Just got the word that Marc Willers will be on a DK Frame in 2012. The freshly-crowned (well, as of November, anyway) ABA National Number One Pro, who will debut his #1 at next week’s USA BMX Gator Nationals (and UCI North American Continental Championship), was previously committed to riding the frame of his former sponsor, Speedco, after a jersey change to Toby Henderson’s new “Box Components” line.

The official press release from Cycle Group, Inc. (parent to Box Components) tells it as such:

Last week, the staff of Cycle Group Inc. (CGI) and DK Bicycles spent the day in a rented meeting room in Fullerton (CA) finalizing the details of a one-year deal that makes DK the official frame sponsor of Marc Willers and the BOX Components Test Team.

Negotiations with DK started last year, when the company was among a half dozen frame suppliers that approached CGI about sponsorship.

“We’re excited and really looking forward to working with DK. The company has a long history in BMX going back to 1979 and a very strong presence in the sport,” said Toby Henderson, CGI’s founder.

“We were very fortunate to get several offers to sponsor Marc and BOX Components. But in DK we found a strategic partner not only willing, but ready to work with BOX Components as we develop new and innovative BMX products,” he added.

The day after Toby and Bill Danishek, DK Bicycles’ director, agreed in good faith to work together, DK product managers started the process to build Marc a frame.

“All of us are really excited about all the possibilities of working with BOX Components. Toby’s successes as a product designer and innovator are a big part of why we wanted to team up with the brand. It’s also great to have a rider like Marc Willers on a DK frame. We’re looking forward to a long-term relationship,” Bill said.

As it turns out, both companies were on the same product development path. DK began working on a 20-millimeter frame last fall. With BOX, Toby plans to continue developing 20-mil BMX components, which he successfully introduced some 18 months ago. Marc Willers won the 2011 ABA National Number 1 Pro title, 10 ABA Nationals and two UCI World Cup races using Toby’s 20-mil products.

Coincidentally, Marc’s good friend and fellow New Zealander Corey Stafford is DK’s rep in Australia. It was him who urged DK to develop 20-mil frames and components. The deal means DK can focus on building frames and bikes while BOX supplies the 20-mil parts.

“We’re working on a lot of new products and technologies for BMX. We’re very lucky to have a partner like DK that is willing to work with us as we develop our line,” Toby said.

BOX Components also will provide support to the members of DK’s factory team, including Barry Nobles and Tommy Zula, whenever possible.

Marc and the BOX Components team’s other sponsors include Promax, Fly Racing and ODI.

It bears noting that the bike in the above photo is a DK-stickered Speedco frame, which Marc will ride in Oldsmar, and until the 20mm DK frame is ready, which is expected March(ish).

Submitted by George Costa

Answer/Rennen rolled into Reno for the first time as a New Factory team for the 2012 USABMX season opener. Even though the much of the team is familiar with one another it was still a great opportunity for some team bonding and breaking in a few new riders…..Literally!

Nine riders made the trip from the all over the USA to Reno to show off our new FLY/Crit Uniform kits while aboard our SSquared frames and Answer Dagger Forks. For many (7/9) riders only six weeks prior were riding totally different frame/fork/parts combos. All adjusted quickly to the ultra stiff/responsive setups that they now are on.

Here is how your favorite riders finished on the weekend

9X/Cru Nate Coyman This freshly turned nine year old was determined more than ever to come to Reno and show everyone what hes got. Back to back main cruiser appearances shows that hes got what it takes to beat most of the older kids that he doesn’t even race at the grands. 

10G/cru Bailey Brannen Bailey wins the toughest Answer/Rennen rider award for crashing in her 10 girls main on Saturday while going for the lead on the second straight, then getting run over by a few other girls…Literally. On Sunday she came came back with a pair of podium finishes in class/cruiser. She never even hinted at being hurt back in the pits. Shes 10 and probably weighs 50lbs soaking wet but shes tough as nails.

12G Abbie Macleod This was Abbies first big west coast race and making 4 out 4 mains I’d say she handled it perfectly fine despite having some personal mechanic issues we’ll see in Oldsmar if she keeps him under contract.

16X Cody Simson Cody was our first casualty of  the season. Coming up from sunny Daytona FL he was ready to handle the 16X class before a unfortunate crash in practice resulted in two broken vertebrae. Hes now on the road to recovery and will be ready in a few months to redeem himself. 

17-27G Shelby Stacy Reno fever struck Shelby quickly as we could see in the pits her losing her voice and getting sick. This didnt stop her from two podium finishes on the weekend.

17-18X Austin Loebe Austin was looking faster than ever on this season opener (hmmm…..Is his IT wheel training working? Or is it cause of his trainer Shawn Diprete? Probably both). Lap after lap on the weekend Austin was out at the front of the pack and in Saturdays main he went from the holeshot to 6th back to 3rd all in two straights. 

28-35X Justin Wike Wikeout was demolishing his class all weekend long in the races which he actually participated in. In 17 and over open Justin showed the youngins whats up when a 29yr old podiums both days.

36-40X/Cru Shawn Diprete Shawn went on to score the only double-double for the team on the weekend, never losing a lap even after his near main miss on Saturday check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNhy81e28zg  (video credit Rob Riofrio). Diprete and Wikeout were out in the parking lot attempting to dead lift parked cars trying to peak before their mains when the new USABMX run format caught them by surprise and Shawn nearly missed his.

A-Pro Max Egdorf Max impressed us all on the weekend in his rookie pro debut. His confidence and ability to get the job done on the track is amazing he’s calm and collected and even found time to mentor many of the new riders on the team throughout the weekend. He finished with a 2nd on Friday and 6th on Sunday but could be found all weekend leading many laps from gate 8. 

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

A great day of racing in Guthrie, Oklahoma today, as Day One of the USA BMX Sooner Nationals took the focus. An even 200 motos, run with high precision, and a track layout that was given the thumbs-up by top stars and novies alike.

Though this year’s installment is not a Pro Series race, we have some names in the house this weekend that will make an awesome AA main in a year or two.

A full race report will be coming your way on Monday, with the Sunday Photo Gallery. But before lights out tonight, we wanted to get you the Saturday photo gallery, which has some awesome shots inside, if we do say so ourselves.

Check Out the Saturday Gallery Now

Don’t forget to check back Monday afternoon for the weekend’s report, and our Sunday Gallery.

During our trip to the US Olympic Training Center/Chula Vista earlier this month, we were privileged to shoot individual headshots of all the riders taking part in the Elite Camp. We thought you’d enjoy seeing some of your favorite riders suited up in their Team USA Jerseys.

We are saving the goof-around outtakes for a more opportune time

Check Out The Photo Gallery Now

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.

A major contingent of Elite “Team USA” BMX Supercross talent flew in to the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA last week for the first Elite Development camp of 2012. BMXNEWS.COM was granted exclusive access to shoot some action during one of the training sessions.

We clipped the set down to the 49 best shots of the session, and are bringing them to you as soon as we got them dialed in. It was an amazing day for shooting in San Diego, and the riders were definitely in the zone.

The camp included 19 athletes in all, but Joey Bradford and David Herman had other commitments for the photo session timeframe. And Nic Long, Felicia Stancil and Tyler Brown posted early injuries and could not ride. We wish them a speedy recovery!

Other stars out of orbit this camp; Connor Fields and Alise Post were out of the country and Mike Day and Corben Sharrah were out of town on GT biz. We vowed to catch them on-course next time.

Click Here to View the Gallery

A big thanks to: Mike King, Andrea Smith and James Herrera at USA Cycling for letting us peek into their day. Team USA is readying some amazing talent for London, and this glimpse into their routine gives us a special kind of pride as Americans. Equal thanks goes to Amanda Carr, Amanda Geving, Arielle Martin, Barry Nobles, Brooke Crain, Dani George, Donny Robinson, Jared Garcia, Jason Rogers, Josh Meyers, Kory Cook, Tyler Faoro and Weston Pope for their style and willingness to “do that again!”

—Mike Carruth

Above: Barry Nobles gets it done on the second straight aboard his new DK scoot.

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

There is nothing more confidence-inspiring when you’re locked in the gate, and staring down a massive first straight, than knowing your safety equipment is the best it can be. It gives you a bit more “go for it” than you otherwise might have, and helps those on the sidelines keep their composure, should the unexpected happen.

Troy Lee Designs brings us the BP 7855 Long Sleeve Protective Jersey as a major component to the “bulletproof directive.” Not necessarily a “new” product, but one that flies comfortably under the radar–and under the jersey of many a hotshoe.

It has “strata foam” in all the places where your arms, chest or back are likely to impact and skid along the soil-tac…and it is designed to work seamlessly with your Leatt-style neck brace. In fact, the upper chest / spine and clavicle pads are all removable to facilitate the ideal fit with your brace.

The Anatomical design provides a close fit, while dedicated zones protect the chest, ribs, back/spine, clavicle, shoulders and your buffed-up biceps.

You can run it AS your jersey, as we’ve seen some privateers do, or slip it on under your factory rags for that robo-rider look & feel. Bottom line is that the investment in this ounce of prevention will be worth far more than any cure when you get pounded in the first turn.

Available in Adult Small – XL at J&R Bicycles.

Click here for more info

SPECIAL! BMX News readers save 15% on this item, when you use discount code: BMXNEWSTLD7855. Offer ends Feb 14th, 2012

Product Spotlight is Presented by:

Star Products, out of Wisconsin, has been making some moves into the market since their debut at the 2011 ABA Midwest Nationals in Rockford. A cool logo, and some US-Made product gave their industry profile a nice little push at the race. Recently, some chatter about a forthcoming frame has been on the BMX News radar scope.

Tonight, via Facebook, the company announced that they have purchased the inventory and frame design of Rockford-based RPM Products.

Company rep, Bryan Dickerson told News that they would be making both aluminum and chromoly versions of the new Star Products frame, and would be coming to market with the line before April. Here’s a peek at the sizes:

The chromoly line will be larger sizes, with a 20-inch in 21″, 21.5″ and 22″ top tube lengths and cruisers in 21.5″ and 22″ TT.

Their aluminum offerings will be broader, with a Mini (17.75″), Junior (18.75″), Expert (19.75″), Pro (20.75″), Pro XL (21.25″), Pro XXL (21.75″) and “King” at 22.25″ Top tube lengths in the 20-inch. They will also do aluminum cruisers in Junior (18.75″), Expert (19.75″), Pro (21.5″) and Pro XL in 22″ top tube length.

Target price point for the hardware (all US-made) will be around $400. The chromoly prototype will be at next week’s USA BMX Sooner Nationals in Guthrie, OK. Word is that the RPM inventory acquired in today’s transaction will be stickered with the Star Products graphics.

Dickerson noted that Star Products is rider-owned and operated with over 40 years of BMX experience. More info soon on their website at www.starproductsbmx.com. BMX News will update this story as new details arise.

As for RPM, we put out an inquiry to them today, but no word back before we posted. The Facebook announcement by Star Products said that RPM was going in a “different direction,” so we’ll update that part of the story as well.