Willers and Walker Run Away With Oceanic Wins

With the North American Continental Championships (Oldsmar) behind us by a month, attention turned to the Class 3 points up for grabs at the Oceanic Continental Championships, held in Pukekohe, New Zealand Saturday. It was Kiwi pride topping the podiums, as Marc Willers and Sara Walker took home wins in the Elite classes. Willers, took the win in Oldsmar as well; his star is blazing bright at the moment. Walker had not raced in five months, yet seemed to have no problem blowing the cobwebs off her scoot to get the job done.

Team USA had a contingent of Elite Men in New Zealand as well, led by USA Cycling BMX Program Director, Mike King. Our boys made up HALF the eight man main event, with David Herman, Josh Meyers, Nic Long and Corben Sharrah all gating up for the big lap. Z Herminator got on the podium with a second (full results below). No Team USA ladies on this trip.

The final podium slot belonged to Aussie Brian Kirkham. Speaking of “Podiums” the party poppers must be poppin at VSI Products headquarters this morning. Speed and Intense-mounted riders grabbed all three podium spots among the Men, and at least two of the three in the Ladies (not sure what Sarah was riding, or if she switched up equipment after her five-month layoff).

UCI BMX Oceanic Continental Championship – Results

Elite Men: Marc Willers (NZL), David Herman (USA), Brian Kirkham (AUS), Kurt James (NZL), Nic Long (USA), Josh Meyers (USA); Kurt Pickard (NZL), Corben Sharrah (USA).

Elite Women: Sarah Walker (NZL), Lauren Reynolds (AUS), Caroline Buchanan (AUS), Nicole Callisto (AUS), Rachel Bracken (AUS), Melinda McLeod (AUS, Junior), Nicole Wright (NZL, Junior), Victoria Hill (NZL)

Junior Men: Daniel Franks (NZL), Nic Fox (NZL), Darryn Goodwin (AUS).

Interview: KB on “Hurry Up & Wait” Healing

When one has reached the heights of a profession that Kyle Bennett has reached, the pressure to improve, perform and stay healthy is ever-present. More often than not, these concepts are at odds with each other, yet all are essential. The fear is that there is always someone grinding out one more sprint, doing one more of something, or one less of something else…and walking between the raindrops on the dozens of injury risks that lie in wait for any top-performing, present-day pro.

For Kyle Bennett, things seemed to be sizzlin right along this summer. He was solidly in the top 10 (closer to the top 5, really) in the ABA standings, he was on the funded USA team for the World Championships in South Africa, and he was training well. Save for a little setback in the semis in Salt Lake (which was said to have rung his bell quite a bit), it was going to plan.

That plan changed on Saturday, July 10 when, as he Denzel Stein and Donny Robinson were doing laps at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Kyle over-jumped one of the sets on the third straight. What happened next changed the fate of Team USA BMX for 2010, and left both KB and dR in the hospital for several days.

In this episode of Announcers Tower, Kyle talks about the day of the accident, how it happened, and how he’s doing 10 days after spending a week in the hospital. He also looks to the future with the positive attitude of a champion, and makes it clear that he will be in the mix for quite some time to come.

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We really enjoyed doing this interview, and were very glad to hear the pep in Kyle’s voice, despite the injuries, and the disappointment of being sidelined for the 2010 Worlds. Thanks to Kyle for joining us! We look forward to keeping an eye on his progress, and eventual return.

KB and dR, fresh from the nursing ward, hit the beach with a cropped-out Denzel Stein and Corben Sharrah. (Photo courtesy of Donny Robinson)

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

2010 Team USA Challenge Team Announced

Today, USA Cycling released the roster of Team USA Challenge riders who have signed up for the 2010 UCI BMX World Championships, to be held in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa at the tail end of July.

In all, 45 riders will be making the trip over, from Blake Vance and River Bell in 5-6 Boys, to Elizabeth Jones in 45-Over Women’s Cruiser, Team USA is looking to bring back some podiums. With 58 entries, in all, 13 have the chance to bring home a double, including Felicia Stancil from Illinois (above).

Download the Team USA Challenge Class roster

The Championship Classes are still accepting registrations (til July 7), and should be final soon thereafter.

Corben on Copenhagen

Watching the Copenhagen Supercross on Freecaster was a harrowing experience for us. Being so used to TiVo, and the ability to rewind live TV, it was tough to take it all in with the fastest riders in the world zooming by at 40MPH.

Still, it was impossible to miss the extraordinary performances of Connor Fields and Corben Sharrah, both still technically in the Junior Men class. These “juniors” were the only two US riders to make the main event (out of 114 Elite Men who started Time Trials on Friday). As you may remember, Connor made the podium at the last SX race in Madrid. This time, it was Corben who was standing on the right-step with a third place finish to Maris Strombergs of Team Free Agent/Rockstar from Latvia, and Liam Phillips of the UK.

BMXNEWS caught up with Corben this afternoon, between school and training, to hear in his own words how such a big accomplishment feels, how he was able to handle the pressure, and what his plans are for the future.

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Thanks for the awesome photos goes out to Mattias Ankrah