Tory Nyhaug Injured in Elite Practice. Out for the Worlds.

Reports coming out of Pietermaritzburg are that Redline Factory Jr. Elite, Tory Nyhaug from Canada went down hard in Thursday Elite practice and was rushed to a local hospital with a lacerated spleen. Word is that Tory will remain in the hospital for the next several days and will, of course, miss participating in Saturday’s UCI BMX World Championships.

A thread was started over on VintageBMX.com for fans wanting to post their messages of support.

UCI BMX Crowns First 2010 World Champs

Around 3AM Eastern Time, the UCI BMX World Championships kicked off in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (where it was 9AM). Today, qualifiers and main events were held for the 13-Under challenge classes (boys and girls)–meaning we already have a bunch of new world champions in BMX Racing, three of whom are from the United States.

Information is seeping over to the states via a variety of sources, Pete Dylewski among them, from whom we swiped the above photo of new 11 Boys World Champ, Bubba Gonzales. Also, Jeff Glynn is doing his best to rock the Twitter updates in between being a Team USA coach (follow USA_BMX). And the Vintage thread where Mike Fields is reporting his “man on the ground” experiences is where you’ll get the local flavor, aside from the black & white “who won” detail.

On Day One, Team USA scored three W1 plates (Julian Dittrick in 8 Boys, Bubba Gonzales (above) in 11 Boys, and Collin Hudson in 13 Boys). Amakye Anderson got second in 7 Boys, Wyatt Bell and Matt Sterling got third and fourth, respectively in 8 Boys. Cody Paulson was a main maker in 9 boys, with a W8, and Max Burhenn got 4th in 10 Boys. There were no girls from the United States in any of the day one main events.

Aside from that action, the Elite Women did their practice, but it got truncated by light rain. Racing down an SX hill is extreme enough, without “slip & slide mode” enabled.

More news from the 2010 UCI BMX World Championships as it develops, so keep it here, and on VintageBMX.com

Meanwhile, here are a few resources for you to check out:

Mike Fields’ “Welcome to the Worlds” thread on VintageBMX.com

Jeff Glynn “@USA_BMX” Twitter Page

Pete Dylewski “@doubleapete” Twitter Page

Freecaster.tv will be Webcasting the Elite Classes live, beginning Saturday morning around 6:30AM Eastern Time.

Results of the 13-Under Challenge Classes

Thanks to Pete Dylewski for the photo, via Tweetphoto

Meyers and Stein to Replace dR and KB at Worlds

After a training accident took Team USA’s funded Elite riders Kyle Bennett and reigning Elite World Champion, Donny Robinson out of action for this year’s UCI BMX World Championships, the community has been on pins and needles as to who would be named to the squad to replace the two Olympians on the trip to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, later this month

BMX News has just learned that Josh Meyers and Denzel Stein have gotten the nod from USA Cycling BMX Program director Mike King.

“While we’re sad Donny and Kyle won’t be able to participate in the event, we are excited to be able to offer two top young talents the opportunity to gain experience on the world’s highest stage,” King said in the official statement released by USAC late this afternoon.

Some big pressure on these guys, as Team USA is counting on them to bring home a podium finish (or two). The World Championships has the highest UCI points up for grabs, save for the Olympic Games themselves. With all three events remaining between now and 2012, some early podium wins would bode well for Team USA to take the maximum number of entry slots in the London games. In the most recent high-points showdown, the Class Three North American Continental Championship in Salt lake City, UT, earlier this month, the United States did not take any of the three podium slots in the Elite Men’s class, with those honors going to Maris Strombergs (Latvia), Sam Willoughby (Australia) and Khalen Young (Australia).

The Final Jr. Elite/Elite USA Team for South Africa is:

Junior Women
Brooke Crain (Visalia, CA – Factory Clayborn)
Taylor Wolcott (Roseville, CA – Tangent/Fly)

Junior Men
Connor Fields (Henderson, NV – Free Agent-Rockstar )
Corben Sharrah (Tucson, AZ – Redman Rockstar)

Elite Women
Arielle Martin (Pleasant Grove, UT – Intense-Monster Energy)
Amanda Geving (Largo, FL – MCS Bicycles)
Alise Post (Saint Cloud, MN – Factory Redline)
Ashley Verhagen (Simi Valley, CA – Crupi Bicycles)
Amanda Carr (Punta Gorda, FL – Endeavor/Ripxx)

Elite Men
Denzel Stein (Desoto, TX – Factory Redline)
Joshua Meyers (Treasure Island, FL – Factory S Squared-Troy Lee Designs)
Donny Robinson (Napa, CA – Hyper-Monster Energy – Injured)
Kyle Bennett (Conroe, TX – Free Agent-Rock Star – Injured)

News has also heard rumblings that David Herman grabbed a ticket and a last-minute entry into the race, though not on the official, funded team.

Keep it with BMXNEWS.COM for additional stories from the 2010 UCI BMX World Championships, and breaking news alerts leading up to the big day.

The actual start list for the “Championship” (Elite) classes has not been released yet, but we’ll post it once it is. Meanwhile, give a look to the Challenge Class list, by class