June Jr. Devo Camp Cranks Out Impressive Gains

By Mike Carruth, Photo by Jasen Krenek/MJT, via USAC
For many of the participants of the latest USA Cycling Jr. Development Camp, Monday started EARLY. It started Sunday night, really. Most were just getting into the REM zone after a raucous weekend of racing at Rockford’s Midwest Nationals…then an “oh-dark-thirty,” dash to O’Hare, Midway or MKE. Four hours later, the lovely environ of San Diego County–home to the US Olympic Training Center at Chula Vista. There, for the next six days, the 16 riders (10 boys and six girls) would be evaluated by the four camp coaches (Jeff Glynn, Kenth Fallen. Brian Fell and Jerry Bradford), and undergo a rigorous schedule of track time on the SX course, weights, off-bike coaching, and just plain getting used to what it will be like to be, and train like a US Olympian when/if that time comes. All this, under the watchful eye of Mike King, the BMX program director for USA Cycling, and a guy who, himself, has been in the BMX public’s eye since he was seven years old (whatever you do, just don’t call him “Mikey” as they did constantly in the captions of BMX Action Magazine in the late 70s, and veteran BMXA photographer, Windy Osborn, did as recently as last week).

Some participants have been to multiple camps (I think Mike said six was the highest number), and some, like Rockford local, Alan Struna, would be climbing the big hill for the first time. We’ll get you some reaction on that in a future report.

The camp’s pinnacle are the Time Trials and “Mock Race” held on the final days of the camp. UCI Supercross World Cup qualifying is based on top performance in the Time Trials. It may sound easy to be out there all by yourself, with nobody to crowd your line, but according to people News has spoken to, who do it all the time, it is deceiving. As one SXer put it: “you do not have anyone out there to gauge how you’re doing. In a regular race, if you’re not going fast enough, there will be someone in front of you, so you’d better step it up. In the TT, you only know how fast you went by looking at the clock at the end. By then, not much you can do about it.”

In the JD Camp Time trials, the tops of the group, Jordan Miranda and Dani George, logged times of 36.94 and 38.33 seconds, respectively. Both times would have qualified them into last year’s Chula Vista SX race…and Dani’s time would have qualified her right behind Mariana Pajon, who ultimately got a second place podium spot. Word is that some of the veterans of the Junior Development program may be making their SX debut this September at the second Chula Vista Supercross–but that is unconfirmed at this point.

Both Jordan and Dani also won their respective classes in the mock race, held as the camp finale.

As a closing comment in an email exchange with “News,” Mike King said “It was nothing short of amazing to see how well these kids have progressed on the SX track. The core 1994 group has had six camps to attend and we are all excited to see them step up their game to the next level.”

We will surely be keeping tabs on all 16 riders, and will be watching the Jr. division start list with great interest, come September, to see how the first crop of talent brought up through the USAC Jr. Development program does when it’s the real deal and the world is watching. News will be there in Chula Vista to bring you all the as-it-happens scoop and images. We have no doubt these Jr. Devos will represent the USA very well.