Welcome  to  a  new  look  version  of  the  The  Dirt.  BMX  Australia  has  undertaken  a  significant  change  in  how  this  monthly  communication  will  be  delivered  to  our  members.  

October  2013  

Princ ipal Partner

NEW LOOK ED I T I ON

 

Feature Story: Anthony Dean

National Series Entries 6 World Champions

Strider World Championships BMXQ State Championships  

 

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Welcome  to  a  new  look  version  of  the  The  Dirt.  BMX  Australia  has  undertaken  a  significant  change  in  how  this  monthly  communication  will  be  delivered  to  our  members.  

October  2013  

The   Dirt   has   transformed   to   become   much  

more  than  just  an  emailed  newsletter.  It  is  now  

a  monthly  magazine  style  communication  with  

interviews  with   riders,   updates   from   around  

Australia  as  well  as  overseas.  There  will  be  in  

depth   interviews   plus   news   of   what   is  

happening  in  and  around  BMX.  

You  can  be  a  part  of  this  too!  If  you  have  any  

news,   event   reports   and   photos,   send   them  

through  to  news@bmxaustralia.com.au  

Princ ipal Partner

www.bmxaustralia.com.au

 

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In this Issue

BMXA National Series – Entries Open

Feature Story: Anthony Dean

6 Challenge

World Champions

Strider World Championships

BMX Queensland State

Championships Wrap UP

Aussies Abroad: Chula Vista

World Cup Results

 

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Entries  are  now  open  for  Rounds  1  &  2  of  the  2014  BMX  Australia  National  Series  starting  in  Nerang,  Queensland  on  January  3  &  4.    The  National  Series  comprises  of  3  categories  of  racing  –  Challenge  Series,  Champbikx  Series  and  Probikx  Tour.  The  Challenge  Series   is  open   to  riders   in  the  17-­‐24  Men,  17+  Women  and  30+  Masters  with  entry  for  the  Champbikx  being  for  Boys  and  Girls  ages  14,  15  and  16  years.    Racing   in   the   Probikx   Tour   is   for   Junior   Elite   Men   and   Women   along   with   Elite   Men   and  Women  and  is  sure  to  attract  a  world-­‐class  field  for  the  series  opener.    Nerang  has  become  synonymous  for  hosting  the  opening  round  and  while  the  race  falls  in  the  holiday  period,  racing  is  any  thing  but  a  holiday  on  the  fun  yet  technical  track.  In  recent  times  the  opening  round  has  attracted  international  riders  with  the  likes  of  Connor  Fields  from  the  US,  Matthew  Cameron,  Trent  Jones,  Kurt  Pickard  and  Daniel  Franks  from  New  Zealand  as  well  as  riders  from  Thailand  and  Japan.    Go  to  the  BMX  Australia  website  to  enter.  Manual  entries  are  available  however  they  incur  a  processing  fee,  making  online  entry  the  better  option.        

2013 Round 1 Winner Round 2 Winner Elite Men Josh Callan Anthony Dean Elite Women Melinda McLeod Melinda McLeod Junior Men Aaron Nottle Aaron Nottle Junior Women Rachel Jones Hannah Sarten (NZL) 30+ Masters Justin Lamb Michael Robinson 17-24 Men Brendan Abel Brendan Abel 16 Boys Brandon TeHiko Brandon TeHiko 16 Girls Tahlia Hansen (NZL) Tahlia Hansen (NZL) 15 Boys Matthew White Andrew Hughes 15 Girls Zoe Fleming (NZL) Zoe Fleming (NZL) 14 Boys Dylan Scruton Dylan Scruton 14 Girls Sara Jones Sara Jones

 Entries  close  4pm  Friday  December  13.  

N A T I O N A L S E R I E S

 

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It’s been a little over year since Anthony Dean rode to World 4 at the 2012 World Championships in Birmingham, England. And while fellow countryman, Sam Willoughby scored the coveted rainbow stripes in the same race; Dean showed that there are plenty of Aussie riders waiting patiently for their shot on top of the podium. Since then, Anthony rode the entire BMX Australia National Series winning 5 of the 7 rounds – only missing wins in the first and last. However, it was enough to take the Overall National Series win. Things were falling into place, he was riding strongly, looking fit and had all eyes on defending the W4 that adorned his bike. As fate would have it Anthony never made it to this years World Championships. While not coming away with the results he wanted from the 2013 Subaru BMX National Championships, he was ticking all the boxes on his way to ride at the Worlds. In his first training session at the Worlds Camp, Anthony crashed breaking his wrist. Without as much as a second though he knew then his Worlds campaign had ended before it had even really started. Not just dealing with the heartache of missing out on the Worlds, he was given the tragic news that his grandmother had little time left as he joined his family in Adelaide. BMX Australia caught up with Anthony recently to speak to him about the last few months and what lies ahead for the 22 year old.

“…it’s a dream but it’s such a hard dream to fulfill…”

 

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BMXA: Take us through your injury and what happened that you missed the World Championships. AD: From the Nationals I was coming off a high and a low from that race. It was a massive confidence booster but also a low of not getting the result I wanted. I was fired up and training was better than ever. It felt like I was going to be at my best going towards the worlds. I was confident, it was going to be a better and more successful year than last year. I was really excited to get there and hungrier than ever to get on the podium. I got to the Worlds camp full of confidence knowing I’d smashed all my personal bests and I felt great. I got to the first training session of the camp and I cased one of the pro sections and then my feet rolled under and I crashed into the next jump. Instantly I knew I had broken my arm, ‘cos my wrist had swelled up straight away, and I knew the World Championships were over. At that time it was quite a hard thing to deal with, I had felt the best I had ever felt and that if ever I was going to do good at one, this was going to be the one. That was hard to deal with but then two days after my injury, my grandmother passed away, so that definitely took the mind off the world championships because I was with family. I flew home the same

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day I broke my wrist and got the news that my nanna was passing away and only had a few days to live. I went to be with my family and stayed with my family the last couple of days my nanna was alive. That was a couple week process there, that took a lot off my mind about the World Championships and breaking my wrist. That was a hard thing to deal with as that was my only grandma, as my grandpa died before I was born, so that definitely took my mind off things just dealing with that, realizing just how much more there is to life, as well as BMX. I believe that everything happens for a reason, so I think the reason why I wasn’t supposed to go to the Worlds and breaking my wrist was definitely because of my nanna. BMXA: How’s the injury now? AD: It was a bad injury; I think I broke about 5 bones in my wrist. It’s taken a lot longer than what I’d hope for it to heal. I’ve been doing a lot of rehab on it, but it’s still quite tight, but this kind of injury takes about 10 weeks to heal.

I’ve been doing a lot of work with the AIS when I was in Adelaide – a lot of off bike training. Training on the Watt Bike, sprints just trying to get my body in the best

possible shape,

working hard on my diet. Any area I can possibly get better, I’ve been

 

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doing. Doing a lot of gym work, getting stronger in the gym, stretching etc. You peak for a race so I wasn’t doing as much coming into the Worlds so I got a jump early on doing this kind of work because of the injury. BMXA: Did you watch the World Championships? What were your thoughts? AD: I watched the whole race. At first I didn’t want to but after I thought I’d use it as motivation – it obviously motivated me even more to come back stronger. It was good to watch, the track looked really tight and there were a lot of crashes, so it wasn’t the best event. It was definitely all about the bottom of the hill if you were first out of the gate or being in lane 1. With tracks like that they favour the inside rider and the

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tracks so small its just a one man show. It’s good for viewing for the crashes, it had a lot of excitement, but riding it would have been quite stressful, you train for something and then you get to a small track and especially going 60Kmh down the hill and then slowing down for the first corner is quite hard. BMXA: Were you surprised at some of the riders being bundled out early in the competition? AD: It was a surprise but with those small sort of tracks anything can happen. If you are in the wrong spot at the wrong time you know it can happen. It was a shame not seeing Sam there with the likes of Connor (Fields) and Maris (Strombergs), because that’s a world title race there. BMXA: I understand you’ve now made the move to the US to ride there, tell us

 

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about that. AD: Yeah, I’ve moved to America now. I’ve pretty much made the move for the rest of 2013-14 and I’m going to do a full season here next year as well in the ABA circuit. I moved here just after the Worlds were held and I’m staying here til Christmas and then I’ll come home and I’ll do Nerang and then pretty much just go from Nerang back to the US and get ready for the American series. DK are looking after me while I’m here now. It’s pretty much just DK, that’s about it. I’ve just saved up enough money from the National Series and by doing races like that to survive for the end of this year and hopefully I’ll be able to pick up a good deal for next year. BMXA: How does that make you feel? You’ve made a big commitment to go: AD: I guess it’s a dream but it’s such a hard dream to fulfill because there are so many things that can go wrong. BMX is big over in the US compared to Australia and other countries but to make a fulltime living is really hard. Just to stay afloat over in the US is hard, to do all the races there will be about $15,000 alone just to get to them. So there’s a lot of expenses, especially insurance and rent which are more expensive than if I was still at home. There’s a lot more to lose going to the US, but at the same time I think I need to do it.

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I had good Australian series and I’ve built up all my strength, and

everything is going good but I’m at that point in my

career where I need that little bit of…

umm I don’t know how to say it…. like

whereas alright I want to make it and I’m

dedicated and I really want to

do well and you go to the US and you

realise, I’m here, if I want to stay here I have to start winning

and I have to ride good. I think it’s just going to push me that little 1% more to keep working harder and to reach those goals. It’s always been a dream to go to the US and live and I’ve finally have some good results and worked hard to get the opportunity to come and do this, so I’m taking it with both hands and making the most out of it so I can make a career out of it. BMXA: How’s the support from family and friends? AD: My parents have been really supportive, they want me to live my dream and make sure I’m happy, they’re supportive of that. Exactly the same as my friends, they’re supportive and they want the best for me just like I would for them. BMXA: Has Wade Bootes been an inspiration? He’s been there too? AD: For sure. I spoke to Wade before, just to run through it with him to see what he thought of my idea of going. He’s an ABA Champion, he knows what it take to become a champion, he’s

 

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been guiding me in the right direction. We speak almost every day just reassuring me everything I’m doing is right and build my confidence for the races and to help me through to the steps, I’m over here by myself and I don’t have anyone here to go to for help so to speak for training, it’s each to themselves. No one here is going to tell you, you are riding good, they are all your competitors, so that sort of thing is definitely one of the hard things cos you gave to believe in yourself more than anything. BMXA: What’s the biggest difference with BMX in the US compared to Australia? AD: I’m based in Chula Vista, so on a practice night which is Tuesday, everyone goes out for gates. So on the gate you’ve got Maris Strombergs, Sam, Tyler Brown, myself, you’ve got Marc Willers all there just for a gate session almost on a weekly basis. Tomorrow night we have a gate session where you’ll have Barry Nobles out there, Joris Daudet, Nic Long, Tyler, probably Marc and Sam. The training environment, you can’t beat it, you’re training with the best of the best every week. That is definitely what has attracted me to be living in the US, you get to train with these guys and almost test how you’re going because you think that you’re riding fast at this point in time, but being out in Australia you won’t know that til you get to a World Cup. In the US you go to the gate sessions at Chula Vista and you know where you are with them. BMXA: And the ABA circuit? AD: The US, the tracks are a lot smaller and have a lot smaller hills. The ABA circuit has a lot more flatter hills and smaller jumps. In AUS we have bigger jumps and bigger hills. The ABA suits me just as well as the World Cups as I’m a powerful rider, the flat start hills suit me a lot better as I can put my power down in them. Postscript: In the time between this interview was conducted Anthony made his comeback at the South Dakota ProAm winning it and the $5,000 winners cheque to go along with it making his dream of staying in the US a little more of a reality.

 

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91SAM WILLOUGHBY

REDLINEBICYCLES.COM

FLIGHT PRO

RLWW_P63.indd 1 27/09/13 11:40 AM

 

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Queensland is home to 6 of Australia’s 7 World Champions. The Dirt caught up with them at the recent State Championships held in Queensland.

Benaiah  Richards  -­‐  5&6  Boys  World  Champion  “It’s  very  exciting!””    We  asked  what  Dad  thought  of  it  too:  “It’s  a  bit  surreal  really,  not  that  much  has  changed  though.  You  don’t  know  what  the  other  nations  are  like,  he  did  well  at  Nationals  and  the  shootout  series;  I  knew  it  was  going  to  be  a  step  up  but  I  didn’t  realise  he  could  win.”    “It  was  brilliant  going  to  Worlds,  I  told  them  it  was  going  to  be  a  once  in  a  lifetime  experience  and  just  the  atmosphere  there  watching  the  practice  was  exciting.”    Was  it  nervous  being  in  the  stand  watching?  “Yeah,  yeah  it  was.  There  were  so  many  crashes  especially  in  the  first  motos  with  so  many  of  the  young  riders.  Once  he  was  I  the  final  and  I  knew  he  was  going  to  get  a  plate,  I  was  a  proud  dad.”  

 

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Thomas  Tucker  -­‐  8  Boys  World  Champion    “I  wasn’t  really  confident  before  the  World  titles  but  I  won,  I  wasn’t  confident  before  the  National  titles  either  but  I  raced  there  and  came  second.    “When  I  got  home  I  just  went  out  to  our  pump  track  in  the  backyard  and  my  friends  came  over  and  we  spent  the  whole  afternoon  riding.  The  next  day  we  went  down  to  the  shop  and  they  gave  me  a  new  

Jesse  Asmus  -­‐  10  Boys  World  Champion    “It  feels  good,  it  was  very  exciting  when  I  crossed  the  finish  line.    Has  life  changed:  “It  has  a  bit,  everyone  treats  me  different    “My  mates  all  look  a  bit  jealous,”  Do  they  give  you  a  hard  time?  “Yeah  sometimes”    Asked  about  his  chances  at  the  Queensland  State  Championships,  he  said,  “It’s  going  to  be  tough,  they’re  all  going  to  be  looking  to  knock  me  over  so  they  can  get  a  better  plate.”    Desree  Barnes  -­‐  11  Girls  World  Champion    Desree  Barnes  has  3  World  Championships  to  her  name  having  won  the  5-­‐6  Girls  in  2009  and  more  recently  making  it  back  to  back  World  Championships  in  the  10  Girls  then  the  11  Girls  in  2013.  Asked  about  it,  her  response  was  “yeah  it’s  cool.”    “There  was  no  pressure  to  win  again.”    “The  track  was  great,  I  loved  it.  Racing  indoors  is  so  much  better  than  racing  outdoors.”    

 

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Shelby  Green  -­‐  13  Girls  World  Champion    “It’s  a  amazing  being  a  world  champion  -­‐  everyone  looks  up  to  me  now.    “Everyone  in  Townville  is  proud  of  what  I’ve  been  able  to  do.  I  got  acknowledge  at  school  and  was  in  the  newspaper  -­‐  I  love  the  attention  though.”    “I  want  to  be  able  to  go  to  the  Olympics  when  I’m  older  in  2020,  that’s  my  dream  and  to  ride  at  more  World  Championships”    

Madison  Janssen  –  17+  Women    World  Champion    “It’s  amazing,  you  feel  it  everyday  and  then  you    sort  of  forget  about  it  and  then  some  one  says    “hey,  you  got  world  1”  and  your  like  yeah.”    “It  went  really  calm  into  my  race  and  I  wanted  to    win,  so  I  did  my  hardest  and  got  it.  I  didn’t  want    to  go  over  there  and  not  make  it.  I  wanted  to    make  the  final,  I  trained  for  it  and  I  did  everything  I  could  for  it.”    “Nothing  was  going  through  my  head  (on  the    start  gate),  I  wanted  to  be  really  calm  and  have  a  good  head  space  and  that’s  what  I  did.  Usually,  I’m  really  in  the  head  sort  of  thinking  about  everything  that  could  go  wrong  instead  of  thinking  about  what  can  go  right.  And  that  was  the  main  thing  I  wanted  to  concentrate  on.”  

 

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Strider World Championships Aspiring World Champions usually have to wait years for the opportunity race on the world stage, putting in countless hours of training with goal of being old enough to one day race with the best in the world. But for Charlize Hamilton and Nicolas Kotarac, their dream of becoming a World Champion is coming at an age many wouldn’t expect. Charlize, from Bray Park just north of Brisbane is just 3 years old, while Nicolas is 5 years old from St Ives in Sydney’s north. The pair will be competing in Florida later this month at the Strider World Championships. Striders are pedal-less bikes where young children master their coordination and balance while giving the rider confidence in their newfound skills. The Strider World Championships in Sarasota, Florida are now into their third year and is an annual racing event that brings Strider riders and their families together from all over the globe. Riders will ride in ages 2 (and below) through to 5 years of age at the championships.

 

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Charlize’s father Russell said she is "bike crazy" and has no fear despite learning how to use the brakes.

"She'll try to go down anything. She'd try to go down the 5m hill at Sleeman if they let her," Mr Hamilton said.

"Because their feet are on the ground they've always got control over the bike." BMX Australia has embraced the strider concept and in 2012 introduced BMX Mini Wheelers as a new entry point into the sport of BMX for riders 2 years and older. In the last 12 months, 126 BMX Mini Wheelers have joined the sport riding pedal-less bikes and gaining skills that will accelerate their confidence and development when they jump on their own BMX bikes.

BMX Mini Wheelers is an introductory level where riders develop balance, gross motor skills and independence to begin riding a bike. Riders will be able to develop skills that allows their progression in the sport to become seamless as they progress on to the more traditional BMX bike at 5 years of age. BMX Mini Wheelers becomes the new entry point into the sport for riders too young or not competent in progressing to the Sprocket program. After participating as a BMX Mini Wheeler riders would have become familiar with the BMX track and be on their way in developing their skills so that the transition to Sprockets is much easier.  

 

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BMX QUEENSLAND STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Nunc  cursus  magna  quis    

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The 2013 DK LKI BMX Queensland State Championships were held last weekend at the Nerang BMX track where 55 State Champions were awarded.

I was a full week of event with practice and coaching clinics getting underway earlier in the week for those not familiar with the Nerang track or for those who wanted to brush up on their skills ahead of racing for the coveted 1Q plate.

Racing was held over 3 days with the action being as hot as the Queensland sun with conditions testing the endurance of the riders in temperatures in the 30’s and winds gusting making for some difficult times in jumping in the first straight.

Chelsea King of Beenleigh and Brendan Abel of Caboolture have taken out the DK Bicycles LKI BMX Queensland State Championships today at the Nerang BMX track.

Racing covered ages 13years to 16 years, 30+ Masters, but it was the Elite classes that had all eyes trackside – and they weren’t disappointed. King had

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a tough fight on her hands coming up against recently crowned World Champion Madison Janssen from Nerang as they battled it out in the Elite Women’s category.

The results of all 3 motos would determine the overall winner and despite Janssen claiming the final win, Chelsea King placed high enough to ensure her earlier rides would win the title.

“My first race was probably my best where I lead from the start; in the second race I had a bit of wobble at the start but got the win and then in third race I was held up but held on to finish second.”

“ It feels great to win the Elite Women’s, this is my first year in the Elite class, so it’s a great start to it.”

In the Elite Mens final, race favourites

 

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Dirk Winter and Joel Clark both from the Suncoast Hinterland Club pushed the envelope too hard and as a result crashed into turn one. Avoiding the carnage was Brendan Abel who took the lead out of turn one to ride away with the win.

“I had a good start but then got boxed in a little but come through the first corner and noticed there was a little bit of a nudge going. I managed to get

around it being in the right place at the right time and come through with the win.”

“This is my first Queensland title in a long time; it’s even better that this one is the Elite Men Title,” Abel said.

Paul Connors, BMX Queensland’s President said it had been a very successful event for BMXQ.

“We’ve had over 1,500 entrants competing, many of those are world class competitors in addition to over 75 volunteers and officials who have come together to put on the State Championships in Nerang,” Connors said.

“It’s good to see that BMX Queensland is in a very fruitful growth period; we have riders as young as 2 years old through to 70+ and it’s been a wonderful family event for all riders and spectators involved.”

In 2014, the BMX Queensland State Championships will be held at the Sleeman Sports Complex just outside of Brisbane, home to Australia’s only BMX Supercross facility, a track that was modeled off the Beijing Olympic games track.

 

 

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AUSSIES ABROAD  The 2013 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup series came to an end in Chula Vista, California. This year’s last stop delivered a thrilling finale with great races in excellent conditions. Marianna Pajon (COL) took the double. The Olympic Champion won the main event and with that she also took home the overall price for the 2013 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup. Sam Willoughby (AUS) was blistering fast and won the last BMX Supercross World Cup of the season. Connor Fields (USA) finished third and with that result the Vegas kid was awarded the 2013 overall price.

Up for grabs was the last UCI BMX Supercross World Cup title and maybe even more important the overall World Cup Title for the 2013 season. After earlier stops in Manchester, England, Santiago del Estero, Argentina and Papendal, The Netherlands the winner of the season’s overall standings was going to decided at the US Olympic Training Centre in California Junior rider, Felicia Stancil (USA) proved that age was no factor when she won the Time Trials Super Final on Friday. With that result she put herself out there as the one to beat. In the main event Stancil unfortunately got the start gate wrong and ruled herself out of contention.

 

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Pajon’s experience paid off to take double Olympic Champion 2012, Mariana Pajon (COL) went on to win the final race but only after passing Alise Post (USA) on the final straight. Pajon won her second World Cup title of the year and with that result the Olympic Champion also won the overall UCI BMX Supercross World Cup title for 2013. Arielle Martin’s final race Arielle Martin (USA) raced the final race of her very impressive BMX career. Martin went into the last turn along side Laura Smulders (NED) and Thailand’s Amanda Carr. Carr finished in 3rd place and got her first ever podium in the World Cup Series. Martin finished in sixth place. That result allowed Martin to end her career in style with a second place in the 2013 overall standings. In the men’s main event, Sam Willoughby (AUS) exploded out of the start gate to take the hole shot. Local favorite Connor Fields (USA) and Tory Nyhaug (CAN) chased Willoughby down to the end of the first straight. Nyhaug managed to work himself into second place. During the challenging and exciting second straight it was Willoughby who showed blistering speed. He shook of the competition and never looked back to take his first and only World Cup win of this year. Fields had to settle for third place. Fields his consistent performance during the season got him awarded with the overall UCI BMX Supercross World Cup title for 2013.

 

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UCI BMX Supercross World Cup 2013: Overall Standings Women: 1. Mariana Pajon (COL) 2. Arielle Martin (USA) 3. Laura Smulders (NED) Men: 1. Connor Fields (USA) 2. Jelle van Gorkom (NED) 3. Liam Phillips (GBR) Australian Overall Results Women: 9th Lauren Reynolds, 10th Kirsten Dellar Men: 1st Sam Willoughby, 10th Matthew Juster, 17th Josh Callan, 29th Anthony Dean, 37th Corey Frieswyk, 39th Bodi Turner, 69th Max Cairns, 84th David Habicht, 89th Tom Siinmaa, 96th Luke Hombsch    

 

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