The BMX Supercross test event for the 2012 London games offered a compelling glimpse into what fans and athletes alike will encounter when the first gate drops on August 8 next year–a mere 354 days from now.

For the athletes, it was a chance to feel a sample of the rush they will feel if they make their respective Olympic team. In his Freecaster commentary, Pete Dylewski said that, talking to veterans of the 2008 Beijing games, “The excitement and butterflies are the same.”

It was a great opportunity to underscore what all the training, all the sacrifice and all the commitment is truly all about. We are quite sure that each of the 165 riders from 27 countries will take back a turbo-boost of motivation when they suit up for training on Tuesday.

The event battled weather from the get-go, with rain, or threat of rain each day. But the track seemed to hold together quite well, even when the skies opened up minutes before today’s event was scheduled to start. By the end of the day, the sun was shining bright on the Swatch start ramp, and the stormy lead-up was all-but-forgotten.

Speaking of the track, it was said to be a “toned-down” (or as toned-down as an Olympic Supercross track can be) version of the Papendal track the Athletes raced a few months back. You may remember that the unorthodox S turn and box-jump on the men’s side were both sources of contention in the athlete community, sparking a rare “activist” moment, (via a BMX News article).

In the initial practice laps, riders who had been to Papendal were said to be over-clearing many of the jumps, when their “loaded-for-bear” power was calibrated more for the Holland track.

The “Red Bull Wings” section–a jump-on-jump-off box that was more akin to last year’s Madrid track than Papendal’s sheer-faced container obstacle seemed to be a happy medium among the athletes, and more than one rider put their stamp of approval on the London track, calling it their “new favorite.”

On the ladies’ side, London introduced a new feature, the “Oakley Underground” (a tip of the bowler to London’s famous mass transit system), which was a jump-in, jump out tunnel that went under the Men’s “S” turn. The tunnel was said to give tall gals like Sarah Walker some initial pause, afraid she was going to clip her head on the top of it. But, didn’t happen, and surely didn’t seem to slow Sarah down when the Saturday sun rose.

In Friday’s Time Trial SuperFinal, 16 of the 35 womens starters did battle against the clock. France’s Magalie Pottier logged the top time, and Friday honors, with a 40.126 second lap. Australia’s pink-shoed princess, Lauren Reynolds was .044 seconds off the pace with a 40.170, and UK hero, Shanaze Reade, was back from Pottier’s time by .183 seconds for a third place lap of 40.309.

In the time trials, four of the first six gals to ride in the SuperFinal did not boost the first straight sets, and it was awesome to see the air war begin as the program made it down the start order.

The third straight rhythm was intensely technical, and scrubbed a lot of speed off otherwise perfect laps to that point.

In the Men’s SuperFinal, France’s Sylvain Andre sat on the hot seat for a long stretch, before fellow-Frenchman Joris Daudet parked his W1 there…ultimately unseated by Sam Willoughby’s beastly lap at the end of the order, with a 42.625–besting Joris by .142/sec, and earning him the Friday flowers. Andre ended up with the third spot, with a 43.317–.692 off Sam’s winning time.

As previously mentioned, Saturday’s warmup was interrupted by a Mother Nature-sponsored watering of the track. There were standing puddles, especially on the inside line of the exit to the first turn, but all that was dispensed with by race time, after a 10-15 minute warmup for the women and men.

Due to the rain delay, the normal three-round qualifying was trimmed to a “one-lap, no crap” qualifying format, first four to the semis (women) or quarters (men). Because the race was intended to run, in its entirety, in daylight, the track had no lights to take it past sundown.

In the qualifying round, Team USA’s Amanda Carr had a great trip for the first half of the track. She had a commanding lead on the others, until the third straight sapped a lot of her speed, and Magalie Pottier came a callin’ and grabbed the top spot. Carr stayed in there for the deuce, and Teagan O’Keeffe of South Africa got there just ahead of USA’s Amanda Geving for the final qual spot.

In the second rack, Lieke Klaus of the Netherlands exercised some top-drawer defense of her fourth-place qualifying spot, when she pinched off the line of Belgian Elke van Hoof down the last straight. Mariana Pajon, who was on Fire in Copenhagen two weeks ago, and looking for more in London, got the win.

The third group had Kiwi cutie, Sarah Walker logging a masterful lap for the win, and saw a photo finish for the final qualifying spot between Melinda McLeod of Australia and Aneta Hladakova of the Czech Republic. McLeod moved on.

The final gate of ladies qualifying saw Shanaze Reade take it on home for the homecrowd, with Caroline Buchanan, Arielle Martin and Dani George all in tow for qual spots to the Semis.

BMX News sister site, BMXNOW, tweeted that Sam Willoughby looked “invincible” today, and it was laps like the first qualifier that made that point well. A no-problem win this trip, while World Time Trials champ, Andre Aguiluz and Swiss sensation David Graf scooted in for the two-three. The final qual was an American dash between Jason Rogers and Tyler Faoro, with J-Rog getting his ticket punched to the Quarters.

Second gate drop of mens qualifying was stacked to the rafters, with Maris Strombergs, Mike Day, Khalen Young and Jelle van Gorkom. Day was trapped back in fifth down the second straight, but gained some solid ground on Italy’s Romain Riccardi into the S turn, then lit up his magic manualling after burners down the third straight to get the fourth slot. Strombergs won it, with KY and Jelle between he and Day.

Third rack action saw Ramiro Marino and Toms Mankus of Latvia lay it down in turn one, with Tory Nyhaug’s Redline in the lead. Josh Meyers, Pablo Carrasco and Martin Scerpin were in the chase, when Tory crabbed his front wheel and washed in the last turn. Josh got the win that lap, but Tory picked it up in time to get back on the gas and qualify, edging out American Weston Pope.

Nic Long had been looking strong all weekend, and showed fierce strength in his qualifying group. A perfect lap, even with an aggressive challenge by Aussie Josh Callan. The guy with the most interesting name in BMX, Moana Moo Caille scooted in for the third, and Sebastian Kartfjord of Norway in to round out the four movers.

While all of the racks were stacked with household-name stars, the next one saw World Champ Joris Daudet taking his W1 and rainbow jersey to the front for the first time in group competition. Kurt Pickard edged out Marc Willers for the deuce, and it was Afro Bob, Robert DeWilde taking the final spot from name-brand talent Kyle Bennett (6th) and made-member of the Latvian BMX Mafia, Arturs Matisons (8th).

David Herman must have stashed some Wheat Ridge Wheaties in his checked baggage before the hop over to London, because he was on it like Blue Bonnet all day. Number 80 was at 100% this lap, solid as a brick wall, when he traded paint with Carlos Quendo in the S Turn. Oquendo WENT down, while David GOT down. Edzus Treimanis of Latvia was almost a casualty of the situation, until he roosted up some soil on the far outside, and used the retaining wall in the S-turn as a makeshift berm to keep it on two wheels. That bit of bike handling hocus-pocus earned him a trip to the Quarters, along with Damien Godet of France, who finished second, and Thomas Hubert of Australia who got the final spot.

In the penultimate qualifying group, Sylvain Andre stayed ahead of a herd of charging Rhinos, two of whom were rockin the same colors, to get there first. Thomas Hamon, who went bottom-bracket-up in Copenhagen (right in front of Corben Sharrah), was back to attack, but did not get there this time, and it was Raymon van der Biezen of the Netherlands, Aussie Luke Madill and French flier Simon Duchene who got to see the quarters from the top of the hill instead of the fenceline.

The final rack of qualifiers was love, American style, with Connor Fields acing the field, like flawlessly. SE Factory Boy, Barry Nobles was right there for the deuce, and Intense-mounted Team Australia idol, Brian Kirkham and Andres Jiminez out of Colombia was in for the fourth.

QUARTER FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

As these groups thin out, you get an overwhelming feeling of “Holy Cow, how does this all shake out?…These riders are ALL *SO* good!” On a stage like this, it goes way beyond being “fast” and enters almost Zen territory. You know what I mean if you saw the main at the worlds. Marc Willers, leading the main, way atop his game that day. A sliver of an over-jump on the second straight, which in most other races on earth would have been fully recoverable. Not in the SX arena. It was just enough to get Joris close, then past him.

In the Men’s Quarterfinals, four gate drops would distill the field further…and then you’d have that same feeling all over again. And then, of course, put your oxygen mask on before helping others for the main event.

But there was still 252 seconds of heart-stopping action on the track before that was upon us.

In the first group, you had Willoughby, Strombergs, van Gorkom, Day and Young, together again, just like the qualifying round. It was this lap that caused BMXNOW to call Sam “invincible,” with a perfect trip that got him to the line more than a second ahead of The Machine. KY was in the mix, until midway down the second straight, he seemed to unclip, and went to the top tube, just before hitting the second set. It was an “ejector seat” moment for Khalen, and looked like it might be one of those SX wrecks that sidelines a guy for three calendar pages. Thankfully, it wasn’t, and KY was back to his humorous self soon after, posting on Facebook: “If anyone has footage of my crash could you please post it. It has to look as good as it felt.” First to the semis were Sam, Maris, Jelle and David Graf.

Quarterfinal number two would thin strong contenders Josh Meyers, Martin Scherpin and Sebastian Kartfjord out of the semis, as Nic Long took it to the front flawlessly for the USA. The oddsmakers were strong on Long to win it all. Tory Nyhaug slugged it out with Moo Caille and Josh Callan to score a second, from fourth, down the last straight.

Willers was a giant awakened, starting in the third rack. Joris Daudet had the lead for the first three straightaways, until Willers took the fine-line in the last turn and got ahead of him. David Herman was on his chainstay down the last straight for second, by .141/sec, then came the World Champ, and Franco-bro, Godet.

Kirkham commanded the final group with the ever-present Sylvain Andre and Connor Fields getting “Qs” as well. Barry Nobles put the Alabama Slam on Andres Jiminez at the line to see the Semis.

SEMI-SWEET

Back to Girl-Boy racing, it was the ladies on-course first with Semifinal action. In the first group, Amanda Carr seemed to be shot out of a cannon, as she laid down a beating, American style to the rest of the pack. The third straight was a bog-down for her here as well, but it didn’t matter…her first two straights were aces-up, and she banked enough of a lead to keep Laetitia LeCorguillé, Magalie Pottier and Mariana Pajon looking at the backside of her “USA Stars” jersey.

Sarah Walker’s semi lap was a thing of beauty, as she handily dispensed with the pack. The battle was for the fourth spot, as a rematch of the Worlds Junior Women main was in effect, between Melinda McLeod and Brooke Crain. Brooke rode amazingly down the third straight to put herself in position to get that final main event slot. Unfortunately, it was not to be today, and Melinda got there .089 seconds faster. The transfers were Walker, Shanaze Reade, Lauren Reynolds and McLeod.

The track manned-up with two gates of eight ready to make a main. Here, it was Willoughby again with a win in the first pack. Nic Long was in for Team USA (go Power Rankings!), as was Maris and David Graf. Tory Nyhaug was oh-so-close, but would be leaning the fence for the main.

The stage was being set for that main event smackdown we had all been waiting for. Willoughby got his semi win in, now it was Willers turn to top. In fact, it was Joris Daudet who got the initial call for the win, but the photo finish would reveal that Marc was front-wheel-first by .025 of a second. Holy split-second soup, Batman! David Herman and Sylvain Andre were the final dynamic duo to make it in. That put two from Team USA in the main which, in this lofty company, is a great sign for the Chula Vista crew!

MAIN ON THE BRAIN

Watching the camera move from gate 8 to gate 1 in a Supercross Main Event is a great case study in composure. A million emotions are running through the athletes heads, ranging from “I am the winner” to “I need to get ahead of X, Y or Z person in the first three cranks,” to who-knows-what, vis a vis the pressures that are “right-now-real” to a world-class athlete, that the rest of us can’t understand.

And, to see the “face shots” of the main event contenders, you see all shades of the spectrum. Sarah Walker seems her happy-go-lucky normal self, smiling and giving the fans at home a few friendly waves…on over to Laetitia LeCorguille, who is all business, with laser beams down-range.

When the gate dropped, all the BS stopped, when from the outside, came Shanaze Reade. Pete Dylewski said it best, that she is an honest-to-goodness mainstream media darling there at home, splashed on the covers of newspapers and magazines, and even on posters in the airport. Well, she was not going to let anyone else top that podium today, and jumped to an early lead, which she kept for the balance of her rocket-fuelled 38.275 second laptime–not surprisingly, the fastest of the weekend. Walker was there for the second place podium honors, and Lauren Reynolds for the final podium spot. Mariana Pajon ended up with a DNF after an unfortunate takedown.

The final lap of the weekend would, of course, hold enough wattage to power a good-sized town. The moment before the war jumped off was frozen in time, when all of the sudden “BLAMO” it was on! The pack was close down the hill, then David Herman on the outside, and Marc Willers on the inside started to show themselves–Willoughby was through the middle. Going into the first turn, it was a race of millimeters (see, metric system), as Sam had a micro knobby on David and Marc. Sam got a stellar backside on the berm jump and jumped ahead the pack at the apex of turn one. By that point, Daudet had made a tasty move that put him literally neck-and-neck with Marc, with Graf on the razor’s-edge, way-up-high in fourth, and Herman and Long back in fifth and sixth, respectively. But there was A LOT of race yet to run.

Willers was back in command by the middle of the second straight, with Daudet and Sam still close enough to know what kind of chain lube he was running. It stayed that way into the S turn, but things were getting closer. Sam drew even, then a few spokes ahead of Marc over the box jump, and Daudet was a bike or so off the pace. Willoughby was tagged as leader in the split-time, with 23.714, with Willers “behind” (if you want to call it that) by .027. Joris was farther still by .24/sec, as the pack entered the third straight.

Of course, we are talking fractions of a second here…the blink of an eye is .33 seconds, so in reality, anything can change at any time. And down the third straight, it did, as it became a battle of the “W’s,” with Willers now half a wheel ahead, Willoughby on the inside, and the W1 in the middle. Three abreast they came, then Sam got scrubbed a bit, and fell back to third…Willers still in control.

Sam was not out of it, by any means, as his inside line positioned him well into the last turn. Marc was on his way to the win, unless something unexpected happened, and the epic battle would seem to be for second. Where was Nic Long at this point? Well, he was out of frame…and about to put his “Chula Vista comeback kid” plan into effect, because by the depths of the last straight, it was Marc, Joris and Nic firmly in the action. Sylvain Andre would finish off-the-podium in fourth, David Herman was fifth and Sam was sixth.

A pulse-quickening main. Maybe not as memorable as the Chula Vista main last year, which had solid lead changes and an at-the-line push by a hometown hero. But still, this one was double-A-Awesome!. Nic Long taking it from sixth to third was incredible. Willers beating back the “One Man Wolfpack” in Willoughby, and the World Champion–to say nothing of the reigning Olympic Gold Medialist. WOW. Just WOW.

Next stop on the SX tour is the season finale in Chula Vista at the end of September. With the Sarasota stop scrapped, the athletes have a solid month, and then some, to train up, and come back for more points, more fan adoration and more action, as the entire BMX industry looks on. We’ll be there. Will you?

—Mike Carruth

Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for the network coverage on NBC in the United States. 3:30PM Eastern Time, but check local listings.

Above Photo: UCI BMX / craigdutton.com

Alise Post called this morning to let us know that, due to injuries suffered in a crash at the Olympic Training Center/Chula Vista on Thursday, she would not be making the trip to Copenhagen, Denmark for the UCI BMX World Championships.

Of the Thursday accident, Alise said, in an email to sponsors and select media:

“I thought I had just hyper-extended my (right) knee since I am still pretty mobile, but an MRI revealed something a bit more serious….I will be meeting with an orthopedic surgeon on Monday to discuss options and what needs to be done”

“I was feeling so strong leading into this World Championships and end of the season, and I am devastated to have to bring you this news. I was finally back from my last leg injury and at 100%, winning races and feeling stronger than ever….I am going to keep a positive attitude, and will put all my energy into healing quick, and to coming back stronger than before, just like last time.”

Above, Alise alluded to a similar setback on the eve of the ABA Grands last year, when she was locked in a neck-and-neck title battle with Dom Daniels. The resulting ankle injury took her out of the game for about four months, with the Winternationals in March being her first race back. This time, it appears the recovery will be about six months–putting her return at about Feb 1.

Obviously, all eyes are on the Olympic qualifying calendar for 2012. Pure speculation on our part, as it is so early in the process, but it’s safe to say she is out for the London SX next month and the Chula Vista SX in September. The next UCI World Cup event on the calendar is February 24, 2012 (Location TBA). So that could be a potential re-entry point in the Olympic qualifying hunt. With a short season in 2012 (the Worlds are in Birmingham, England on May 27), the runway is very short before the Team USA selections are finalized in June.

Still, if anyone can do it, she can…and we’ll be bringing you regular updates on her progress.

See the BMX News Story: “2012 USA Olympic Qualifying Criteria Announced”

In a release issued by USA Cycling Sunday Morning, BMX Program Director, Mike King said:

“Obviously this is horrible news but I feel confident that we have three girls who will step up to the challenge,” said USA Cycling BMX Programs Director Mike King of the U.S. team’s chances at the pending world championships. “Alise is a strong competitor and we expect to see her back in the saddle soon.”

Alise was on the funded team roster for the London SX next month. King told News in a Sunday Email exchange that a decision on a replacement for her spot, if any, will be made and announced after the World Championships.

UPDATE:
Reached Sunday afternoon, via email, Chuck Hooper, President of Seattle Bike Supply (who owns the Redline brand) sent the following to News

Our hearts are out for Alise… We spoke on Saturday and, obviously, this is a very tough situation for her. She is a very strong competitor and a dedicated athlete. It was, to say the least, an emotional conversation. We both agreed the best thing is to remain positive and wait till she is thoroughly-checked by a specialist to determine the best course of action.

Mentally and physically, Alise will have a better chance than most to have a good recovery. All of us are “pulling for her.” We all know how hard she worked coming back from her last injury and we are very proud of her, and all her accomplishments and the contributions she makes to our sport. We hope she does equally-well coming back from this setback.

BMX News joins Chuck in his sentiments, and wishes Alise a safe, effective and speedy recovery. Keep on eye on BMX News for more on this story.

Just got a tip that Amanda Geving is tweeting and writing updates on her experience at the Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Supercross. Her sponsor, MCS Bicycles, is posting the updates on their website.

Check them out here

The stage is set for the first race of the 2011 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup season to jump off down in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

The final Start List shows 103 men and 38 women locked and loaded for tomorrow’s Time Trial qualifying (64 men and 32 women will make it out of the Time Trial and get to compete on Saturday). For our part, the USA has brought some big guns to PZB, with eight women and eight men.

USA Riders in Pietermaritzburg

MEN
Nic Long*
Josh Meyers*
Tyler Faoro
Alex Anthony
Tyler Brown
Corben Sharrah*
Donny Robinson
David Herman*
Barry Nobles

WOMEN
Amanda Carr*
Amanda Geving*
Alise Post*
Ashley Verhagen
Arielle Martin*
Brooke Crain*
Taylor Wolcott
Dani George

*Denotes USA Cycling “Funded” riders for PZB

As well as serving as the opening round for the 2011 World Cup season, Pietermaritzburg also marks the first event undertaken by NBL-controlled Global SX Events, or GSX. Gary Aragon has retained substantially all the key staff that were running the show under UCI’s control, starting with Johan Lindstrom, whom he made President of GSX and moved from Switzerland to Ohio. Expectations are for the 2011 season to look and feel like the ones that came before.

For Pietermaritzburg, Tom Ritz and Elite Trax are debuting some interesting new features. The second straight ends in an off-camber, hip jump thingy, which is a lisp away from being an “S” turn. It jumps over the women’s second turn, pointed to the right (of the orientation of the second straight)…then the turn which whips around more than 90 degrees, to take the riders into a short third straight. There, they encounter a “climber” (a step-up, but more dramatic), which appears in the simulation to drop the riders down sharply into a soft-left which opens up to a rhythm and into the last turn. From there, it is standard SX track fare for the last straight.

An animated “walkthrough” was available on a few sites, but seems to be universally down as of this writing, so we won’t frustrate you by giving you the link.

The track really does look exciting, and the second turn is bound to have some nice “change-up” potential.

At 11:19AM Thursday, Pete Dylewski posted the following on Vintage, as an update after practice:

Today, the GSX staff proved their worth, as the last 3 or 4 days, pouring rain had kept them from getting the track and set up dialed in. This morning at 6AM they were all out there, getting things done and right at Noon, as scheduled, Group A practice was underway.

They track wasn’t 100% dialed, but the riders were jumping everything by the end of the hour of practice.

Group B and the Women also got their full hour of practice in and Tom Ritz went to a good group of riders and talked to them to get feedback on the track and will make a few slight adjustments to get it completely dialed in by practice time tomorrow. The track seemed to flow really well and the new hip

As far as USA riders, Donny Robison looked solid as did Brooke Crain and Dani George. The others rode well also, but these 3 really stood out to me. I wasn’t able to focus 100% on watching the riders during practice, as I was helping do Video stuff for the TV show. style berm jump was a favorite to many riders.

You can watch the race live on freecaster.tv beginning Saturday Morning at 8AM Eastern Time. Pete Dylewski is back in the booth this year, and is for this race joined by home country hero, Sifiso Nhlapo–still recovering from a crash suffered in the second straight at the ABA Sooner Nationals.

Some “off-track” photos

Left To Right: Corben Sharrah, Amanda Geving, Tyler Faoro, Alise Post, Josh Meyers, Nic Long, Arielle Martin and Brooke Crain take a beach ride soon after touching down in South Africa.

The US Women hug and mug for a group photo in the PZB mist. Left To Right: Arielle Martin, Dani George, Ashley Verhagen, Amanda Geving, Alise Post, Brooke Crain and Taylor Wolcott. Not pictured: Amanda Carr.

USA Cycling BMX coach Jeff Glynn takes some time to “shred” the local South African bowls at a Pietermaritzburg skatepark.

Photos via Twitter and Facebook.

Downloads

Elite Men Start List

Elite Women Start List

Rider Breakdown By Country

One thing we notice in reading the start list is the absence of Laëtitia Le Corguillé. Last month, her Facebook page indicated she may be competing in PZB, having recovered from her injury last season. We will try to find out the 4-1-1 on her status for the next rounds. And, of course, we knew that Maris Strombergs’ name would be absent from the list as well. He is still nursing a wrist injury suffered at the ABA Grands.

BMX News will have a re-cap of the Pietermaritzburg SX late Saturday Afternoon, and we will be rockin the Tweets (follow @bmxnow). Check back often!

Editor’s Note: “Pietermaritzburg” is 16 letters. I hate typing it, so I have resorted to using the airport code, “PZB” instead.

Over the weekend, Facebook pages started foretelling who was heading out to hop the Atlantic. And on Sunday, the official start lists were released.

Download the Start Lists Now:
Elite Men
Elite Women
Summary of Countries

A couple names absent from the list include Manuel Devecchi from Italy, and Merle Van Benthem from the Netherlands, both still recovering from injuries suffered at the Chula Vista SX last month. The USA is fielding an unusually large contingent for an off-shore race, with 11 men and six women. Chula Vista podium topper, Nic Long is on the trip, as is SX rookie, Jordan Miranda breaking out his passport for the first time to hit the SX start ramp. A couple of the non-regulars on the trip include Alex Anthony, Riley Stair and Weston Pope. Among the ladies, it is the regular squad of Carr, Crain, Geving, Martin and Post–with Dom Daniels also on the list.

A total of 199 Men and 44 Women from 27 countries will do battle in the time trials, come Friday night (it is anticipated that there might be a couple last-minute additions before the first gate drops).

BMXNEWS Euro Correspondent, Carl Lein, will be on-site with story and photos from Frejus. Be sure to keep it right here on BMXNEWS for as-they-happen details, and follow “BMXNOW” on Twitter.

With a little more than a week to go til the world comes to Chula Vista, the ABA has ponied up for an impressive media buy in the San Diego market. September 17 and 18 will mark the second time in as many years that a UCI BMX Supercross World Cup event has been held at the US Olympic Training Center. No question that the fastest riders in the world will be there–the only question is who will emerge as fastest of them all and top the podium on Saturday night.

The SX format and fanfare around the Chula Vista race is about as close as BMX racing gets to a “show” of mainstream interest. Siezing on that opportunity, ABA has developed a 30-second spot that will air some 500 times in the coming eight days. If you’re in the San Diego area, you’re likely to see it on ESPN, MTV, NICK, Speed, Spike, Cartoon Network, Versus and more. Big props to the guys from Gilbert!

Check out the Chula Vista SX spot

On March 1 of this year, BMXNEWS reported on the announcement, by UCI, that the 2010 series finale would be held in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Today, those plans changed, as UCI issued a press release saying that “the authorisation to build the unique BMX Supercross track in Monaco harbour was declined for this year.”

The release went on to say that plans were moving forward for the 2011 event (but, reading between the lines a bit, it seemed like 2011 was not a “lock” just yet either), presumably as a lead-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games. No substitute location was named, and the release said, specifically “there are no plans for a replacement venue.” Thus, the series will end, as it did last year, in Frejus, France on October 8-9.

Stick with BMXNEWS for ongoing coverage of the 2010 and 2011 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup.

BMXNEWS Contributor Carl Lein filed a gallery of images from last week’s Madrid SX.

View the gallery now

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.

link

*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.

The start list for the first calendar 2010 stop on the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup tour has been released. Madrid, Spain will play host to the event on March 26 and 27, and the United States will be well represented, with 20 household-name stars making starts. Here is the US roster:

Men
Joey Bradford
Tyler Brown
Steven Cisar
Connor Fields
David Herman*
Nic Long*
Joshua Meyers
Travis Ohrazda
Donny Robinson*
Jordan Seward
Corben Sharrah*
Denzel Stein

Women
Amanda Carr
Brooke Crain*
Dominique Daniels
Amanda Geving*
Arielle Martin*
Alise Post
Ashley Verhagen*
Taylor Wolcott

*Denotes the USA Cycling “Funded” Team for Madrid

Freecaster will be webcasting the race, as they did last year…Which means we will get to hear the crank-by-crank commentary by @DoubleAPete, with rumors of a “special guest commentator.” Well, we know Howard Cosell is…otherwise engaged…so we’ll be anxious to see who dons the headset next to Pete.