The Dirt - October2013 by BMX Australia

October 2013

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.

NEW LOOK EDITION Principal Partner

Feature Story:

Anthony Dean

National Series Entries 6 World Champions Strider World Championships BMXQ State Championships

October 2013

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.

Principal Partner

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

www.bmxaustralia.com.au 2

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

NATIONAL SERIES 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

Elite Men

Josh Callan

Anthony Dean

Elite Women

Melinda McLeod

Junior Men

Aaron Nottle

Junior Women

Rachel Jones

Hannah Sarten (NZL)

30+ Masters

Justin Lamb

Michael Robinson

17-24 Men

Brendan Abel

16 Boys

Brandon TeHiko

16 Girls

Tahlia Hansen (NZL)

15 Boys

Matthew White

Andrew Hughes

15 Girls

Zoe Fleming (NZL)

14 Boys

Dylan Scruton

14 Girls

Sara Jones

Entries close 4pm Friday December 13. 4

Round 2 Winner

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

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. 5

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.

2 3

BMXA: Take us through your injury and what happened that you missed the World Championships.

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.

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.

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.

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.

BMXA: How’s the injury now?

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

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

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.

4 5

doing. Doing a lot of gym work, getting stronger in the gym, stretching etc.

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.

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 Championships? What were thoughts?

World your

BMXA: Were you surprised at some of the riders being bundled out early in the competition?

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.

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.

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

BMXA: I understand you’ve now made the move to the US to ride there, tell us

6 7

about that. 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.

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.

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?

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.

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

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.

FLIGHT

PRO

HBY LLOUG I W M 91SA

REDLINEBICYCLES.COM

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 11 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.”

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 b12 etter than racing outdoors.”

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.”

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

later

this

month

Strider

Championships. Striders

are

Florida

the

World

pedal-less

bikes where young children master

their

coordination

and balance while giving the rider confidence in their newfound skills. The Strider World

Championships

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 14 the globe. Riders will ride in ages

2 (and below) through to 5 years of age at the championships.

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

strider

has

concept

embraced

and

the

2012

introduced BMX Mini Wheelers as a new entry point into the sport of BMX

for riders 2 years and older. In the last

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 15 much easier.

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BMX QUEENSLAND STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS 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.

Nunc cursus magna quis 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.

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.

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.”

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.

“ 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.”

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

In the Elite Mens final, race favourites

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To enquire, please call BMX Australia on (02) 9339 5800 or email news@bmxaustralia.com.au

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.

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.

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.

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