Orlando Easter Classic NBL/UCI National
http://www.istv.com/news/articles/14/1/Orlando-Easter-Classic-NBL%7B47%7DUCI-National
Jack McDaniel
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By Jack McDaniel
Published on 03/30/2005
In Elite Men Crupi's new proud poppa Jason Richardson thrust out of gate eight to a slight lead over Revtec's Greg Romero and Author's Michal Prokop.
Prokop dived hard in the first turn and took the second place spot away from Romero. Staats rider Mike Day railed the first turn and headed out in third. Down the third straight Day bonked one of the doubles and Romero regained the third spot. However, Day had the smooth and swiped the spot back from Romero in the last corner. Prokop pulled up on Richardson, who had retained the lead up until the last straight. Prokop and Richardson battled side by side the entire last straight and it was the Czechoslovakian rider Prokop who had the endurance to take the win.
Staats rider Mike Day has been looking strong lately and Saturday was in the mix the whole day. Well, on Sunday Mike would realize the dream of all Elite Men riders by winning his first Elite Pro main. Mike, who's known for his laid back demeanor pumped his fists in the air triumphantly as he crossed the finish line. I knew something was up when BT editor Jeff Sack pointed to a Gatorade ice chest and then to Mike Day. All the photographers ran over to Day to catch the action as the entire contents of the ice chest were dumped over Mikey.
Of course our ISTV videographer was right there to catch the celebration as Mike exclaimed "Hey, I still have Pro Open to run" as the water and ice mixture drenched his uniform. Big Ups to Mike Day and Staats for the awesome ride.
In the amateur ranks there were some great races and eye catching standouts. Dans rider Jarred Reuter came down from Massachusetts to completely dominate the 9 year-old class. With the only exception of one small bobble in one of the motos Jarred crossed the line well ahead of the rest of the class. I still think that Jarred's trademark tongue out of mouth riding has something to do with his incredible skill and speed.
An exciting race in the little man class was MCS's Brian Kipp and Justin Posey in 11 Cruiser. Sunday the wind had picked up by the end of the day and I overheard Kipp talking with Kim Hayashi about whether or not to jump the first straight. The wind was swirling and it would be a risk to take as much air as you need to clear everything on the first straight. Kim told Brian that she had a pretty easy time landing backside and to go for it. The gamble paid off as Kipp took the risk and boosted all three jumps down the first straight. Posey took the safer alternative and stayed low. The extra push down the backsides gave Kipp the added momentum to rail into the first turn with the lead and eventually the win.
The continuously entertaining and ultimately skilled Jeff Upshaw made Sun Ringle TM Ryan Birk proud by showing his intense skills ride after ride. In one of Jeff's motos he through a big X-Up and I could have swore I heard a big "WHAT" come out of the helmet. Anyway, Jeff took every round in 17 Expert and won the 16-29 Open money class. I'm sure that he took NBL bucks though to retain his amateur status.
In the girl's classes there were so many standouts that it would take forever to mention them and I'm sure I'm going to be called out about not making mention of a spectacular performance. That being said, I have to recall what stands out most in my mind. That would have to be the little cutie Krista Fournier. Hyper's Fournier had a spotless ride both Saturday and Sunday in the 10 girls class. Terra Nichols came from the state of Texas where the closest NBL track is a state away to win 14 girls. The Dan's Comp. rider took home the wins both days.
Another Texan with limited NBL experience was IDC/Fly's Lee Lewis who made what was probably the most exciting come back from behind I've seen in a while. On Saturday Lewis came out of the gate dead last. This was most likely due to the lack of practice with the NBL starting cadence.
Revolution Bike's Shane Banks was dicing with Alejandre Diego for the lead. Lewis turned on the nitro on the long, jump laden third straight. By the last turn Lewis had past the whole class and went in to the last straight with another burst of speed and skill to take the win.
I think you'll see much more sanction cross over as the BMX community prepares for the 2008 Olympics. You'll also see many more European riders coming over to the states to race with the originators of the sport (the Americans).
The first of the twin Spring Break nationals down in Florida went off without a hitch in spite of the rain that's plagued the recent races. Read on to check out some highlights of the internationally attended, UCI event.
Orlando Easter Classic NBL/UCI National - Full Article
The weather this 2005 season has been plagued by an uncanny rain that seems to be following the ABA and NBL national events. Orlando would be no exception. However, due to the hard work of track operator Charlie McGuire and the rest of the Orlando based volunteer staff, the track was in pristine condition and the races fast and aggressive.
The Orlando track features some steep lips and plenty of air-time. Coming in at over 1300 feet it's also one of the longest tracks on the US national circuit.
The race was going to be a special event with it's UCI race status. Therefor, ISTV brought in some special talent in the form of former AA Pro Craig Reynolds. Craig has some great experience commentating on large events having formerly worked with ESPN on race coverage.
Being a UCI event there was a large contingent of international riders. The UK riders brought with them their Olympic training coach as well as some of the more aggressive riding. This was evident in the close racing between Redline's Kim Hayashi and Great Britain's Shanaze Reade.
In the Elite Women's main on Saturday Hayashi took a commanding pop out of the gate. Shanaze made a move to cut over on Kim but only lost momentum herself. MCS rider Amanda Geving and Free Agent's Alice Jung went into the first corner with Hayashi. Alice had the inside line but that was a disadvantage due to the loose soil caused by the rain. Kim pulled out of the first turn with Geving in tow. Shanaze would recover and take the third place finish behing Hayshi and Geving. Sunday's qualifying motos the battling continued. However, Reade would miss out on the mains due to a tangle with another rider in the semis.
In Elite Men Avent/Fly's Donny Robinson made his quick comeback after a collar bone break at the race in Phoenix. DR looked strong and scored a second place finish in Elite cruiser right behind another recent return to BMX, Michael "Spanky" Gravenmier.
The Super class had one of the largest turnouts I've ever seen with a massive 51 rider count. The Europeans were in full effect and there were some overheard questions on why some were riding in the Super Class as opposed to the Elite Men's class. That controversy aside, the racing was intense and the qualifying a struggle. One Bike's Arturs Matison had the perfect line and the perfect gate and popped the gate to an unchallenged lead. The Latvian rider went start to finish in first place and English rider Kelvin Batey and Kyle Weisenberger battle for second spot. At the line it would be Batey with the second and Weisenberger with the third.
Sunday's Super Class event was won by Revtec mounted Derek Betcher. Derek has recently reclassified from the Elite Men ranks and was getting a little heckling from a person on the sidelines. However, after the race was over Derek called that person out and the issue was "discussed" like gentlemen.
The Elite Masters class had a great turnout with 18 riders showing up. In the main on Saturday Domingos Lammoglia went elbow to elbow into the first turn with Redline's Jason Carnes and Mongoose rider Eric Rupe. J&R's Lammoglia came out with a slight lead. That wouldn't last long as Carnes got his flow on in the long third straight. Rupe dropped into third and Renato Silva took over the second place spot. That's the way it would play out with Carnes taking the top honors in Masters class.
The Orlando track features some steep lips and plenty of air-time. Coming in at over 1300 feet it's also one of the longest tracks on the US national circuit.
The race was going to be a special event with it's UCI race status. Therefor, ISTV brought in some special talent in the form of former AA Pro Craig Reynolds. Craig has some great experience commentating on large events having formerly worked with ESPN on race coverage.Being a UCI event there was a large contingent of international riders. The UK riders brought with them their Olympic training coach as well as some of the more aggressive riding. This was evident in the close racing between Redline's Kim Hayashi and Great Britain's Shanaze Reade.
In the Elite Women's main on Saturday Hayashi took a commanding pop out of the gate. Shanaze made a move to cut over on Kim but only lost momentum herself. MCS rider Amanda Geving and Free Agent's Alice Jung went into the first corner with Hayashi. Alice had the inside line but that was a disadvantage due to the loose soil caused by the rain. Kim pulled out of the first turn with Geving in tow. Shanaze would recover and take the third place finish behing Hayshi and Geving. Sunday's qualifying motos the battling continued. However, Reade would miss out on the mains due to a tangle with another rider in the semis.In Elite Men Avent/Fly's Donny Robinson made his quick comeback after a collar bone break at the race in Phoenix. DR looked strong and scored a second place finish in Elite cruiser right behind another recent return to BMX, Michael "Spanky" Gravenmier.
The Super class had one of the largest turnouts I've ever seen with a massive 51 rider count. The Europeans were in full effect and there were some overheard questions on why some were riding in the Super Class as opposed to the Elite Men's class. That controversy aside, the racing was intense and the qualifying a struggle. One Bike's Arturs Matison had the perfect line and the perfect gate and popped the gate to an unchallenged lead. The Latvian rider went start to finish in first place and English rider Kelvin Batey and Kyle Weisenberger battle for second spot. At the line it would be Batey with the second and Weisenberger with the third.
Sunday's Super Class event was won by Revtec mounted Derek Betcher. Derek has recently reclassified from the Elite Men ranks and was getting a little heckling from a person on the sidelines. However, after the race was over Derek called that person out and the issue was "discussed" like gentlemen.
The Elite Masters class had a great turnout with 18 riders showing up. In the main on Saturday Domingos Lammoglia went elbow to elbow into the first turn with Redline's Jason Carnes and Mongoose rider Eric Rupe. J&R's Lammoglia came out with a slight lead. That wouldn't last long as Carnes got his flow on in the long third straight. Rupe dropped into third and Renato Silva took over the second place spot. That's the way it would play out with Carnes taking the top honors in Masters class.In Elite Men Crupi's new proud poppa Jason Richardson thrust out of gate eight to a slight lead over Revtec's Greg Romero and Author's Michal Prokop.
Prokop dived hard in the first turn and took the second place spot away from Romero. Staats rider Mike Day railed the first turn and headed out in third. Down the third straight Day bonked one of the doubles and Romero regained the third spot. However, Day had the smooth and swiped the spot back from Romero in the last corner. Prokop pulled up on Richardson, who had retained the lead up until the last straight. Prokop and Richardson battled side by side the entire last straight and it was the Czechoslovakian rider Prokop who had the endurance to take the win.Staats rider Mike Day has been looking strong lately and Saturday was in the mix the whole day. Well, on Sunday Mike would realize the dream of all Elite Men riders by winning his first Elite Pro main. Mike, who's known for his laid back demeanor pumped his fists in the air triumphantly as he crossed the finish line. I knew something was up when BT editor Jeff Sack pointed to a Gatorade ice chest and then to Mike Day. All the photographers ran over to Day to catch the action as the entire contents of the ice chest were dumped over Mikey.
Of course our ISTV videographer was right there to catch the celebration as Mike exclaimed "Hey, I still have Pro Open to run" as the water and ice mixture drenched his uniform. Big Ups to Mike Day and Staats for the awesome ride.
In the amateur ranks there were some great races and eye catching standouts. Dans rider Jarred Reuter came down from Massachusetts to completely dominate the 9 year-old class. With the only exception of one small bobble in one of the motos Jarred crossed the line well ahead of the rest of the class. I still think that Jarred's trademark tongue out of mouth riding has something to do with his incredible skill and speed.
An exciting race in the little man class was MCS's Brian Kipp and Justin Posey in 11 Cruiser. Sunday the wind had picked up by the end of the day and I overheard Kipp talking with Kim Hayashi about whether or not to jump the first straight. The wind was swirling and it would be a risk to take as much air as you need to clear everything on the first straight. Kim told Brian that she had a pretty easy time landing backside and to go for it. The gamble paid off as Kipp took the risk and boosted all three jumps down the first straight. Posey took the safer alternative and stayed low. The extra push down the backsides gave Kipp the added momentum to rail into the first turn with the lead and eventually the win.The continuously entertaining and ultimately skilled Jeff Upshaw made Sun Ringle TM Ryan Birk proud by showing his intense skills ride after ride. In one of Jeff's motos he through a big X-Up and I could have swore I heard a big "WHAT" come out of the helmet. Anyway, Jeff took every round in 17 Expert and won the 16-29 Open money class. I'm sure that he took NBL bucks though to retain his amateur status.
In the girl's classes there were so many standouts that it would take forever to mention them and I'm sure I'm going to be called out about not making mention of a spectacular performance. That being said, I have to recall what stands out most in my mind. That would have to be the little cutie Krista Fournier. Hyper's Fournier had a spotless ride both Saturday and Sunday in the 10 girls class. Terra Nichols came from the state of Texas where the closest NBL track is a state away to win 14 girls. The Dan's Comp. rider took home the wins both days.Another Texan with limited NBL experience was IDC/Fly's Lee Lewis who made what was probably the most exciting come back from behind I've seen in a while. On Saturday Lewis came out of the gate dead last. This was most likely due to the lack of practice with the NBL starting cadence.
Revolution Bike's Shane Banks was dicing with Alejandre Diego for the lead. Lewis turned on the nitro on the long, jump laden third straight. By the last turn Lewis had past the whole class and went in to the last straight with another burst of speed and skill to take the win.I think you'll see much more sanction cross over as the BMX community prepares for the 2008 Olympics. You'll also see many more European riders coming over to the states to race with the originators of the sport (the Americans).