Corben Says “No Way” to SX-Only Rumor

At the past few races, a rumor has been going around the pits, essentially saying that some of the top Olympic contenders would be staying home from nationals here at home, in favor of a “Supercross-only” strategy. One of the riders mentioned in the chatter was Corben Sharrah. Corben made the Elite funded team for the upcoming UCI BMX World Championships in Denmark later this month, and is on a trajectory that many believe will put him in the Olympic Village, next August.

BMX News caught up with Corben last week, to congratulate him on his piece in Sports Illustrated, and had a chance to ask him if there was any truth to the rumor. He said:

“Those weren’t my words. I fully plan on being a participant in the ABA series, and have no intention of just doing Supercross. I have just as much fun racing the ABA series, and will be at as many ABA races as I can make it to.”

Good to hear Corben! Looking forward to seeing you soon.

The Jordan Miranda GT Jersey

News broke just prior to the Salt Lake race last weekend, that Jordan Miranda was swapping out his long-time Clayborn gear, and getting into some GT threads, ala Mike Day and Corben Sharrah. We did not get a chance to see him in action out there, but did get this shot of his new GT jersey sent over.

You may remember, Jordan was off the bike for a while due to the discovery of a cyst on his brain. The docs are still working that one out, but he is cleared to ride now, and kicked down a fourth and a second in 17-18x in Salt Lake, which was pretty respectable, for not riding in a while, and being on a new scoot, to boot.

Next stop Vegas next week. We’ll have our chips on the Missile to show strong.

Hurrah for Corben Sharrah!

Link to Photo Gallery for All of USA Cycling BMX National Championship at end of this article.

Corben Sharrah has had quite a week. Last Saturday, he won the first UCI BMX Supercross of 2011. Then he was named USA Today Athlete of the Week for that win. He took a break for day one of the ABA So. Cal Nationals–obviously resting up for what was to come on Saturday.

The annual USA Cycling BMX National Championship is a one day, one-(final)-lap-for-the-gold race which, among other things, qualifies amateurs to Team USA for the UCI BMX World Championships. The Elite qualification rules are a little more complex, but suffice it to say that the Elite winners of this race are crowned USA Cycling National Champions, and each get a spiff new Stars & Stripes jersey.

Of the Elite men, 29 riders climbed the three-story start ramp at the Chula Vista SX track. This was the first time the championship race was decided on a supercross track–marking a definite shift in Elite BMX Racing from the traditional national tracks. The move to the big hill answered the pleas of many riders that such a race should be on an SX track.

After three motos, Sharrah was a major standout, with a 1-1-1. David Herman was also there with three aces. Nic Long had a 2-1-1 and Denzel Stein had a 2-2-1. Barry Nobles also seemed to be on a “good day, possibly GREAT day” trajectory, with a 1-1-4.

What makes BMX Supercross so exciting to fans is that it is unpredictable. It calls to mind the “Deathstar Run” in Star Wars–one wrong move, out of the groove, and “ka-boom!” game over.

In the First Elite Men Semi, Stein was in command with Nic Long in the chase. Nobles and Kory Cook were left in the first turn after a tangle. At the berm jump, Stein and Long looked good for a trip to the main. The final two spots were a three-man race between Tyler Faoro, Tommy Vallejo and Johnny Woodmansee. In turn two, Faoro emerged as a solid third, and Vallejo looked like he may have a zip lock on the bubble spot when he hit the exit of the turn with a little too much velocity, and high-sided–spinning into the ground, and leaving Woodmansee with the final spot for Semi 1.

The second semi had Herman, Sharrah and Tyler Brown as the three solid leaders, at the berm jump, with Mike Day on the bubble. Moments before, on the landing to the second set in the straightaway, it seemed like we heard a loud “kink!” out of Mike’s bike, and he made the berm jump, but seemed to shut it down after that (no word on whether it was an equipment failure, or just an “unexpected adjustment.” With Day out of the way, Jared Garcia slid into the bubble spot, and held off the likes of Donny Robinson, Weston Pope and Riley Stair to hit the main event gate.

Come main event time, Long had the inside position, with Sharrah next to him. Gate 3 was Stein, then Brown, Woodmansee, Herman, Faoro and Garcia. After all the pomp & pageantry of doing the intros for the TV cameras, it was on!

The gate dropped, and the USAC National champion shot down the hill. Nobody knew who it would be yet, because anything was possible. Sharrah and Herman got out to early leads, staying low over the first gap–the rest of the guys skyed over it and made it out clean. By the backside of turn one, the final order had been all-but-decided, when Sharrah and Herman stretched out a bit more, and Tyler Brown settled into the third slot. Nic Long still could still be a factor, as he was on Tyler’s chainstay and had a history of pulling rabbits out of helmets in the final feet. Sharrah hit the berm jump (above) with a bike or so on Herman and Brown. Down the third straight, it stayed Sharrah in the lead, and may have momentarily swapped between Herman and Brown in second (too hard to see from our vantage point). But by the final stretch, it was clear GT’s Corben Sharrah would have his second win on an SX track in as many weeks, and a new title to add to his resume: 2011 USA Cycling BMX National Champion. Joining him on the podium would be David Herman for Intense BMX and Tyler Brown for Crupi/ProGate.

BMX News will have the rest of Saturday’s re-cap, as well as story and photos from the ABA So. Cal National, late Monday.

Meanwhile, check out the photo galleries

Saturday Photo Gallery (Includes Amateurs and Elites)

Added Monday Morning:
ABA So. Cal Nationals – Sunday

Corben Sharrah Honored By “USA Today”

After his World Cup win in Pietermaritzburg last weekend, Corben Sharrah has attracted the eyes and honors of the sports editors at USA Today. In yesterday’s edition, the paper, which has a daily audience of 1.7 million readers, named Corben their “USA TODAY Olympic Athlete of the Week.”

Honors like this are a great way to spread the word about our sport, and we feel BMX racers are long-overdue for recognition in the mainstream media.

We’re sure Corben’s sponsor, GT Bicycles, is stoked about this as well, though they were not mentioned in the article (Sharrah was in South Africa as part of the USA Cycling “funded” team, and therefore, wore the “USA” jersey pictured above, instead of the Factory GT threads you see at the nationals).

We are anxious to see if Corben starts up a winning streak when he is back in GT colors this weekend at the USA Cycling National Championship in Chula Vista, CA. BMX News will be on the ground with updates, tweets and photos throughout the weekend.

See the full USA Today Article

Shhh!: Sharrah to GT

Have you ever been to an event at which the President of The United States was speaking? No? Well if you’ve seen episodes of The West Wing or “24,” you know that just before the president arrives, a bunch of burly Secret Service dudes arrive first and take their posts, maybe a red carpet is rolled out and other final preparations for the leader of the Free World. They don’t exactly go on the loudspeaker and say “The President Will Be Arriving in Two Minutes!” But based on all that’s going on, you kind of know what’s coming.

Since just after the Grands (heck, maybe AT the grands), there have been rumbly grumblies about Corben making the move to fill Joey Bradford’s vacated spot on the GT factory team. And now it seems the proverbial “agents” are taking up their posts. Nothing official just yet…no press release or major announcement, but certain things are taking place that lead us to believe Corben will be riding into Reno in the colors once worn by legends like Greg Hill, Randy Stumpfhauser and still worn by Mike Day (more and more lately, as we’re told his recovery from back surgery is nearly complete).

So, cautious optimism on this one…We’re looking forward to the first 2011 photos of Corben and his new ride this weekend.

Premature congratulations to all involved.

Interview: Mike Day’s Back

We have not seen nor heard from Mike Day since the ABA Grands in November. Well, not exactly true. We have seen some twitter updates giving us a peek into what is happening with him. Car stereos being ripped from their enclosures and, most recently, a Vimeo link to a quick-cut of some footage that video impresario Clay Porter shot with Mike in SoCal recently (which is way cool, by the way). We knew he was suffering debilitating back pain, and was undergoing rigorous physical therapy for it. But, aside from that, not so much until now. So, leading up to this weekend’s ABA Winternationals, where Mike will, indeed, be back, we sat down with him for our weekly Announcers Tower Podcast.

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.

Listen Now

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