Breaking News: Nic Long Released From Intense.

Nic Long has been on a bit of a tear on the track lately. USAC National Champion a couple months back, a strong showing in New Mexico, with a win and a second in Elite Men. Won the Friday night “Pro Open” class in Roseville, and made the main both days of the National.

When you’re winning races, the eyes of prospective sponsors and the world are upon you. When you have some setbacks or drama go down, it seems the eyes of CURRENT sponsors are on you most of all.

Just got this breaking news exclusive in to the BMXNEWS “Scoop” email account.

In light of recent events, Intense BMX has decided to let Nic Long out of his current contract with us to pursue other opportunities. Nic has been part of the Intense family for over 5 years, and we have enjoyed watching his riding and his career blossom while he was running our unique products.

It was a tough decision to let him go, as his contract with us ran through 2010, but we feel this is the best course of action for both our programs, and to let Nic pursue the opportunities and funding he now needs to get to the races he wants to attend.

We wish him the best of luck for the balance of the 2010 season and beyond.

Toby Henderson, CEO VSI Products/Intense BMX

No confirmation (but a heaping helping of speculation, which we are not currently at liberty to report) on what kind of uniform Nic will be wearing, come next week’s ABA Midwest Nationals in Rockford, IL. We will keep you posted as we learn more.

UPDATE 6/8/10 11:10PM CDT: On the VintageBMX thread on the topic, Haro Bicycles marketing man Derek Betcher had the following to say: “Allan Cooke and I are proud to welcome Nic Long to the Haro family.”

Interview: Toby Henderson is Still Intense!

Toby Henderson’s products touch just about every BMXer on the track. Whether you’re riding an Intense frame, using one of the hundreds of Sinz products, running ITS inner tubes, rockin a T.H.E. helmet on your noggin, or waiting in line for one of the new Speed framesets, staging is never without his hardware. Since BMXNEWS ran a piece earlier this week, talking about Speed’s new sponsorship deal with the ABA, we wanted to catch up with Toby to talk about the new brand, and how it will fit in to the VSI family of products. We also talk about Toby’s vision for BMX Racing in the future, and how his old nickname “The Coca-Cola Cowboy” came about.

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USAC JD Camps Accomplishing Mission

By Mike Carruth

The starting ramp at the US Olympic Training Center is, of course, regulation size for BMX Supercross. But, unintended though it may be, it also serves as an icon of the steep commitment required by all the riders who push their bikes to the top. A symbol for both an up hill battle, and enjoying the summit of one’s accomplishments, all in one lovable (and, some say, terrifying) eight-metre-tall package.

The third camp of the 2010 season was held last week (April 5-11), and a total of 20 riders, age 15 and 16 years of age (except for one, who was older) attended (see list below) . Intense BMX has come on as a sponsor of the Junior Development Program, and Pete D brought the Intense rig down to provide on-site aid and comfort to any campers who experienced bike trouble, or needed something tweaked.

The coaching staff, normally a trio of talent that includes Jerry Bradford, Brian Fell and Jeff Glynn welcomed a guest coach for the April camp. Kenth Fallen, universally-famous Vet Pro Champion, who also holds a Masters Degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science, was on hand to work with the riders on a closer level. Word from the top is that Kenth will be joining in the fun at future camps as well.

It was clear from the start of the Junior Development Program last year that the goal was to establish a “long view” of talent coming through the expert ranks, and work to prepare these riders for Olympic qualifying. It is a deliberte “seasoning” process, which requires time, and an unwavering commitment on the part of the riders and their families. In looking at the progress many of these riders have made since the JDP has been running, and in speaking to the riders, themselves, it is clear that all the hard work on the part of the riders, the coaches and USAC leadership, will payoff beautifully come 2016.

There is an old management maxim that says “treat people how you want them to behave.” Through their commitment to the JDP, USA Cycling treats camp attendees as “serious athletes,” Olympians, in fact (since they have access to most-or-all the same facilities at the OTC that the full time residents have). Conscious or not, this concept is changing the lives of JDP riders, and making them better BMXers, better athletes and, when you get right down to it, better kids.

In an exit interview, Austin Hiatt said “The camps have helped me in many ways. I have grown more mature, on and off the track. Without help from the camp and coaches, I would not be where I am today.” Dani George said that she felt the camps “help build confidence. We have unlimited access to the professionals on the staff if we have any questions…we are provided good nutrition and medical support. On top of that, we get to ride one of the most intimidating tracks there is.”

Of course, the camps are “work,” but they are also one of those irreplaceable BMX “experiences” that riders are sure to talk about for years. When asked about his impression of the best thing about the camp, Tyler Whitfield said “Seeing friends, having a good time and getting better at what we do. The best part is riding the track…and the ping-pong”

Everyone made a point to recognize the coaches for their commitment to the riders and the program, and also the amazing facilities provided by the US Olympic Committee and USA Cycling in Chula Vista. Jesse Day added a personal note on the bottom of his questionnaire, saying “Thank you for opening up the camp to us. Without you guys, I wouldn’t have this opportunity.”

The next Junior Development Camp will be held on June 21-27. Qualifying for the June camp began at the ABA Gator Nationals in Oldsmar, and will end at the ABA Spring Nationals in Albuquerque, NM. For more information on the camps, download this informational PDF

List Of Attendees at the April USA Cycling Junior Development Camp (listed alphabetically)

Girls
Carly Dyar, (Gilbert, AZ)
Dani George, (Palmdale, CA)
Shay Glynn, (Norco, CA.)
Alaina Henderson, (Ruby, NY)
Victoria Johnson, (Phoenix, AZ)
Brandi Milligan, (Newhall, CA)
Kaylin Sansone, (Brighton, IL)
Shelby Stacy, (Bakersfield, CA)

Boys
Maliek Byndloss, (Cape Coral, FL)
Damian Cherepko, (McKeesport, PA)
Jesse Day, (Simi Valley, CA)
Austin Hiatt, (Fresno, CA)
Cody Kelley, (Riverton, UT)
Nicholas Koehler, (Tustin, CA)
Jordan Miranda, (Bakersfield, CA)
Nathan Padilla, (Lakewood, CA)
Blake Paulson, (Folsom, CA)
Jeremy Smith, (Dayton, OH)
Dan Tritz, (Grayslake, IL)
Tyler Whitfield, (Machesney Park, IL)

Photos By Dan Mooney/ ABA BMXer magazine

Intense Rolls the Stars & Stripes at 2010 SX

Today’s “Latest Dirt,” would probably be better placed in the “Better Late Than Never” file, if we had one. Just prior to the Madrid Supercross, a few weeks back, Arielle Martin posted her new scoot on Facebook. The new Intense ride is rockin some new paint, which all the Intense-sponsored pros will be riding exclusively at UCI BMX Supercross races throughout 2010. On the Freecaster webcast, we also saw the Stars & Stripes livery under David Herman and Nic Long. Could a limited edition public release of the Stars & Stripes hardware be far behind?

Nice pedals, Ari

Jackal Packin’ a Podium

Saw this tidbit on Twitter a few mins ago, @DoubleAPete tweeted “We are excited to have the Jackal riding on a Podium” and attached the above photo. John tweeted earlier “Thank you! This bike is great! Wow!” After parting ways with GHP after the ABA Grands, John was on a Redline (which we assume may have been in his garage as his pre-GHP ride). Jackal was in Oldsmar aboard the new hardware.

Arielle Martin Joins Intense BMX Factory Team

We have been meaning to get Arielle to appear as a guest on “Announcer’s Tower” for a couple months now, but the BMXNEWS hustle was constantly getting in the way. Just yesterday, the stars aligned, and we were able to synch up a time for a sit-down this afternoon. In the ensuing 24 hours, word started to leak out that a new sponsor was in the picture (probably after a Facebook post she made with a decidedly-Intense-looking bike in a repair stand, the caption of which saying “Could this rig be more fresh?”).

Lucky us that we not only got the Arielle interview we have been jonesing for, but we were also in the perfect place at the perfect time to break the news of her fresh new factory ride with Intense BMX.

Listen to the interview by using the controls below…

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