When one has reached the heights of a profession that Kyle Bennett has reached, the pressure to improve, perform and stay healthy is ever-present. More often than not, these concepts are at odds with each other, yet all are essential. The fear is that there is always someone grinding out one more sprint, doing one more of something, or one less of something else…and walking between the raindrops on the dozens of injury risks that lie in wait for any top-performing, present-day pro.

For Kyle Bennett, things seemed to be sizzlin right along this summer. He was solidly in the top 10 (closer to the top 5, really) in the ABA standings, he was on the funded USA team for the World Championships in South Africa, and he was training well. Save for a little setback in the semis in Salt Lake (which was said to have rung his bell quite a bit), it was going to plan.

That plan changed on Saturday, July 10 when, as he Denzel Stein and Donny Robinson were doing laps at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Kyle over-jumped one of the sets on the third straight. What happened next changed the fate of Team USA BMX for 2010, and left both KB and dR in the hospital for several days.

In this episode of Announcers Tower, Kyle talks about the day of the accident, how it happened, and how he’s doing 10 days after spending a week in the hospital. He also looks to the future with the positive attitude of a champion, and makes it clear that he will be in the mix for quite some time to come.

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We really enjoyed doing this interview, and were very glad to hear the pep in Kyle’s voice, despite the injuries, and the disappointment of being sidelined for the 2010 Worlds. Thanks to Kyle for joining us! We look forward to keeping an eye on his progress, and eventual return.

KB and dR, fresh from the nursing ward, hit the beach with a cropped-out Denzel Stein and Corben Sharrah. (Photo courtesy of Donny Robinson)

We were surprised that the kinds of coaching he kicks down are not limited to the Mike Day and Jill Kintner types, at the highest level the sport has to offer. In fact, he has a rack-ready program which anyone can plug into, and specifically addresses the older cruiser rider, and the lil bike tyke, alike.

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Watching the Copenhagen Supercross on Freecaster was a harrowing experience for us. Being so used to TiVo, and the ability to rewind live TV, it was tough to take it all in with the fastest riders in the world zooming by at 40MPH.

Still, it was impossible to miss the extraordinary performances of Connor Fields and Corben Sharrah, both still technically in the Junior Men class. These “juniors” were the only two US riders to make the main event (out of 114 Elite Men who started Time Trials on Friday). As you may remember, Connor made the podium at the last SX race in Madrid. This time, it was Corben who was standing on the right-step with a third place finish to Maris Strombergs of Team Free Agent/Rockstar from Latvia, and Liam Phillips of the UK.

BMXNEWS caught up with Corben this afternoon, between school and training, to hear in his own words how such a big accomplishment feels, how he was able to handle the pressure, and what his plans are for the future.

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Thanks for the awesome photos goes out to Mattias Ankrah

Last week, BMXNEWS brought you an article about G-Cog, and how Rennen was making it more accessible to the masses through a payment plan that allows customers to pay over a year’s time. We distilled some good info out of the advance copy of the release, but we wanted to do a deeper dive with GC on G-C.

One thing that struck us since day one with G-Cog was that, in addition to being an integral part of the training program for top pros and Olympic-eyed ams, it could also be a miracle tool to help dial in the bikes and riding habits of the youngest riders our there. These young guns — say five through eight years of age, sometimes don’t know enough to say “this gear is too easy,” or “These cranks are feeling too short now.” Parents and coaches have to find out through lots of almost-wins, and spending plenty of time punching REW and Pause buttons on a remote. With G-Cog, all the data you need to make those calls is right there, if you know how to read it.

More on that concept in a future article, but we wanted to hear more about the inner workings of G-Cog, and how it can work for different groups of BMX racers. George takes us through G-Cog’s application and use from the Elite ranks, to top experts, to underperforming riders using the device to kick it up a notch.

George joined us for a taping of “Announcers Tower,” just prior to pulling out of town for the NBL Freedom Nationals in Woodbridge, VA. There, the Rennen-Intense Factory Team landed a first and a second in the two-day team sheet throwdown.

We will have more from George on a future episode of AT, so enjoy this “first installment.”

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Dig the BMXNEWS.COM sticker on the console of the CNC machine. Cool to see that every Rennen gear has a little of that “News” magic built right in.

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It was clear that the guys in his class remember clearly how fierce a competitor Pete was. We always enjoyed Pete’s easy conversational style, and firm opinions on topics he was passionate about. None of that has changed over the years, as you will witness by giving a listen to this week’s episode of “Announcers Tower.”

The interview was recorded on April 8.

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This episode sponsored by HRP Designs

When BMXNEWS reported on Sam Willoughby’s win in Madrid last weekend, it struck us that he has been on a bit of a tear lately. He won the 2009 SX UCI BMX World Cup title, Day One in Guthrie, a muddy Day Two in Phoenix and made the podium both days in Desoto. Then, 24 hours later, hopped a big bird to Madrid, where he dispensed with 135 of his closest Elite friends to take the top of the podium there. Yes, “the one man wolfpack,” as Redman likes to call him, is on the hunt in 2010 (be thankful that we resisted all temptation to invoke Duran Duran just now and say he was “Hungry…like the wolf”).

Still, in today’s episode of “Announcers Tower,” we got to see beyond the race day face of Sam Willoughby, to meet a man who is humble, thankful, insightful, decisive and, of course, laser-focused on his goals. We enjoyed getting to know Sam a little better through the interview, and hope you have the same experience.

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*Editors Note: In the interview, we made reference to an “Tuesday’s 10″ interview that Gary Haselhorst conducted with Danny Caluag earlier this month. That interview can be found here.. Gary also did a Tuesday’s 10 with Sam the previous week. That interview can be found here.

This episode of Announcers Tower is brought to you by HRP Designs.

Just hours after stepping off a widebody from Madrid, BMXNEWS sat down with Connor Fields to talk about his podium finish at this weekend’s Madrid Supercross. We are going to try to bring you an interview with top dawg, Sam Willoughby, later in the week, but Connor’s “underdog” story was tops on our mind this week.

Few may know that Connor was unofficially the first guest on the “Announcer’s Tower” podcast, before it had a name, when we interviewed him upon his return from the injured list at the NBL Grands last September. Connor becomes the first person to be interviewed a second time on the show.

We had a great time doing the interview, and we’re sure you’ll agree, Connor is as level-headed and down-to-earth as it gets. Enjoy!

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Mike is admittedly a little over-anxious to get back on his bike. He is here in Phoenix, and was practicing in Friday’s Pro Practice…but any kind of customary results are very much up in the air. In the interview, Mike also talks about his London 2012 ambitions, his preference for Twitter over Facebook, and his advice for first-time Medalists bringing home hardware from Vancouver.

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