A Dozen Questions on the USA BMX Gator Nats
February 14, 2012 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
Questions By BMX News Readers
Answers and Photos By Mike Carruth
All photos are above the content discussing them
We received an unusually high number of reader questions about the Oldsmar race this weekend. So, rather than try to weave them into the fabric of a story, we decided to MAKE them the story.
A total of 213 on Saturday, which included three “racks” of Striders, four racks of A Pro, three racks of Vet Pro, One Rack of Junior Women, Four Racks of Jr. Men, Four Racks of Elite Women and EIGHT racks of Elite Men (50 riders in that class, largest of the day). Racing kicked off about 12:20, and the last race hit the finish line at 8:27PM.
On Sunday, 197 motos total. As normal, some classes dropped a bit. In the top classes, four racks of A Pro, two racks of Vet Pro (losing two riders), One rack of Junior Women, three Racks of Jr. Men, Four racks of Elite Women (only light one of the Chinese women), and EIGHT racks of Elite Men (50 riders again). Maris Strombergs, who won Saturday’s Elite main was not feeling well for sunday, and sat out. And Dom Daniels, who crashed while in qualifying position in Saturday’s semi was nursing a banged up left hand from the wreck.
Elite Men was, by far the largest class, at 50 riders. Runners up included 19-27x and 17-18x at 38 riders apiece. Cruiser turnout seemed low at this one, with 41-45 being the largest class at 14 riders. Girls class turnout was also a bit thin, with 13G charting the most riders at 13. Note: All rider count numbers are Saturday figures, unless otherwise noted.
That is some geeky stuff right there, but I know some of you like the nuts and bolts of how the classes broke down.
Saturday at the Gator Nationals doubled as the 2012 UCI North American Continental Championships. Unlike the National Championships (coming in March in Chula Vista), in which only US Citizens can participate, the continental championship is open to any and all riders…though we heard that there is a formality for non-North American riders of submitting a letter asking permission to attend.
UCI Races are graded in “categories” from 0 to 6. The lower the number, the more points are up for grabs. Category 0 is the Olympic Games, Cat 1 is the World Championships, Cat 2 are the Supercross World Cup races…and then you have the Cat 3 Continental Championships, of which each continent has their own. Most of the USA BMX schedule races are either Cat 4 or Cat 5 races, and the USA Cycling National Championships (open only to US Citizens) carries the lowest points ranking at Cat 6 (probably due to the fact that it excludes the deep comp from other nations).
So, as we have said in previous day’s reports on Oldsmar, the Cat 3 points are coveted enough for the National Governing Bodies to make the effort to be here. Also, the fact that it is one of the early opportunities for the riders to measure up the competition for March, when the World Cup season kicks off in Chula.
The Signature feature of Oldsmar’s 2012 build is an “S turn” in the third straight, which snakes the pack under the pro straightaway, and into the inside of the last turn. as noted in previous reports, there was some grumbling about it at first, but by the first gate on Saturday, everyone had their theory on the fastest line, and used it first round. Those who did not have it dialed…well, they got to give it another go second round 
The hyper-technical last straight rhythm section played “nom, nom, nom” on a few dozen lead riders, some popping back up, and others not so quick.
Alaina Henderson is the toughest chick I have had the pleasure of having in the viewfinder in a while. She got bruised and contused after a wreck in the final feet of the Sunday Semi, and still had enough mettle to smile for our camera after the race, cuddled up next to A Pro winner Phil Delizia.
Hanging around during practice on Friday, there were more than a few saying “I don’t usually like ‘lippy’ tracks, but this one is fun, once you stop being terrified by it.” And a couple who were not suited up, saying “plenty of races between now and November…I decided to sit this one out; the track is just beyond my skills” (needless-to-say, older riders who know the meaning of “$1000 deductible”).
On the other side of the spectrum, you had Junior and Elites who ride SX tracks all day, saying they wish the pro set was “bigger.” This group is tough to impress with anything less than the full magilla, but there were enough dings in the backside peaks of the pro set (above) to know it was well executed, given the hill and other straights that had to be ridden by all comers.
Looking at the results, double wins were more scarce than usual in Oldsmat–and that is actually a good sign. It meant racing was mixed up, and no rider could count his points before crossing the line. I attribute that to the track, in large part.
In a word, SWEET. Now, that is from a spectator / photog’s point of view. Early on Thursday, before people hit the hill, there was a generous amount of grumbling and bellyaching. But the bottom line is that it’s a tug-o-war between the people who are saying the tracks are “too cookie cutter” and those who scoff at unconventional (for today’s flavor of BMX racing) obstacles. Personally, I am not a fan of “hell track” type obstacles…but this S Turn was all-the-way-live, and raised the level of excitement for the fans in the always-packed stands.
Well, you had pretty much every top name on the planet on the sheets (except for a couple guys like Nic Long and Kyle Bennett who are out, due to injury). So to pick one or two who were “going fast” is like picking a winner in a rocketship race.
That said, special horsepower hashmarks have to go to Maris, Willers, Willoughby and Connor Fields–all of whom aced every lap on Saturday, until they paired off in two semis. On Sunday, SW91 and Connor aced up all laps leading up to the main. But, and here’s where we get into the rocketship thing, you also would have enjoyed seeing Mike Day tearin’ it up, and Tory Nyhaug acing all moto laps, (though maybe not enjoy seeing Tory end on the turf in the Semis on Saturday, and pulling the plug just after the first jump in Sunday’s semis–issue unknown)–but still lookin strong.
You’d have to be crazy, or blackheartedly-biased, not to give all due props to Mariana Pajon. She was in full command on Saturday with wins across the board, including the podium-topping main event. Sunday…not a complete span of 1-1-1-1-1s. In fact, that semi was her toughest lap of the weekend. Started out leading, gave up the lead to Komnatova of Russia in the first turn (above), and dropped back to fifth by the third straight. She was out of the main event, until Alaina Henderson bit the dust in the final feet of the rhythm, and Mariana ended up third. She chalked the semi choke up to a bad gate and basically not finding her groove (our words). Well, she found it by main time, because it was her and her alone on the Sunday box.
We talked a little about Alise Post’s triumphant return–or at least that this would be the race that would see it– in previous reports, and Beasty did not miss a beat after her lame six months in a chair and on crutches. Second place on Saturday, and a down-and-up tangle with Manon Valentino in the Sunday Semi keeping her out of the main event. So stoked to see #11 back in the results!
Brooke and Dom were in the same moto Saturday, and were shadow dancing much of the day (with Dom’s 1-5-1 to Brooke’s 2-1-2), til the Semi, when Valentino seemed to nose-case the second peak on the double into turn two, folding the bike out from under her and taking a second place Amanda Geving down as well. That led much of the pack to plow into them, Dom among them. Brooke, who was in fifth going in, skillfully avoided the carné asada, and came out in first, and went on to win that lap, ultimately hitting the podium for a third in Saturday’s main.
Dom ended up with a tweaked left hand, and pulled out of Sunday’s race. News will bring you an update when it’s available.
Among the Juniors, we heard the names Nesvig, Byndloss, Ramirez and Van Ogle by the announcing team of Riley and Redbone a lot. Rusty scored the win on Saturday, having never lost a lap. Local-ish hero, Maliek Byndloss had the track oh-so-dialed, and took home the 1-1-1-1-1 on Sunday, with Rusty on the left step. Van Ogle’s Hyper ride was in for third on Saturday, and it was Ramirez rounding out the podium on Sunday.
Though he was not on the podium this time around, keep an eye on Layne Gainer–out of Illinois. He is on London Wilmot’s new Hyper-backed team (but is still riding an Intense–at least for the moment). We know him due to his Illinois local status, but we saw him tearin up the Chula track at the U23 camp in January, so he is definitely on the right people’s radar. Should be on yours too.
Junior Women was a nice back & forth battle between the All-American fast-girl-next-door, Dani George, and Denmark’s Simone Christensen. They split the wins on the weekend, and the Danimal made the home country fans proud.
Both were stacked to the rafters with talent.
A-Pro was a battle royale between Supercross star, Jeremy Rommel and Answer Rennen’s newish pickup, Phil Delizia. “The General and the Dragon” sounds like a B-Movie in the war-fantasy genre, but it was actually a compelling A-Pro story of a come-from-behind win on Saturday, when Rommell pulled even, then ahead down the last straight. Phil rode it all the way home on Sunday, though Rommel was leading the pack over the first jump, at least for a shutter-snap (above). He lost some ground in the second straight, and fell back to fourth, and the race was pretty much over for the General at that point. Elliot McGrath hit the podium in third both days.
Vet Pro…wowza! Colombo is on a tear, winning both days in Guthie and splitting the wins with Pohlkamp in Reno. In Oldsmar, it was the aforementioned usual suspects of Javi and MP3 soaking up the spotlight, but we were also stoked to see Joey Albright back up front and way-in-the-mix. Gunz was in 50-cal mode in the Saturday main, as he shot to the lead, and stayed there til he had a sizable margin on Matt, who crossed second and Tim Dinger who was third. On Sunday, it was Javi all the way, railed up the inside of the first straight, and into a permanent lead. Albright was second and Pohlkamp third.
More than a few, actually. Renny Husada from Yess BMX was down from Canada, toting a new fork and a new stem that you’ll be seeing in the market soon. The stem has a couple brainiac features that will make you say “ha! now why didn’t I think of that?” Dani George was running some proto-ala-moto 20mm Supercross forks, said to be 19.8 ounces with some trick thick happening up top on the steer tube. Material-wise, it’s that Easton Aluminum we all know and love. Both of the above were kind of on the Downlow, so hope we’re not in any kind of trade secret trouble here Also in the heard-but-not-seen department, some forthcoming new products for Morphine.
The “jersey wars” are jumping off in a big way…in a world that used to be, more or less owned by one or two companies, we see Stile Industries taking a major role in the jersey game. So, too, for Crit Customs–which Mike Rodrigues added to the surging Crit Plate empire. Lots of fast guys gettin Crit this year.
We were stoked to see the Black Crown frames in the flesh for the first time. USA Made, and set up with an artist’s eye for detail, the “Throne” line is definitely something you should take a gander at when you’re ready to upgrade.
Well, in the upper-teen classes, we’re seeing Bryce Hocking up front a lot this season, ditto for Kalvin Davis in 19-27x. Both were haulin the mail down in Oldsmar, with Bryce scoring a win on Day one. This was the first time we saw Juan Marin in the new season, and he was fully activated in both class and Cruiser, with double wins in 17-20 Cruiser, and a 3-1 finish in class.
No question that Byndloss is toward the top of any hot-in-the-new-season list, as is Sean Gaian (above), Collin Hudson and Crazy legs’ Crupi compadre, Myles Wamsley from Vegas. All posted strong laps in Oldsmar.
Gaian won Jr. Devo boys on Sunday and got second after Cole Tesar on Saturday. For his part, Rock & Roll Cole had a decent weekend, with some setbacks, but still rode like a champ. Second in class on Sunday, after missing out on Saturday’s main (due to a crash in the semis, if memory serves…but we could be wrong. Our fingers were too frozen to write by that point on Saturday night).
Is it just us being slow on the uptake, or is the name Zaithyel Soekandar one that is not familiar when the talk turns to double-F-Fast 14 year olds? Well, I’m here to tell you that this guy was the boss of the class all weekend long, putting a chill on some hot-commodity-comp like Walker Finch. He was rockin a generic Redline jersey, aboard an Intense bike…with enough hair hangin out the back of his helmet to make Amanda Carr jealous. Word is he’s from Aruba, and riding for the Southeast Redline/Monster/One Industries team (via TLack on Vintage). If he’s on a US team, chances are we’ll be seeing more of him. Cool to see dudes coming in from nowhere and taking a class by storm like that. And we’re sure the Dirt Bird is recalculating his attack strategy for the next meetup.
The newly-crafted Answer-Ssquared-TLD team is the 2012 incarnation of the Snap Factory team from Illinois. Their team sheet is covered with ace-high players, from Super Cooper Sheldon, who brought home double cruiser wins in 9C, to Tyshawn Carr, to their iron-clad presence in the teen classes with guys like Ryan Zinzow, Justin Richmond (who is starting to get his footing with the 14 year olds, after aging up just before Reno), Brandon Ceslok and, of course, Tyler Whitfield. The team chalked up their first Factory Team win with the New Sponsor on Saturday (Intense Factory was second).
The first cousin to the Answer Ssquared team– Answer Rennen, took home factory team honors on Sunday. Impressive enough, but moreso, when you consider that it was without the services Shawn Diprete on Sunday. A crash in his 20″ main on Saturday made his pinkie look like a lightning bolt. Ouch! Says it’s on the mend now…no autopsy, no foul. Second place Factory Team on Sunday went to Carlos Perez and the Felt Factory Team.
Well, obviously, the ones that did the winning…Answer Ssquared, Answer Rennen, Intense Factory, and Felt were all five-star. But also the Yess BMX-supported AllTow Wrecking Crew, Black Crown had some good moments, as did Morphine. SpeedTech, out of North Carolina just became the newest Ssquared-supported team, and had a few riders on-scene (though likely not as many as we’ll see in Powder Springs in a couple months).
London Wilmot’s FBN/Hyper team is suited up, and lookin factory. His posse had a couple wins for their maiden voyage, with Emily Krickler putting one on the board in 26-30 G-Cruiser, and Lance McGuire’s win of 28-25x on Saturday
Michelle Cairns reclassified from Girl Pro to 28-Over Girls starting in Oldsmar, and took home the win in a class of three the class was 17-over for Sunday, and she still managed a third behind way-fast wimmens, Shelby Stacy and Kristen Bob.
BMX News did an all-afternoon photo shoot with the elites and teams on Friday, shooting over 600 photos for our files, and having a great time in the process. We will be posting the selections from that session later this week, so keep an eye out for it. Connor Fields was one of the 75 riders who participated in the session.
Was great to see Toby Henderson and Michelle Enriquez from Box components on-scene to scope out the on-track awesomeness of their man in uniform, Marc Willers. A quick chat in the pits says that things are coming along well but, like a famous pitchman once said “they will sell no BMX part before its time.” Lots of love going into the line, and we’re anxious to get some of the first production pieces to review (hint,hint).
dR is fitted out in Nema pants for the new year, and lookin GOOD!
The Kenda Arch over the finish line deflated after the power briefly went out to that quardrant. Might make for a nice new obstacle…like the windmill shot in miniature golf. USA BMX staff jumped in and held it up for the incoming moto, “London Bridge” style. It was arching in full for the next rack.
Lots of great chatter about next week’s USA BMX Summit in Louisville. Some folks sticking around in the region, and hitting Morristown on the way back. It’s crossed our mind too, since we’re going to both.
A big shoutout of support to Floridian, MCS factory ace, and friend of News Raul Gomez. It was announced a couple weeks back that Raul has Stage IV Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. That was devastating news to those of us who are Rual fans, and we definitely want to do whatever we can to support him in this umimaginabley difficult time. Watch for more on the “I WILL WIN THIS RACE!” bracelet campaign in a separate section of BMX News this week.
Haro and Rockstar have parted ways after a few years of togetherness. TM DB44 says the Pink and Black TLD gear KY and Brooke wore in Oldsmar was a temp step to a more “factory” kit– on the order of the awesome jerseys they were rockin at the Grands.
Saw our old friend Billy Maule, who has been living back in Jacksonville for a while now. He recently teamed up with a JAX company, Burro Bags, to bring the way-cool backpacks, messenger bags and such to the BMX community. Check them out at burrobags.com/
Next race for BMX News will be the Volunteer Nationals in Morristown, TN. Should be a big turnout, with so many riders in striking distance.
@bmxnow full twitter feed from Oldsmar
Oldsmar Discussion on VintageBMX.com
Thanks to Cheyenne Grant for her help this weekend making sure all the races on our list were video taped for later review. It really helped us bring you a more complete story.
Oldsmar – Day One Photo Gallery
February 13, 2012 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
Saturday at the USA BMX Gator Nationals also doubled as the UCI BMX North American Continental Championships. The Class 3 points that were up for grabs are the most of any race, apart from the World Cup races, the World Championships, or the every-four-years Olympic Games. Critical UCI Nations points dictate how many athletes a country can send to the London Olympics this summer.
For some, a strong showing may make the difference between a two athlete team or a three athlete team (for the Men)…while for other countries, it’s about stretching out the lead and locking in their slots.
Given that, it’s no wonder that 50 Elite Men and 21 Elite Women showed up to the race. The race had the air of a major event and, apart from the robust Elite turnout, the Amateur racing was stacked with magawatt names that have their sights set on a future in the Junior, then Elite class.
Day one was 213 motos, including the 18 racks of UCI (Junior Men, Junior Women, Elite Men and Elite Women). That was quite a spell larger than last year’s Gators (though we can’t get anymore specific than that).
We are reviewing our video notes from Sunday’s race, and will post a complete race report Monday night, along with the Sunday photos. But in the meantime, we have a 242 image gallery for you to check out, which tells…well, 242,000 words of a story on its own. Also, feel free to review our tweets from the weekend.
USA BMX GATOR NATIONALS DAY ONE RESULTS (via USABMX.COM)
Check back Monday Night for More on the USA BMX Gator Nationals.
ABOVE: Maris Strombergs of Team Free Agent/Rockstar leads the fastest riders in the world, including Sam WIlloughby, Marc Willers, Connor Fields and Joris Daudet, through the second turn in the Day One Main event.
USAC BMX Elite Portraits
January 28, 2012 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
During our trip to the US Olympic Training Center/Chula Vista earlier this month, we were privileged to shoot individual headshots of all the riders taking part in the Elite Camp. We thought you’d enjoy seeing some of your favorite riders suited up in their Team USA Jerseys.
We are saving the goof-around outtakes for a more opportune time
Check Out The Photo Gallery Now
Chase BMX and Tioga Step Up For Jr. Devo
January 25, 2012 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
USA Cycling released a statement a week or so ago celebrating the signing of Chase BMX and Tioga as marquee sponsors of the USA Cycling BMX Jr. Development program for 2012 and 2013.
The program is entering its third year of organized camps, and has fostered some impressive talent in its time. The ABA (now USA BMX) gave a major boost to the program in July of 2009, when it added a dedicated series-within-a-series expressly for 15 and 16 year olds (using UCI Birthday criteria) to compete alongside the Elite classes in the national program.
As we look past London 2012, and on to Rio 2016, the Jr. Development program will take on added importance and prestige, with 1997 birth-year riders getting prepared to show what they have on the big track.
Pete Dylewski has been up close and personal with the Jr. Devo program since its inception. As the Marketing Manager for VSI products in 2009, it was his magic touch that brought Intense BMX to the table as a sponsor of the program in the early years. With Pete currently in a “strategic partner” capacity in Christophe Leveque’s BMX Racing Group, and as a marketing and team consultany to Tioga BMX, he has buddied up with USAC again, bringing Chase BMX and Tioga to the table as sponsors of the program for the next two years.
And while USAC’s press release on the subject (linked below) provides great surface detail on the partnership, BMX News is always interested in a deeper-dive on the backstory, and perspective of the movers, shakers and news makers behind the headlines (if you’ll allow the shameless plug on our own behalf).
In this, the 50th episode of BMX News “Announcers Tower,” Pete gives us some great insight into the history of the program, what happens when riders attend one of the four annual camps, and the longview on talent development. We also took this opportunity to get some scoop on how things are developing at BMX Racing Group, in general.
Listen now
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USA Cycling Junior Development Page
Editors Note: Our side of the interview had some sound difficulties, due to a software update on our Skype application. Apologies for any “tin can” effect.
USAC Elite Camp Brings The Best to Chula V
January 24, 2012 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
A major contingent of Elite “Team USA” BMX Supercross talent flew in to the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA last week for the first Elite Development camp of 2012. BMXNEWS.COM was granted exclusive access to shoot some action during one of the training sessions.
We clipped the set down to the 49 best shots of the session, and are bringing them to you as soon as we got them dialed in. It was an amazing day for shooting in San Diego, and the riders were definitely in the zone.
The camp included 19 athletes in all, but Joey Bradford and David Herman had other commitments for the photo session timeframe. And Nic Long, Felicia Stancil and Tyler Brown posted early injuries and could not ride. We wish them a speedy recovery!
Other stars out of orbit this camp; Connor Fields and Alise Post were out of the country and Mike Day and Corben Sharrah were out of town on GT biz. We vowed to catch them on-course next time.
Click Here to View the Gallery
A big thanks to: Mike King, Andrea Smith and James Herrera at USA Cycling for letting us peek into their day. Team USA is readying some amazing talent for London, and this glimpse into their routine gives us a special kind of pride as Americans. Equal thanks goes to Amanda Carr, Amanda Geving, Arielle Martin, Barry Nobles, Brooke Crain, Dani George, Donny Robinson, Jared Garcia, Jason Rogers, Josh Meyers, Kory Cook, Tyler Faoro and Weston Pope for their style and willingness to “do that again!”
—Mike Carruth
Above: Barry Nobles gets it done on the second straight aboard his new DK scoot.
Felicia Stancil Out With Hand Injury
January 12, 2012 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
Bad news out of the OTC yesterday. Felicia Stancil, who was in Chula Vista attending a 10-day Elite training camp, suffered a fractured hand in a warmup accident on Tuesday.
Her right hand is in a cast, and it is expected that the healing time should be six to eight weeks. If all goes to plan, she will be back in the game just in time for the Chula Vista SX and National Championships at the end of March.
Felicia sent the following account of what happened to BMX News:
I’m at the OTC for an Elite camp, and we had a track practice Tuesday morning on the ABA track. While warming up, the girls riding the second and third straight. Everything was fine, but then i jumped the last jump on the third straight–when I landed, I slid out.
I wasn’t in that much pain at first, and was focused on getting off the track before the guys came along. When I sat down, my right hand was throbbing. I took my glove off and my hand seriously looked like a balloon.
Usually, the pain from a crash goes away in a couple minutes, but my hand kept getting worse, and thats when I knew there was something wrong. Some of us thought the bone was just popped out of place, but then Reiko (the sports med trainer at the OTC) told me it was too low for it to be that.
Within an hour of my crash, I was getting X-rays of my hand. Directly after the first image, the technician told me that I probably wasn’t going to be riding my bike for a while. They soon gave me the legit news that my hand is fractured. I had no response, except to cry.
After a while, my coach helped me settle down and helped me realize what’s done is done, that I should stop getting worked up about something I can’t control and to start looking at the things I can control.
That helped a lot, and now I’m just focusing on being 100% by the Chula Supercross. Last time I had a major injury, I came back better then ever.
This time, its just my hand so I can still do a lot of gym work. Its going to be a challenge but you’ll see me ripping it up soon.
–Felicia
The injury comes at a particularly inconvenient time, as the news of her sponsorship change to GT has not even been officially announced yet. Of course, there is plenty of 2012 season left when she comes back in March so, in the longview, this should not be more than a blip.
Felicia is one of our most promising athletes and a true champion. All our chips are on her to make a strong comeback. Still, words of encouragement from the fans are a huge help. Come on over to Vintage and give her your best…we know she’ll read them.
Podcast: USA Cycling Collegiate BMX Program
December 21, 2011 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
Since seeing the press release earlier this month, announcing that BMX Racing will be included in the USA Cycling Collegiate Cycling Program, we have been blitzed with interest from readers, parents, track operators and a sponsor or two, looking for more information on the topic, and just how deep this program will go.
Some people had NCAA concerns, such as “can a rider participate in the Collegiate BMX Program, and still race Pro-Am races, or accept endorsement deals?” (Yes, by the way, since Collegiate Cycling is not an NCAA-recognized sport). Other readers were curious about scholarship programs or the list of schools that might field BMX teams.
We set out to bring together a list of questions for the community, then sit down with the man who knows the most about the program within USA Cycling–Jeffrey Hansen, High School and Collegiate Program Manager.
Some of the finer details are still coming together, but in this Podcast, you’ll learn a lot about where the program is headed in 2012-2013, and how you can start a “BMX Club” at your school to get the ball rolling.
You don’t have to be Nostradameus to be able to see how this program could dramatically increase the size of the participation pool in BMX Racing, as well as the overall public profile of the sport, once fully realized.
Give it a listen, then come on over to the VintageBMX.com forum, where the discussion is underway, and your questions can be answered.
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LINKS
Upcoming Story: USAC Adds Collegiate BMX Category
December 13, 2011 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
Last week, Dave Grigsby from Lindsey Wilson College shared a link on our Facebook page with news that USA Cycling has added a Collegiate BMX category for the first time at the 2012 National Championships in Chula Vista. BMX Racing will be the fifth collegiate cycling discipline, and it seems obvious that this fact may open up a new universe of possibilities for the sport.
A lot of the finer points are still being ironed out, but News thought this was cool enough news to give you a little teaser. We reached out to USA Cycling earlier this week, and are planning a more complete story on how this will work, and what it might mean to Joe College BMXer, later in the week.
Stay tuned to BMXNEWS.COM for more info on this topic.
Sweet 16 For Alise–Stronger Every Day
November 18, 2011 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
On July 24 of this year, BMX News reported that Factory Redline Elite Women ace, Alise Post would be sidelined for the balance of the 2011 season, due to an injury suffered during training for the UCI World Championships. One week later, Alise was in Vail, CO for knee surgery, and that would be the starting point by which her recovery would be measured.
Fast forward 16 weeks. Alise is well past the wheelchair, cleared the crutches, and is ambulating on her own two feet. She does a great job of keeping the fans up to date on her progress, and sent News the following update last night:
Today marks 16-weeks, post-op for my knee surgery. I am EXTREMELY excited about this, because 16 weeks is a very important point in the rehab process.
With a normal knee injury, say an ACL, or even if I had just torn my LCL, the rehab process would’ve progressed a lot more aggressively. However, due to my torn hamstring tendon having to be reattached on top of the LCL reconstruction graft, my rehab plan needed to be more conservative than others.
The combination of injuries is what made my case so rare to many of the people working with me. The fact that your hamstrings are so strong poses a problem in healing, once re-attached, because it is easy to rip-apart the work that was done in the surgery if a re-attached hamstring is engaged too soon. Needless to say, my therapists and I have had to be very creative on how to go about strengthening my leg and ligament without engaging too much of my hamstring. Today, this all changes!
16-weeks is a big corner to turn, in that now I can use my hamstring freely and starting lateral work on my ligament. These are key to my rehab process, because they allow me to actually start sport-specific rehab and put strength and agility back into my knee, which are obviously big stepping-stones back into regular training.
I am off to see the doctor in Vail again next week, the day before Thanksgiving. This will be the last visit, and hopefully I’ll get the “all clear” on everything I am writing about. My therapists and I have no doubts that Dr. LaPrade will be impressed with the stability and progression of my knee. Well, at least I sure hope so! It has been a long process, but we have all been on top of our game and doing absolutely everything possible to get me back healthy! I can’t thank everyone enough, because I truly believe I am exactly where I should be, if not ahead.
I also feel ready to start sharing a bit of more of my story. I know I haven’t been the best about video blogging or keeping everyone fully in the loop on my progress. The truth is, I needed to take some time for myself to be sure I was where I wanted to be. Now that I am happy with where I am at though, I feel I am ready to share some more of my internal thoughts and details about the process I have been going through. I will be doing this on my Redline Blog pretty regularly leading up to Grands next week. I have tickets, and will be there to support my friends, family, and Redline Squad for the “Greatest Race on Earth!!” Follow me on Twitter for daily updates @alisepost11
Thanks for reading and for your continued support. I cannot put into words how much it helps to know there are so many people backing me, through thick and thin. I hope you enjoy the blog updates…See ya’ll in Tulsa!
-Alise
A big BMX News congrats to Alise for making it swiftly and safely to this milestone. More with #11 from the fenceline at the 2011 ABA Grands next week.
Podcast: Arielle Martin on Chula Vista Win
October 12, 2011 by BMXNEWS.COM Editors · Comments Off
A World Cup win has been a long time coming for Arielle Martin–and, indeed, the USA Women’s BMX effort, as a whole. In fact, one thing you’ll learn in listening to this interview is that the United States has never won a World Cup event on the women’s side. Until this month.
We spend some time chatting with Arielle Martin about her historic win, about her next 10 months leading up to the London Olympics (and qualifying for same), as well as life after August 2012.
Listen Now
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Click here if you missed yesterday’s interview with Chula Vista Mens winner, Connor Fields
This episode sponsored by BMXEDITS.COM
