ABA Crowns 2011 Champs

For fans attending the Saturday Night show at the 2011 ABA Grands, the $10 admission price delivered on its promise of being “not the kind of BMX racing you see every day.”

Early in the day, more than a few were scratching their heads, wondering how 603 motos, times two, would fit into the alloted 10ish-hours before the published schedule said the evening program would open its doors. Well, the ABA crew did not appear to spend a lot of time standing around wringing their hands, THINKING about it. They GOT about it, and the first hour saw nearly **200** gates. That is space shuttle speed. It throttled back after the first hour or so, and settled in at a ~110-120/hr pace that is comfortable for all concerned.

We are not saying a syllable about the Amateur racing that happened during the day. That will come after Sunday’s mains are in the books. But getting us to a cleared out house by 6:15PM so the paying crowd could be let back in, was a Modern Marvel in its own right.

Three titles would be decided Saturday Night (Vet, Women and AA Pro), with the program running the “classic” ABA Pro format of three mains (Hooray!).

THE WOMEN

Habit is a beautiful thing, and at the same time, very limiting. We are so accustomed to saying “Elite Women” now, that we really don’t know what to call it when it is not Elite Women. Girl Pro? Nah, that seems kind of condescending, and does not have a lofty enough ring to it. “Lady Pro?” Not sure, but that doesn’t seem exactly proper either. “FePro?” Hmmm. That could work. Whatever moniker you wish to attach to it, the gals/ladies/females/women brought the crowd to their feet with full-on title chase action, and some third main drama added to the mix.

For those just arriving from a vacation on Neptune, the Women’s title battle was between Dom Daniels and Brooke Crain this year. Brooke has been spending her time trotting the globe to SX races, gaining the essential seasoning she’ll need to take her career to its ultimate heights…and boy (er…girl?) does it show. We wrote a little about how much Brooke’s game has been stepped up as part of our Chula Vista SX coverage. When not hopping the Atlantic, or on a UCI startlist somewhere, you can find her training at the US Olympic Training Center/Chula Vista, establishing herself as a bright star on the present and future roster of Elite female athletes for Team USA.

For her part, Dom has three ABA #1 FePro cups on her mantle (see what we did just then? ), and a fourth would make a mighty fine matched set. She has been racing a lot here at home, doing clinics, training with a laser focus, and looking to take her Team Puerto Rico jersey to London next August. Dom’s program is a little unconventional, no doubt. She rides for Dance Factory Racing, and Grand Canyon University–so may be riding one jersey or the other…and sometimes runs her Team Puerto Rico jersey. Her riding style can be rough-around-the-edges but, and here’s where most people’s “Dom” argument tends to go off the rails, BMX Racing is not figure skating. There are no style points awarded. S/He who crosses the line first is the winner, with no asterisks to equivocate the point.

The first two mains were Dom’s all the way, with Brooke in second and Amanda Geving (who was also riding very well all weekend) in the third. With two Dom wins, there were a number of mathematic scenarios where Brooke could still get it back, but they all involved Dom finishing two places or more behind. If Dom got an 8th and Brooke got a sixth, the first place points would go to Brooke (it would be a tie in points, actually, but last lap finish is the tiebreaker), and then the tabulating to see who gets the title.

Third main got started same as the others–with Dom in the lead…but Brooke was pouring it on down the second straight. Turn two was the place where Brooke took the lead in Friday’s main event…so could it happen again? Into the turn, Brooke is on the outside…and when the riders dropped behind the mountain of the pro set, Brooke came out on the inside of Dom…setting it up for the pass into the lead. They were wheel-to-wheel coming out of the turn, and Brooke rode it to the right, obviously trying to pinch off Dom’s line…she needed Dom two places back to get the title shot back on track.

As the slope of the turn gave way to the flat of the third straight, they got wingtip-to-wingtip. Even after watching the video a dozen times, its tough to know if what happened next was just the side-to-side bike throw of elite racing, or if a little elbow english was introduced by Brooke, hoping to coax Dom further to the margin. Whatever it was, it upset the delicate on-the-edge balance of bar-to-bar racing, and both…BOTH…title contenders spun to the ground. The place went nuts as Amanda Geving scooted home for the third main win, and the two early leaders picked themselves up to finish the race. Dom got in for a seventh and Brooke for the eighth–not two spots apart…so you know what that meant? Dom puts cup #4 on her mantle.

Back in the hotel lobby, our team of officials and forum warriors huddled around the computer watching the vid, and scored it as a clean-but-aggressive move by Brooke. “That’s why they call it ‘all-or-nothing’,” said one T.O. “Sometimes, it comes up ‘nothing,’ but you left it all on the field, and that’s what Brooke did tonight…that’s pretty cool.”

Brooke ended the evening with a Facebook message to fans and friends, thanking them for their support, and congratulating Dom on her fourth title. A classy move, indeed! Dom was on her way out of town, banged up from the bail, but with another year of being the champ–the target having never moved from her back, and we’re fairly sure that’s just the way she likes it

This was part I of a three-part article on Saturday Night’s Pro Title Races. Please check back later for our AA Pro and Vet Pro reports, as well as photo galleries from the weekend.

Podcast: Pro Summit

Via BMX News sister site, BMX Action Online We are pleased to present the first in a series of BMX Action Online “Then and Now” Features. Each month, we will take a feature from the BMX Action Magazine library and re-do it with modern-day stars.

In this, the first installment, we take a feature from the April 1982 issue, entitled “Top Pros Speak Out.”

We brought together three riders and two team managers to address many of the same questions asked in the original article. This will provide a unique opportunity to see contrasts and similarities between these two generations of BMX stars – three decades apart. Since there was no such thing as an Elite Womens class in 1982, we thought it would be fitting to bring a top Female Elite into the mix, and are joined by Alise Post.

Participants:

Connor Fields – Chase BMX/BMX Racing Group
Sam Willoughby – Factory Redline
Alise Post – Factory Redline
Dale Holmes – Team Manager – Free Agent/Rockstar
“Big Daddy” Eric Rupe – Team Manager – GT Bicycles Factory Team

It just so happens that Big Daddy was also one of the seven participants in the 1982 article, and his long-view perspective on present day issues really adds to the discussion.

This month’s feature is a two-part Podcast. Future installments of the series may take the form of Podcasts, or videos…web-based photo content or PDF downloads–it will vary from month to month.

And if you’re interested in seeing that the original article had to say:

Download the original story as a PDF

Part One

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Part Two

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Come on over to VintageBMX.com, where the discussion is underway.

Redline Pros Roast Elites in Toasty SLC

The ABA Great Sale Lake Nationals happened this past weekend in Utah, and brought with it a few “return to the stage” moments.

It marked the first race since the ABA Grands for Connor Fields, who made his A-Pro Debut on Saturday, as well as the first official laps in his “new” Chase BMX kit. Also back following seven months of mending was the Machine, Maris Strombergs. On-scene accounts had Maris at 85-90% of his full throttle form, but there is no doubt that he will be at Space Shuttle SRB-type power by the worlds later this month. landed on the Sunday podium, with a third, behind Sam and David Herman.

Also returning to the ABA scene was Joey Bradford, who raced in Korea, and did some low-profile racing in Japan a few months back.

In his first Pro outing, Connor torpedoed the single-A’s, with a podium-topping main event lap on Saturday. BMX News will be bringing you an “in their own words” article from Connor on his SLC trip, late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

Javi Colombo elevated his game in the thin-air of SLC, with twin wins in Vet Pro–besting buddy Matt Pohlkamp, who got second both days.

Junior Men had some heavy action, with Austin Hiatt doing battle with class kingpin, Rusty Nesvig. AJ got Razzleberry in the last turn of Saturday’s main, but Rusty was at full-warp on Sunday and in for the win.

The Junior Women’s class was pwned both days by Brooke Crain and Dani George, who went 1-2, times two. Shelby Stacy and Tyler Schaefer were on the right step on Sat and Sun,.

Redline had a four-elite-win-weekend, with Sam Willoughby and Alise Post acing their classes both days. Sam is steadily stacking up wins (with a Sunday trip to the top of the box in Rockford, now a double), so it’s quite possible we’ll see a points tangle with Willers, come Grands time.

As said, Sam was up top both days, but Saturday saw the first all-Aussie podium, with Brian Kirkham and KY joining Sam for second and third, respectively.

Though the moto count was off a bit over last year (with the bigger race likely in Las Vegas in two weeks), the action was rockin steady. With no GO211 on the scene (due to no Internet access at the track), all of the reports we got were second hand…but fortunately, there were some good on-the-ground reports, and we encourage you to check them out.

“Welcome to Salt Lake” thread on Vintage where Mike Fields gives his first “Man in the Pits” report in a while

Pat Nugent’s ESPN coverage (Story and Photos)

Dale Holmes’ mini podcasts with Sam Willoughby, Tory Nyhaug and Denzel Stein…then with Shannon Gillette of ABA, Alise Post, Javier Colombo and Maris Strombergs

Elites Speak Out on SX Tracks

Photo by DJBMX, via Facebook.

Last weekend, the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup race in Papendal, Netherlands made some headlines in the BMX community. But they weren’t all trumpeting the great work Marc Willers and Sarah Walker put in disposing of the competition.

The track, itself, became the story of the week, as riders, coaches, industry luminaries and at-home spectators alike all chimed in with their opinion of how the most extreme SX track on record sorted out the ranks.

On the same day as the Papendal race, another Kiwi, Jed Mildon, was making some headlines of his own–performing the first-ever triple backflip on a BMX bike. Mildon’s trick ultimately grabbed an eye-popping 6.5 million YouTube views in one week.

In a world where extreme feats can command eyeball counts of that scale, it’s logical, if not obvious, that the pressure to march the crowd appeal (read: extreme nature) of BMX Supercross ever-forward is high on the minds of Johan Lindstrom and Tom Ritz, the two lead architects of modern-day BMX Supercross.

In a 10-page critique of the race, Garret Does, the inventor of the UCI World Cup series, offered some chilling statistics on the Elite Men class in Papendal:

• In total there were 133 entries in that class (from all over the world!).
• After watching and/or taking part in the Thursday Practice, 40 riders decided NOT to race. “Too dangerous a track,” they said.
• With those 40 pull-outs, 93 riders were left to compete on Friday.
• During the time trials, NINE riders were DNF, and did not have a chance to qualify. The main reason for the DNFs were that they weren’t able to jump onto the 90-degree-vertical step up (Box-jump), or they crashed too hard and were treated by the medics present.
• Out of the 84 riders left, 64 qualified for the Saturday rounds.

Connor Fields, who did not make it to the Papendal event, offered commentary, via Facebook, which brought a lengthy and lively chorus of A-List stars chiming in on the subject (taking positions on both sides of the issue).

Though no official announcement has been made by UCI, the talk on the fenceline is that the Papendal track is very close, if not identical, to the track design currently being built in London for next year’s Olympic Games. A “test event” will also be held on that very track and is, in fact, the next stop on the 2011 UCI Supercross tour this August.

BMX News feels this is an important topic, and one where you should hear, in the riders’ own words, how they feel about the progression of SX track features. So, we set out to ask a selection of Elite riders their views on a handful of questions. We bring you their answers unedited, and in full (thus, apologies if it’s longer than most articles).

In all, we sent our questionnaire to 24 riders. Ten responded, and you will see their answers below. Of the other 14, only one replied to say that he preferred to stay out of it. We will not speculate as to the reason of the remaining 13, but we respect their decision, just the same.

Responding Riders (listed here, and in the responses, alphabetically):

Kelvin Batey
Luis Brethauer
Jim Brown
Tyler Brown
Connor Fields
Ramiro Marino
Tory Nyhaug
Corben Sharrah
Marc Willers
Sam Willoughby

The Questions:

1). What do you like/love about BMX Supercross?

2). Do you feel it is important for the next SX track to be more challenging than the last?

3). Do you feel that tracks should constantly introduce new types of obstacles to challenge riders’ abilities?

4). Striking a balance between making a track “challenging” and creating a course that may be prove dangerous to riders is obviously a delicate dance. What, about a track, could “cross the line” between challenging and dangerous?

5). Do you have any thoughts on how future tracks can avoid the kinds of issues the Elite community has voiced after Papendal?

6). Have you ever traveled to an SX race and considered not racing (or actually pulled out of competition) as a result of a track being “dangerous” in your eyes? If yes to either, please add details.

7). Please list any other thoughts or opinions you have on this topic which we have not covered above.

RIDER RESPONSES
Note: Where a rider did not respond to a question, their name is left off.

1). What do you like/love about BMX Supercross?

Kelvin Batey (IRL): BMX Supercross is a spectacle, not only for people within BMX Racing but also for people who know nothing about the sport. The speeds and bigger jumps have pushed riders’ abilities to the next level and the way that its being promoted now is more in line with the high profile sports.

Luis Brethauer (GER): The speed, the big jumps and the adrenaline rush.

Jim Brown (CAN): I like the rush of the hill. There is nothing like sprinting down that hill with seven other riders elbow to elbow. I also like that the SX format is a showcase of the pros.

Tyler Brown (USA): I think SX is great! It is great for our sport and something that is so much fun to do. Our sport needs the “limelight,” it needs the spectators, it needs something to showcase the world’s best riders, and what we can do on a race track on our BMX bikes! SX is a great stage and I have seen it bring thousands out to watch…there is nothing better then racing a fast track in front of thousands of fans!

Connor Fields (USA): I enjoy the intensity and the fact that we’re not riding the same track as the 5-year olds.  I love the speed and the competition.  It is the pinnacle of BMX racing.

Ramiro Marino (ARG): I love the speed that you can earn on the track. For the first two years, i thought it wasn’t good for any reason. Now, I would say that SX is far away from regular BMX. 

Tory Nyhaug (CAN): I love the speed at the bottom of the ramp, and the competition from every country in the world. It is so exciting already, the tracks don’t need to get any more dangerous!

Corben Sharrah (USA): The speeds of the tracks. It’s a great adrenaline rush to go down that huge hill as fast as you can and whip through a trip in 35 seconds.

Marc Willers (NZL): I am a fan of the speed and the fast-paced racing. I love the big hill. Period. I feel racing is far more exciting at higher speeds as long as we can all stay in touch with each other.

Sam Willoughby (AUS): I enjoy the bigger track, bigger turns, bigger jumps and higher speeds

2). Do you feel it is important for the next SX track to be more challenging than the last?

Kelvin Batey (IRL): Not at all. It’s not always about how challenging a track is, but how it rides– both in time trials and (group) racing. If it was the case that each new track built had to be more challenging than the last then how far does the progression actually go? There is a limit and I think for the sake of safety and how good racing looks– this was reached a year or so ago. I have never seen so many races so strung out at the finish line as was seen in Papendal with the lead rider crossing the line, 2nd place half way down the last straight and then other riders still on the 3rd straight after a big scramble for bikes half way around the track after a crash somewhere. One of the best SX races ever was at Chula last year where five riders were practically going over the line together in the main and there is a vast difference in both tracks.

Luis Brethauer (GER): Papendal was already a huge step to the next level, so I don’t think the next track should be even more challenging.

Jim Brown (CAN): I do think the Tracks need to progress and be more challenging as everyone in the sport is getting better. I think the Papendal track has gone too far, putting in the box jump and the hip jumps just took an exciting sport and made it boring to watch.

Tyler Brown (USA): I feel there is a time and a place for everything, and the limits do need to be pushed. That is how SX racing came about in the first place. If it wasn’t for trying something new and pushing the limits BMX wouldn’t be where it is today.

Connor Fields (USA): There are different things they can do the make tracks challenging without making them dangerous.  Making different kinds of jumps, like they did with the first jump in SA, and the step up step down in Madrid.  Those make it more challenging, yet keep it BMX, and keep it fun.

Ramiro Marino (ARG): I wasn’t there, but I heard many bad things about the (Papendal) track. I also watched the races on Freecaster, and i can say that I have never seen that many crashes. First, the track was longer than ever, so I saw crashes in the last straight as never before. Then, I saw guys casing the box and get flat tires, then transfer crashes. Do they think we are robots or what? Did you guys see how windy it was? Bad!!!!

Tory Nyhaug (CAN): No it’s not. Look at Copenhagen, the track has been the same for a few years now and the racing there is always exciting! Everyone can do the track and actually race properly on it. There is no need to change it or make tracks twice as difficult. We all want to put on a good show but we want to stay healthy too.

Corben Sharrah (USA): I don’t feel it has to be more challenging in any way. Just a different layout and some obstacles switched around would be perfect.

Marc Willers (NZL): Not at all. When we all arrived in Beijing 07 for the SX race we all thought that track was huge! It was big, but it was also simple and straight-forward. The races seen on that track and Chula Vista, are some of the best races in history. They allow flat-out, clean racing.

Sam Willoughby (AUS): I don’t think they have to feel that they need to make them crazier and crazier every time we race. Because pretty soon we are going to lose the idea of “Racing.” I think they just need to make a variety of tracks. Some technical, Some more open. Have tracks on the circuit that suit all styles of riders to make it a level playing field. I think making crazy tracks just makes it a lottery rather than a championship.

3). Do you feel that tracks should constantly introduce new types of obstacles to challenge riders’ abilities?

Kelvin Batey (IRL): I think its great to see new kinds of jumps introduced, as long as they keep the speed element of the sport. The box jump section of the track in Papendal looked slow and boring and there didn’t seem much point to it as racing became single file. In comparison, at that stage of the track in Beijing/Chula Vista (halfway), you see riders going for moves and giving it everything they have at max speed and that’s what makes BMX racing the sport it is.

Luis Brethauer (GER): it is cool that there are new obstacles introduced to the sport from time to time like the box jump in Madrid, or things like berm jumps and those new crossovers to push the sport forward. But, if some obstacles don’t really work in racing they just should leave them out again. Also, you don’t need to have a brand new obstacle on EVERY supercross track.

Jim Brown (CAN): I do think that we can bring in some new jumps for the SX tracks. We could start with some different jumps that are made out of dirt, triple on the second straight, step-up, step-down on the first straight. Instead of doing a box jump made out of a container or paved hip jumps. At some point the UCI has to think about the riders’ safety.

Tyler Brown (USA): This is kind of an add on to my answer above. I think we need to push and challenge ourselves and try new things, however I think there is a time and a place for that. I think the last place we should be testing new ideas and track designs is at a World Cup event, where all of the riders paid a lot of money to get to and worked our butts off to be the best we can be.

Nowadays, there are so many training centers and SX tracks all over the world. How about taking advantage of that and testing some of the new jumps at those places? There are five SX races on the calendar. Let’s build the box jump in Papendal, the new hip jump at Chula Vista, some jump-on, jump-off thing in Australia, I think you are getting my point. Use the local riders that have plenty of talent and time to get a jump dialed-in.

They are then able to give input to GSX, say this works, this doesn’t, and what can make it better. So us riders show up to a World Cup event with the kinks already smoothed out and we know we are riding something that will work right and we can race on.

Connor Fields (USA): Some, but not constantly.  What they have been doing for the last few years has worked and been totally fine.  This last race, they went too far and it caused a lot of riders to get hurt, and that’s always the worry with “progression.” 

Ramiro Marino (ARG): naaah!!! it wasn’t good for fans, because everyone was running on the track with bikes in their hands!!!!! We just need a regular SX track like Beijing. Three turns, four straights and that’s it! See who has more power and can handle the track. This way, the BMX fans would be watching how fast we can go!!! 

Tory Nyhaug (CAN): Yes and No. BMX is already an exciting sport so what’s the need to create a box jump or hip jump? IT slows down racing, this is RACING not FREESTYLE. Stick to big jumps that we can go fast and race on. That being said, It’s cool the UCI is trying new stuff but don’t go over the top like the last track in Papendal.

Corben Sharrah (USA): You always look forward to riding a new track, and seeing what’s on the track…but we all know the abilities of the Elite riders out there. We could ride any track they throw at us, but the big thing is can we race that track with seven other of the world’s fastest in the gate? Last weekend in Papendal, we saw how UN-race-worthy the track was. So, there is a point where you can say you can only do so much to a track to have it “raceable” and entertaining with all eight guys battling instead of two getting out front and the other six rolling the jumps.

Marc Willers (NZL): Again, no. It needs to be a race…being BMX RACING and all. We want to race, that is why we all chose this discipline. Elbow to elbow racing is what we love, not slipping in behind the guy in front, just to get through an s-bend and then hoping he won’t blow up.

Sam Willoughby (AUS): I think some different rhythm sections would be a lot cooler then things like box jumps. Rhythms where its faster to triple something, instead of everything being one-lined and “two, two, two.” There needs to be gaps that are really big, but daylight faster.

4). Striking a balance between making a track “challenging” and creating a course that may be prove dangerous to riders is obviously a delicate dance. What, about a track, could “cross the line” between challenging and dangerous?

Kelvin Batey (IRL): Without a doubt, I think the line was crossed in Papaendal, as there was a statistic released saying that more than half the riders that actually raced crashed at some point in the racing. Crashing over these big jumps at such high speeds can’t have a good outcome every time. The length of the track may also have been an issue in Papendal, with it being so long it will be so fatiguing for riders that they begin to make mistakes and when going through a rhythm section with gaps of 25-30 feet, this did cause some guys to mess up.

Luis Brethauer (GER): Actually, with the weather conditions in Papendal, this track already “crossed the line” of being dangerous. On the third straight, after 27 seconds at full speed, in this size and with the wind from the side is more than challenging.

Jim Brown (CAN): It definitely is a fine line between challenging and dangerous, crossing the line would be putting jumps that are too big with paved landings and obstacles you either make it or you have to get off your bike and hop on top and over them. This is BMX racing not Cyclocross!

Tyler Brown (USA): I think last weekend was the perfect example of that. You had many of the world’s best riders, including local riders (to Papendal), crashing, and crashing very hard!! If something like my idea above was used, we would have still challenging jumps but stuff that worked better because it was tried and tested. Ultimately, anything that is to tight, to big/small, or steep can be to dangerous for a race.

Connor Fields (USA): Here’s a thought: The track builder and UCI officials should think to themselves “if I had a kid, would i want him/her racing on this track?”  I think the first-straight berm jump is a horrible idea, people are still too close and jumbled up, and one mistake on that jump and you’re hurt. Plus, it causes a couple guys to have to roll it and makes the racing boring. 

Ramiro Marino (ARG): I think the maximum would be South Africa, with a transfer in the middle of the track, or Madrid (2010), with that box jump, which was normal…but not more than that. We get more and more tired with each weird (obstacle) on the track.

Tory Nyhaug (CAN): The track needs to make it possible for eight people to race on consistently. Almost every lap in Papendal, half the guys crashed. That is the balance, it has to be fit for eight guys to have a good, clean race.

Corben Sharrah (USA): There isn’t too much of a fine line, but there are some things that work on a track, and some things that don’t. I think it’s all in the way the tracks are built, not necessarily what the jumps are but how they’re shaped, how the turns are bowled, how wide the track is. Things being built too narrow, and hips and things not having the right angle on them could really make that difference between challenging and dangerous.

Sam Willoughby (AUS): I think build jumps steep and short is, to be honest, stupid. It slows the racing down and its dangerous. We have that big hill for a reason. To create speed. So why put small jumps, with steep backsides, that you have to brake for and lose all that speed.

5). Do you have any thoughts on how future tracks can avoid the kinds of issues the Elite community has voiced after Papendal?

Kelvin Batey (IRL): I saw a quote from another rider a few days ago saying to just give the riders some 180 turns and real BMX jumps and it’s good to go, and I agree with that. The South Africa Worlds track, Chula, Beijing all had flowing tracks with real BMX jumps on them which were both good for spectators and riders to ride. I think tracks should keep to the core element of what BMX Racing is with the twist of the Supercross in them. I don’t think the sport needs to be reinvented that dramatically.

Luis Brethauer (GER): The first and second straights in Papendal are awesome! The crazy turning stuff should be wider or different somehow, that there are several lines in racing for overtaking. On the box jump in Papendal, you lost all your speed so it would be cool to make it curved on top to keep that speed. The third straight should be a little smaller and with different lines…maybe go back to some manual doubles so that you can still go through the straight fast if you have some trouble before the straight.

Jim Brown (CAN): I think there needs to be a rider rep in place with the UCI or GSX, who has some say on how the tracks are built– someone who will speak up for the riders.

Tyler Brown (USA): Again something above would be great, but also how about using the riders to help build a track? I mean, “hello,” we ride for a living, and we have all built trails. We can figure out what works and what doesn’t. Take Papendal. I think all of us leading up to the event were worried if it would even work and if it was raceable and I think most of us were right!

I’m a friend of Tom (Ritz), and have been for years. The last thing I am trying to do is bash the dude. All I am saying is: why not have input from people who actually ride the tracks and have to race them? In my opinion, I think that is a no-brainer!

Connor Fields (USA): Stick to what’s working, don’t keep trying to push it, because were pushing it with our necks on the line and I’m worried its gonna take someone getting really badly injured for the UCI to do anything, and no one wants that. 

Ramiro Marino (ARG): Well, we are doing it now by this article, but I hope the guys who should hear us listen. It all depends on us to make a change!!!! I mean the Elite riders.

Tory Nyhaug (CAN): Stick to BMX. Make big jumps that we can attack at a fast speed and jump cleanly. Make the track technical, but possible to race on. We shouldn’t have to worry about the TRACK, we should have to worry about racing.

Corben Sharrah (USA): Most of Papendal was weather conditions. It would just be safer for all the riders if there could of been a different time we practiced/raced so the wind and weather factors weren’t so bad.

Marc Willers (NZL): I feel they need to keep it in line with how it has been working over the last six years. There is no need for box-jumps or wall rides as it is clearly a major interruption in racing.

I’m on the fence whether the track itself was too crazy, or just a result of many factors. In my opinion, the hips/s-bend, has to go. I can’t vent my disgust for its waste of space in writing!

As stated earlier, the Beijing track was a shock to all of us when we first
saw it. A year later, it was “just another track.” Maybe Papendal will go
down the same road, for riding, not racing. Though I feel that a decision
needs to be made on whether they want a good flat-out, hard-charging race for
30 seconds, over a challenging track, vs the Tour-de-France
they made us ride in Papendal… It can’t be both.

The length of the track is over UCI regulation, and I can tell you now that this played an equal role, along with the wind, for killing everyone. The sport’s top pros from around the world should not be crashing out of a race because they just physically run out of steam.

Sam Willoughby (AUS): Build tracks to be raced at high speed. And think flow first! Make the tracks “flowy…” they will still be challenging.

6). Have you ever traveled to an SX race and considered not racing (or actually pulled out of competition) as a result of a track being “dangerous” in your eyes? If yes to either, please add details.

Kelvin Batey (IRL): I’ve never gone to a race and thought of pulling out, but have read about a few riders saying that about Papendal.

Luis Brethauer (GER): No, I never have. I usually love the big tracks and the risk. In Papendal, I made a mistake on third straight and crashed in TT. I was really pissed, but when I saw the riders struggle on race day with the wind and everything, somehow I was a little glad I didn’t have to race that day.

Jim Brown (CAN): I have never considered not competing at a SX race because of the track. The wind has sketched me out a few times, but I have not skipped out on a race. I was not in Papendal but I may have considered not racing that one.

Tyler Brown (USA): Have I been scared at times? Yes. At the same time that is part of the thrill of SX is beating those fears. I think the only time I was super-nervous was the SLC Dew Tour when it was raining and so windy. That was a bit scary!

Connor Fields (USA): Never, but if i was in Papendal, I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t scared out of my mind.  I was nervous for the guys just watching.  It looked like crash-up derby out there. 

Ramiro Marino (ARG): Well, I always travel long to race. But Denmark 2008 was one time I didn’t race. It was too windy and the track was wet. Then, in China at the 2007 Olympic test event, they had to change the track like three times by the weekend.

Tory Nyhaug (CAN): No I haven’t. Papendal was right on that edge though.

Corben Sharrah (USA): No, I have not pulled out of a race or found a track to dangerous. But there are some times I wouldn’t want to ride because the weather has been bad with wind or rain which makes the track dangerous at the time.

Marc Willers (NZL): Right before the third moto in Papendal, I had those very thoughts. Had one of the four people I asked, given me a straight up answer, and the one I was kinda hoping to hear, I would have quit on the spot. The conditions we were riding in were ridiculous. Sporting events get postponed all the time, for many reasons, but not us, we just have to deal with it. (Sarcasm intended).

Sam Willoughby (AUS): No none of them have ever been that bad yet.

7). Please list any other thoughts or opinions you have on this topic which we have not covered above.

Luis Brethauer (GER): Some good riders didn’t, or barely, made it through the timetrial in Papendal, because they made small mistakes in their only lap. Someone asked me why we don’t have something like the last chance qualifier in motocross, so that might be an idea.

Jim Brown (CAN): I hope that GSX and the UCI will take a second look at how the Olympic track is going to be built. Take out the box jump and the hip jumps and make it a race track not a skate park.

Tyler Brown (USA): Here is the way I look at it: It is up to us, the BMX pros, to take it and push it in the direction we want it to go. Just like other sports have, our athletes need to run it, not some dudes who don’t ride. There is a lot in our sport that needs to get better, and don’t even get me started, because that would turn into a longer story (haha)! I hope you like my ideas and thanks for giving us a voice!

Connor Fields (USA): Like I said above, the UCI needs to think “would I want my kid racing this track>”  BMX Racing is awesome, and could be one of the most exciting sports to watch– if they keep the tracks wide-open for good racing, and not too crazy so that the world’s best don’t get injured.   

Ramiro Marino (ARG): All i can say is: PAPENDAL JUST CROSSES THE LINE OF DANGEROUS.

Corben Sharrah (USA): Just that I hope we get better conditions for the races and tracks that are actually raceable not just rideable!

Marc Willers (NZL): (excerpt from Marc’s Papendal Race Report). The track had everything an Olympic medal should be decided on: a MASSIVE first straight, BIG second straight, pro doubles, which went into a questionable hip/S-bend/into-box-jump/into-weird-drop-off. Then there was a grueling dig for speed to get down the extremely technical third straight rhythm section and then onto the deep last straight. Not to forget the track is 75 meters longer than the 35 years of BMX rules have allowed them to be.

Needless to say, it was a burn. (obviously certain things listed above need
to be attended to)

If the sheer size of the track wasn’t daunting enough, Mother Nature
decided to do her best to kill off any skeptics, and that she did. The wind
was horrific all week and every time we started a lap it would be blowing a
different way. With the elevation changes of the track, one minute it was
dead calm when you were down below the face of a jump, and then the second
you took off, you could be blown in any direction. I firmly believe we need
specific conditions, in which it is deemed unsafe to ride, not just realize
it once we’re in a pile, on the dirt.

Racing was crazy. I’ll be the first to admit I was scared and after the
second round of motos I was having doubts and thinking of pulling the plug. I
managed to clear my head and put together a solid third lap with a win. The
quarterfinal went smoothly, and I got another win. By now, my body was really
starting to feel the hurt. I hadn’t managed to put a clean lap together yet.

Leading into the first turn in the Semi, Holland’s Jelle Van Gorkom took a
sharp inside line, and pulled off a nice move to take over the lead. With
such a tight line, though, he struggled for speed over the first pro double
and came up short. I went to the right in case it got nasty, but USA’s
Corben Sharrah poked his wheel up the inside over the second jump. I saw him
coming and with the S-bend heading his direction, it was about to get tight.
I had a slight lead as we jumped and, sadly, he fell victim to the poorly-
designed hip jump and went over the back of me. If it weren’t for that part
of the track, it would have been a much better race. When good side-by-side
racing ends up like that and ruins the day for one of the best riders in the
world, then something ain’t right.

Editor’s Conclusion:

I am not offering any editorial analysis of the above…the riders said it best.

I will close by saying that, in my two-and-a-half-year tenure as editor of BMX News, this is the story I am most proud to have posted.

I love the fact that the Elites of the sport are getting involved shaping in their destiny, and that they articulated their views on this very important subject so well.

A big thanks to Connor Fields, for inspiring this article, and helping with the riders’ cooperation.

Thank you for reading! Now, come on over to Vintage and give us your views.

—Mike Carruth

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)

Behind the Scenes With Tioga’s “2043″ Videos

In August, 1989, my girlfriend at the time was having her 20th birthday. The supermarket I stopped at to buy a card and a quick bouquet of something did not really have any good cards (at least none that would rise to my degree of late-80s hip). They did, however, have a few really funny “Happy 40th Birthday” cards. So, I picked one out, and wrote on it “Do not open til 2009.” She dumped me soon after for a guy with a Camaro, but I couldn’t help but think that she read my 20-year-ago birthday message last August.

When I first saw the Tioga 65th Anniversary videos, I was reminded of the above story, and got a chuckle out of this innovative campaign. The idea is “why wait for 2043…let’s have our 65th anniversary TODAY!” The series was made up of three clips with current Tioga stars Randy Stumpfhauser, Donny Robinson and Sam Willoughby, and one as a “behind the makeup” which shows how the Hollywood makeup pros aged our young stars 33 years.

BMXNEWS wanted some more scoop on how the campaign, and the vids came about…and some behind the scenes stories. Tioga marketing wiz, Kai Cheng, was happy to oblige:

NEWS: Who was the makeup supervisor/team? Do they have Hollywood credits?

Kai: I won’t reveal too many details about the SFX guys, except to say Jason and his team are part of a full service effects studio catering to film and television. They have worked with Brad Pitt, Vin Diesel, and many other high profile actors/actresses; worked on movies such as Assassination of Jesse James, No Country for Old Men and television productions such as Prison Break, Nip/Tuck, and many, many more – these are true pros at their craft.

NEWS: How long did it take to apply the makeup? I presume you did the shoot
in one day, so it was not necessary to reapply, correct?

Kai: We had 4 make-up artists working on the three athletes – it took about 3
hours to apply each of their make-up. We did do the shoot in one day and
the SFX team were on stand-by the entire session to do touch-ups and such
through out the day. There was so much laughing and clowning by the
athletes that touch-ups were absolutely crucial!

NEWS: Can you share approximately what it cost to do it?

Kai: It’s up there, as you can imagine. Just the SFX team, photographer and
videographer for the day was well over $10,000! Then there’s the post
production costs involved… We’re glad that people enjoyed them.

NEWS: How did the concept for the “65 year anniversary” come about?

Kai: Good question. We always intended the “Faces of Power” campaign initiated
in 2009 to be a multi-year campaign. But more specifically, we felt the 65th Anniversary concept was a humorous way of not only progressing the “Faces of Power” campaign but also to convey a couple messages. Firsly, though Tioga has been around since ’78, we are as active as ever; being “old” doesn’t mean one withers and dies! Secondly, celebrating the future and underscoring the fact that Tioga will continue to support the sport that launched the brand for a long, long time.

NEWS: Any funny stories to share about the guys?

Kai:Stumpy, dR and Sam are great guys. You’ve been around the sport long
enough to know how down to earth and funny these guys are – especially
when they’re hanging out with each other. The shoot was a fun filled day with many outtakes and pictures. Some that may never see the light of day ever again

News also caught up with Donny Robinson to get some commentary on his part in the campaign:

NEWS: What it was like doing the make up…how long it took them to get you
finished.

dR: The makeup of course, was the most painful part about the whole day. We had to sit in a barber’s chair for 3 hours while they applied all the makeup and wigs and such. Actually, I take that first statement back, I’m still trying to get the gunk out of my hair that they used while applying the caps and wigs. They used some mighty tough glue on us and cleaning all that off might have been worse than putting it on. However, for Tioga to put that much effort and money into a campaign like this, I would do it every day for them. Not too often comapanies go against the grain to pull of some great marketing but I think Tioga did an excellent job with this idea.

NEWS: Did it cause you to think much about how your life might be in 33 years?

dR: Yeah, Stumpy, Sam and I sure had some man-to-man chats that day about how we thought things would turn out. I came to the conclusion that if my hairline would end up like mine was, that I would call my whole life a success. In all honesty, I’ve had some great memories in my life already, but as we stood there that day, old and decrepit, I imagined how rad it would be to make it to that age and be able to look back at the relationships and accomplishments we had accumulated.

NEWS: If you actually looked like you do in the video in 2043, would you be sad or stoked?

dR: If I looked like I did in the video I would probably just run around naked all the time. I would get away with it too because I would be old and people would just think I’m senile (heck, by 2043 public nudity might be allowed anyway). I would be one extra sexy old man just livin’ it up!

Thanks to Kai and Donny for the responses. I think my biggest LOL of the series was when Stumpy called dR “That Lil Gremlin.” But Sam’s clip is funny to watch, because he is constantly on the verge of losing it, which is contagious. “ILLINOIS, ROCKFORD!.” indeed (ironically, Sam won there on Sunday this year as well). That one causes a chuckle just thinking about it. No word on when/if an “outtakes” reel is coming. Keep an eye on BMXNEWS for future updates on the 2043 campaign.

—Mike Carruth

Here are the four clips again, in case you missed one:

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.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

*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.