense BMX to the table as a sponsor of the program in the early years. With Pete currently in a “strategic partner” capacity in Christophe Leveque’s BMX Racing Group, and as a marketing and team consultany to Tioga BMX, he has buddied up with USAC again, bringing Chase BMX and Tioga to the table as sponsors of the program for the next two years.

And while USAC’s press release on the subject (linked below) provides great surface detail on the partnership, BMX News is always interested in a deeper-dive on the backstory, and perspective of the movers, shakers and news makers behind the headlines (if you’ll allow the shameless plug on our own behalf).

In this, the 50th episode of BMX News “Announcers Tower,” Pete gives us some great insight into the history of the program, what happens when riders attend one of the four annual camps, and the longview on talent development. We also took this opportunity to get some scoop on how things are developing at BMX Racing Group, in general.

Listen now
Link

USA Cycling Junior Development Page

BMX Racing Group

Tioga BMX

Editors Note: Our side of the interview had some sound difficulties, due to a software update on our Skype application. Apologies for any “tin can” effect.

USA BMX announced today that there would be some tweaks made to the practice schedule, beginning with the USA BMX Sooner Nationals in Guthrie, OK this weekend.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Chula Vista, Louisville and Disney Cup will be run under a separate, three-day practice schedule. That information will be released by USA BMX very soon, and BMX News will bring it to you when it is released

Download a Printer-Friendly PDF Version

Story and Photos by Cole Proctor

The Silver Dollar Nationals have been on the minds of BMXers across the country since the final moto crossed the line at the Grands in November. Riders had 48 days to set their 2012 goals, train up, open Christmas presents, and in many cases, build up a new ride and model their 2012 kit in the mirror a few dozen times.

This installment of the Silver Dollars was an historic event in BMX Racing’s timeline–it was the first time a national was run exclusively under the USA BMX brand name (though the ABA name lives on as a tagline to the USA BMX logo). With the new graphics came a new running order for the day’s racing. Instead of the Novice/Intermediate/Expert order that the ABA had been using since day one, the new running order puts all Novices, then all Intermediates, then all Experts down the starting hill.

The New Year brings new rides, new colors, and new companies. This year some big moves mere made, Sean Gaian and Felicia Stancil both left VSI to peruse opportunities at GT (though Felicia wasn’t in Reno). KJ Romero left J&R for a pro ride from Bill Ryan’s new Anarchy team. National Number One Amateur, Josh Klatman, was picked up by Redline. And both Van Ogles put on Hyper jerseys and said “See-ya” to the Redman Tribe.

The track LAYOUT was sick! The surface had some rough spots, but most of it was at par. “A really fast, fun track!” as one A Pro described it.

This Reno race was missing something, what was it? OH YEAH, the PROS! But A Pro and Vet Pro were still on the schedule, and they came to race. With KJ Romero, Blake Paulson, Jake Peebles, and Pete Pascual, in Saturday’s main, the first USA BMX A Pro main was going to be a white hot lap. “The screamin’ demon” Paulson was out to an early lead with Peebles on his back tire. Rookie, Pascual, came in with a respectable third. As for KJ, he took a soil sample in the first straight and logged a snowman this trip.

As for the amateur mains, the best was the 19-27 experts. The BIG #1 on Klatman’s back could just as well been target to Extreme Team’s Robbie Patterson. Redline’s new heavy hitter, Klatman was out with a big lead down the first and second straights, but Patterson was pulling. Everyone could see it, except Klatman. Patterson was going for the kill in the last turn. And it worked, Josh went up and over the last turn and Patterson was the first one across the line. Saturday was in the books, Sunday was just a few hours away.

Sunday, up and on the track early, for day two. This was the day the Saturday heroes would find out if all the training they had been doing actually paid off, or if day one was just a stroke of good luck. The racing was insane. As we made it through the countless motos and qualifying rounds, Saturdays 16 ex winner Dylan Cooley took a hard crash in the second turn of the semis and was out with a broken Humerus (upper arm).

Main time rolled around, and business hours were in effect–the time to put everything you have into your main event lap. The Pros were locked and loaded in the gate, the cadence starts, the beeps sound and the lights flash, and it’s on.

Elliot McGrath flipped the gate in lane six, jamming up Jeremy Rommel in gate seven–so his race was all but over from the drop.
Over the first Jump Kevin Shankel had a few millimeters on the the rest of the pack, but Blake Paulson was pulling through the middle, and Max Egdorf of the new Answer Rennen team was edging in from a lane eight start. Into the first turn, KJ put some serious body english into his approach, pinching off Shenkel’s line, and coming out with nothing but daylight in the distance. He muscled his new Anarchy ride to a smooth-as-butter lap from that point on, and scored his first A Pro win, with Shenkel in second and Peebles in for the final podium spot. But that wasn’t the end, remember Jeremy? Well, he wasn’t just going roll the lap without frontin a little style for the fans. He threw down a SERIOUS backflip over the finish line jump, and the place went nuts!

On the amateur side, new GT go-getter, Sean Gaian, fished the weekend with a double double in the Jr. Devo and the super-fast 15x class. Crupi’s Justin Anderson was out in a hurry in 16x, and was first at the stripe.

More fun and excitement in the 19-27 expert main. Rematch time, Patterson VS. Klatman. Who’s gonna come out on top? The Redline colors were out to a fast lead, but the orange and black colors of Patterson were right there. Around the first turn and down the second straight, Patterson was catching Klatman, saw his opportunity and took it in the second turn. He once again put the hurt on the champ, and took the overall win.

With 300-motos-plus both days, the weekend was long…but the action made it blaze by quick. Props to the newly turbo-charged Hyper Team, who took home Factory Team honors on Saturday (Intense took home the Sunday factory team win). There is no doubt that the 2012 USA BMX National Series is going to be one for the history books, with big races, and the fastest riders from all parts of the country coming together to mix it up on some amazing tracks. Next stop: Guthrie, OK for the Sooner Nationals…then, on to the first Pro race of the year on the newly-rebuilt Oldsmar track. Stay with BMXNEWS.COM for gate-to-stripe action from all of ‘em!

Check out the Photo Gallery

Mike Carruth contributed to this story

Edit 1/21/12 10:36AM, CST>>> We mistakenly wrote that Hyper won Factory Team both days, when, in fact, Intense won on Sunday.

Late today, USA BMX announced that, effective tomorrow, the sanction of Lake Perris BMX would be revoked. Here is the official statement:

As of Friday, January 20th, the USA BMX sanction for Lake Perris BMX has been revoked. There will not be any sanctioned, insured events at Lake Perris BMX until further notice.

This means that ANY event held at Lake Perris BMX on or after January 20th, 2012 is NOT insured by USA BMX and no USA BMX points of any kind will be awarded.

The staff at USA BMX will be working with the management team at the fairgrounds to get the track reopened with an interim Track Operator as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we regret any inconvenience that this short-term closure causes

UPDATE 2:04PM CST 1/20/12>>>>

BMX News Spoke to Track Operator, Ronda Linck, to gather more details on a possible sale of the track to an interested party. She told us that the track is currently for sale, at an asking price of $50,000. This would include “everything you see” at the track, from the gate to the finish line, as well snack bar, web site and other support assets.

Linck also said that there is a deadline for such a sale to be made. If no buyer presents themselves by Saturday night or Sunday morning, they will begin selling off the assets piecemeal, including the dirt out of which the track is constructed. “The dirt is worth money, so we’re going to sell it to try and recoup some of the money we put into the track.” She said.

It was not immediately clear from official sources whether a new owner would also be responsible for the outstanding debt the track has on the books, estimated to be about $30,000. A newspaper story last month seemed to indicate that the Fairgrounds (landlord to the track), would be willing to wipe the slate clean if a suitable tenant were found. That would still leave a sizable debt owed to the ABA, and it is unclear how that would be handled in a new-owner scenario.

The closing of Lake Perris BMX would leave a fairly large hole in the BMX Racing scene in Southern California’s “Inland Empire.” Apple Valley BMX is about an hour away, and the Orange Y track is about 45 miles west (which can be two hours in the notorious So. Cal Traffic). Some have speculated that there will be a “significant” rider fall-off due to parents not wanting to make the drive to Orange or Apple Valley.

We’ll keep updating this page as new developments arise.

The Free Agent/Rockstar Factory Team is spinning up its clinic tour again for 2012. Last year’s stops were very successful, with hundreds of riders getting some up close & personal time with Maris, Dale, Cristian and World Champ, Larralde.

This year, the game has been stepped up, and Dale tells us that riders are in for some amazing track tutelage.

Jumping onto the roster for some of the So. Cal clinicas is new factory heavyweight, David Herman. In fact, their February 4 clinic at Bellflower BMX will be the first time David appears in his Free Agent uniform–before the Oldsmar national–so that, in and of itself is a news event.

Download the information sheets below

Saturday, February 4 – Bellflower BMX
Sunday, February 26 – Orange Y BMX

Dale, Maris, David and the gang are looking forward to seeing you there!

While we’re at it, might be a good time to spit the details on the 2012 Free Agent/Rockstar Factory Team lineup:

Dale Holmes, Team Manager
Maris Strombergs
David Herman
Cristian Becerine
Juan Marin
Stephen Larralde
Marcus Hampton
Kristaphs Vinters

We saw our first glimpse of the new Doublecross frame in the build stand at the ABA Grands. Will Murray, an old friend of BMX News was wrenching away on it with sharp focus. It took us a minute to realize that he was actually building the ride for himself–as one of the first “name” riders busting a move over to Doublecross’ new Factory Team.

You’re going to be hearing a lot about Doublecross, out of Piedmont, OK, in the coming weeks and months. They have a fresh frame design, which News will be showing you more of later this week, and have started things off right, by picking up Will, as well as Matt Kelty and Seth Utz to push the product to the front of the pack. They also just added Jon Miller from Ohio to the growing roster. Keep an eagle eye out for more on Doublecross from the USA BMX Sooner Nationals in Guthrie, OK, next week.

Meanwhile, click here to check out what Doublecross has on the hoof

Ever hear a rumor so many times, that by the time it is officially announced, you are compelled to tell the messenger “I heard that weeks ago?” Late 2011 had its share of those, but we are now putting the “confirmed” stamp on one of the “myths and rumors” posted on the BMX Newsroom walls.

We have heard grumblings about Brian Kirkham joining the Intense Factory team for a few weeks, at least within industry circles. Today, the news is out to the rest of the world, confirmed by the company. Brian takes over the pit chair previously filled by David Herman, and will be racing the USA BMX pro series events in the Intense BMX jersey. Through a sponsorship deal with Cycling Australia, Brian has been riding a Podium frame and other VSI products for a while now. This expands that relationship to a factory ride.

On the Elite Women’s roster, Arielle Martin will be staying aboard her Podium frame, and in the Factory Intense colors for the 2012 USA BMX season.

Of course both Brian and Arielle are also strong Olympic contenders for Australia and the USA, respectively, and the VSI guys definitely have hopes of seeing a Podium on the podium this August.

Look for the debut of the 2012 Intense BMX Pro squad at the USA BMX Gator Nationals in Oldsmar, FL next month.

The official release follows:

VSI Products Inc. is pleased to announce their 2012 Factory Intense Pro roster

Flying under the Intense Factory flag will be:

Brian Kirkham – AA Pro/ Elite Men – Brian an Australian native is incredibly fast and smooth and had an amazing year in 2011. Brian is eager to come to the states and race the USABMX National Series as well as UCI and Olympic events. Its a sure bet that he will be winning more often than not. A few words from Brian “I’m really happy to have VSI’s support for a busy upcoming season and I can’t wait to represent Intense all around the world. I have been using VSI products for the past 3 years and I can honestly say its the best bike and equipment I have ever ridden. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.”

VSI COO, Gregorio de Haro, noted “We are so pleased to have Brian join forces with Intense BMX for the 2012 season. He has an amazing race record to date and has great ambition that will no doubt keep him winning.”

Arielle Martin will continue her Elite Women’s domination racing for Intense during the new 2012 season. Her primary goal is to earn the USA Olympic spot for the Elite Women and we are pleased to have Arielle sign on for another year and continue to support us as she strives to make the Olympic team. Arielle stated “2011 was an awesome year with team Intense, landing my first SX WC victory on home turf followed by a Silver at the PanAmerican Games was an amazing experience and I couldn’t have done it without the great support from the guys at VSI. I am thrilled to be staying with the company for 2012 as I make my run for the Olympics in August and chase down some domestic wins here in the states. A little forced time off to let a nagging injury in my hand heal after PanAms has me feeling fresh, re-charged, and ready for the season to start. My Intense rides have been the sexiest and fastest bikes I have ever owned and I’m looking forward to another great year on them.”

Adding to his comments on Kirkhma’s addition to the team, Gregorio de Haro said of Arielle: “We are incredibly fortunate to have an athlete like Arielle representing Intense BMX. In addition to the interest she generates on and off the track, she is a wonderful person to work with and a valuable partner in our product development process.”