Josh Klatman Starts On A Redline

“It all starts on a Redline” has been the tagline for the industry giant for quite a while now. For two-time (and current) ABA National Number One Amateur, Josh Klatman, the better phrasing would be “2012 Starts on a Redline.” BMX News just got our hands on the forthcoming photos of Josh in a stock jersey, and we thought we’d share them with you. We will have more on the new addition to the Factory Redline squad leading up to the 2012 USA BMX season opener next week in Reno.

Meanwhile, check out this tasty edit that Carne$, Sam and Denzel did a few months back. Klatman will, undoubtedly be rockin one of these Flight Carbons, so these stories go together like peas and carrots.

Sweet 16 For Alise–Stronger Every Day

On July 24 of this year, BMX News reported that Factory Redline Elite Women ace, Alise Post would be sidelined for the balance of the 2011 season, due to an injury suffered during training for the UCI World Championships. One week later, Alise was in Vail, CO for knee surgery, and that would be the starting point by which her recovery would be measured.

Fast forward 16 weeks. Alise is well past the wheelchair, cleared the crutches, and is ambulating on her own two feet. She does a great job of keeping the fans up to date on her progress, and sent News the following update last night:

Today marks 16-weeks, post-op for my knee surgery. I am EXTREMELY excited about this, because 16 weeks is a very important point in the rehab process.

With a normal knee injury, say an ACL, or even if I had just torn my LCL, the rehab process would’ve progressed a lot more aggressively. However, due to my torn hamstring tendon having to be reattached on top of the LCL reconstruction graft, my rehab plan needed to be more conservative than others.

The combination of injuries is what made my case so rare to many of the people working with me. The fact that your hamstrings are so strong poses a problem in healing, once re-attached, because it is easy to rip-apart the work that was done in the surgery if a re-attached hamstring is engaged too soon. Needless to say, my therapists and I have had to be very creative on how to go about strengthening my leg and ligament without engaging too much of my hamstring. Today, this all changes!

16-weeks is a big corner to turn, in that now I can use my hamstring freely and starting lateral work on my ligament. These are key to my rehab process, because they allow me to actually start sport-specific rehab and put strength and agility back into my knee, which are obviously big stepping-stones back into regular training.

I am off to see the doctor in Vail again next week, the day before Thanksgiving. This will be the last visit, and hopefully I’ll get the “all clear” on everything I am writing about. My therapists and I have no doubts that Dr. LaPrade will be impressed with the stability and progression of my knee. Well, at least I sure hope so! It has been a long process, but we have all been on top of our game and doing absolutely everything possible to get me back healthy! I can’t thank everyone enough, because I truly believe I am exactly where I should be, if not ahead.

I also feel ready to start sharing a bit of more of my story. I know I haven’t been the best about video blogging or keeping everyone fully in the loop on my progress. The truth is, I needed to take some time for myself to be sure I was where I wanted to be. Now that I am happy with where I am at though, I feel I am ready to share some more of my internal thoughts and details about the process I have been going through. I will be doing this on my Redline Blog pretty regularly leading up to Grands next week. I have tickets, and will be there to support my friends, family, and Redline Squad for the “Greatest Race on Earth!!” Follow me on Twitter for daily updates @alisepost11

Thanks for reading and for your continued support. I cannot put into words how much it helps to know there are so many people backing me, through thick and thin. I hope you enjoy the blog updates…See ya’ll in Tulsa!

-Alise

A big BMX News congrats to Alise for making it swiftly and safely to this milestone. More with #11 from the fenceline at the 2011 ABA Grands next week.

Alise Post Redline Blog

Quick Hit: New Redline Jerseys in So. Cal

The typically “white-hat” good guys of Factory Redline will be in the black this weekend at the ABA So. Cal Nationals. gOrk posted these photos on Facebook yesterday, and we thought they were slick enough to give you a quick hit before the landslide of out-front rider photos that are sure to follow from the race.

Sam. He Is!

Mike Redman and Jim Riley are fond of using the nickname “Sam-I-am” when referring to Redline AA star Sam Willoughby. Well, Seussian rhythm aside, as of tonight, they may just have to retire that one for a while in favor of a more fitting way to address our new ABA National Number One Pro: Sam…He IS!

Motivational coaches the world over will tell you that if you want to attain a goal, you have to constantly picture yourself attaining that goal, get deep into the thoughts of how it will be when you attain it…who will be there, even some of the smells in the air. Well, except for the sweet waft of late-in-the-day Churros coming off the concession stand, word is that Sam had today’s final result in his head for no less than six years.

His dad told tale of a 13-year-old Sam who would say, with absolute clarity and conviction “I’m going to do that (be a Pro BMXer and come to America to race with, and beat, the top stars the sport has to offer) someday.”

Sam made good his word to beat the best of the best this evening at 6:52PM Central Time, as he aced out Marc Willers by inches (millimeters, for the more metrically-inclined) to win both the day’s AA Pro check, and with it, enough points to put him into the proverbial endzone for the 2010 ABA Number One Pro title.

Word from the Redline pit was that, even prior to the main, Sam had the title pretty well sewn up, after his Friday night win in the Pro Spectacular (where he won all three motos, a quarter, a semi and the main), and having simply made Sunday’s main. Still, the fans ate up the suspense and down-to-the-wire action to decide it all.

Wired points aside, he was focused on a Grands win as a princely way to crown this most special of days (and the extra scratch must have been nice too; in addition to an end-of-year ABA bonus of $15,000 for winning the title, and a Redline title contingency of unknown amount (but “up there” was how we heard it), today’s payday was about as tall as modern-day BMX Racing has to offer (as of this writing, at least).

Accepting the cup from ABA CEO, BA Anderson, Sam thanked all the people you would thank if you were him–sponsors, his mom & dad, Mark & Cheryl Post, Wade Bootes, Alise…and also gave a shout out to his “rival,” Maris, who was taken out of the title race on Friday in the first round of Pro Spectacular qualifying, with a broken wrist and other injuries). Sam’s got some serious class under that TLD helmet.

As noted above, Sam aced the three mains tonight, and the third one was closest of all (see above photo).

BMXNEWS will have more on the other title races, and the 2010 ABA Grands in general tomorrow and Tuesday (we’re on the road 11 hrs tomorrow, but are working feverishly to get photos posted before the wagon train rolls out of Tulsa Town).

In the interim, a big congrats to Sam and Factory Redline on the big win! And also to the other title winners this evening, whom you will be hearing more about in the coming days:

Pro Women: Dominique Daniels (Grand Canyon University)
Pro Cruiser: Barry Nobles (Factory Clayborn)
Vet Pro: Kenth Fallen (Factory Supercross)
Amateur: Josh Kaltman (Factory Crupi)
Girl: Tyler Schaefer (For Erin)
Cruiser: Brodie Spott (Factory Clayborn)
Girl Cruiser: Kelsey Van Ogle (Redman-Rockstar)

Alise Post: “I had a terrible, freak accident”

In what was sure to be one of the most contentious battles of the 2010 ABA Grands weekend, fate dealt a punishing blow to Alise Post late Monday afternoon. BMX NEWS brought early details of Alise’s season-ending injury just before lights out Monday night. Still, it was Alise’s idea to address her fans directly by writing the following “In Her Own Words” article on the accident.

We are grateful to hear that Alise was not more seriously hurt, and that prospects are overwhelmingly positive for a full recovery and return to the big hill in 2011.

“A terrible, freak accident.”
By Alise Post, November 22, 2010

After a great season, and a 40-point lead heading into the 2010 ABA Grand National, I had a terrible, freak accident today.

Sam, Wade (Bootes), and myself went over to the Chula Vista ABA track for a little 20-30 minute play session on our bikes, just to have a quick “touch up” and make sure we were feeling good for the race.

Toward the end of the session, I took a slow run at the first double on the second straight to try and get a pull-manual I had been working on. I wanted to make it so bad that I yanked up on my handlebars wayyyy too hard, and almost looped out. To try and save it, I unclipped my right foot and put it down thinking I was going slow enough to run out of it. Unfortunately, I planted my foot just the wrong way (due to many ankle sprains/rolls in both gymnastics and track and field, the ligaments in my ankles are already fairly overstretched and will roll easily, but usually without any consequences).

My weak ankles didn’t help me out in this situation, because when my ankle rolled outwards, the doctors say, my ligaments stretched a little too far and ended up tearing, leaving my fibula bone no support and allowing it to break. There is no official confirmation that any of the ligaments are torn, and I will be getting an MRI shortly to confirm this likely outcome.

X-Rays, however, have confirmed a clear fracture across my entire right Fibula (the smaller outside bone in your lower leg) just above the frequent “high ankle sprains” you hear about in professional hockey, football, etc. I am not in a full cast yet as the swelling is pretty out of hand, and it is likely I will need surgery next week at home in Minnesota if the MRI confirms torn ligaments.

Surgery could entail placement of screws and a plate to hold the Fibula and Tibia bones together (which will later be removed), some ligament repairs, and up to a 3-month, no-weight-bearing recovery, followed by few months of intense rehabilitation. However, this is worst case scenario, so I can only hope things turn out better than they look now, and my youth, health, fitness, support, OTC rehab, and mental toughness get me through a speedy recovery and back to BMX stronger than ever!

Needless to say I will not be racing the Grands this year. I may make an appearance, but I will need to be extremely careful. Doctors warned me that if my leg is bumped at this point, the bone will likely displace further and the injury could become worse. But hey, I gotta support my buddies!

They say that “you’re only one crash away from the end of your career” in BMX. So I guess for Thanksgiving, I will be thankful that I have an injury I can come back from and lots of support from my friends and family. Little did I know that on one of my last runs, 25 minutes into the session, and my last 5 minutes of training before I took off to Tulsa, I would take a wimpy little, slow-paced crash that would end my hopes of winning the ABA National #1 title. It’s crazy…a year’s worth of work and “BAM!,” gone in the blink of an eye.

But, there’s no reason to dwell on this incident. The reason I wrote this update is for everyone to know the full story, so we can all move past this accident and look forward to the bigger and better things that lie in my future.

“Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward.”
Denis Waitley, best-selling author and motivational speaker

Thanks for the support everyone, and happy holidays!
—Alise Post
Redline #11

Our thanks to Alise for telling her story here on News. We will be keeping you “Posted” on new developments as they unfold, and Alise says she will also be writing about her recovery on her GO211 blog in the coming weeks and months.

Broken Hearts Over Alise’s Broken Leg

At 10:35PM EST this evening, Vintage carried a thread with a rumor that Alise Post broke her leg (“Confirm or Deny,” it said). It seemed like a classic hoax, or maybe just some mistaken intel (no aspersions cast upon “mannequinforce,” the thread creator…but we all get wild rumors that later turn out to be stinkers).

News traded text messages with Alise, and it is with great sadness that we report the rumor is, in fact, true.

Alise was out this afternoon riding the Amateur track at Chula Vista with Sam Willoughby and Wade Bootes, at a recreational pace, when things went wrong over the double coming out of turn one. She hung her toe on the backside of the jump, and the resulting landing broke her right Fibula. In a tragic irony, it was the last lap of the session and they were headed off the track–somewhat of a freak accident.

Alise says that doctors characterize the injury as also possibly involving torn ankle ligaments (an MRI tomorrow will tell for sure) and surgery is likely next week. Recovery time on injuries of this nature is typically 3-6 months depending on the severity, according to BMXNEWS sources.

Going into this week’s ABA Grand National, Alise holds a 40-point lead on the ABA National Number One Pro Women’s title over long-time rival Dominique Daniels.

Alise will be writing an “In Her Own Words” piece for News, which we will post tomorrow. But before the rumor mill spun too far out of control, Alise gave us permission to bring you some early facts on this heartbreaking development.

All of us here at NEWS wish Alise a quick and more-than-full recovery in 2011.

Stay tuned to BMXNEWS.COM for Alise’s story.

Carly Dyar Sidelined in Practice Accident

Sending out some BMXNEWS.COM “Get Well Soon” vibes today to Factory Redline’s Carly Dyar. The reigning National Number One Girls Cruiser had a freak accident earlier this week while practicing on her home track, Chandler BMX. Carly told News:

I was at Chandler BMX and landed on my side after the wind blew me sideways over one of the jumps. I have a bruised lung and a cut on my kidney and they held me overnight to make sure the lung didn’t collapse because of the bleeding. I also messed up something in my shoulder that they can’t find in an x-ray so on Monday i have to go get an MRI and they are thinking it is the rotator cuff.

They told me to do light activities for a couple weeks so that everything can heal and I can start riding again healthy. Depending on the MRI, it will tell me how long I’m out for.

We wish Carly the inside line on a fast recovery!

Interview: Sam Willoughby Talks Madrid and 2010

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.