BMX Bikes Strong Debut in Bejing Olympics

BMX Bikes Olympic news. Amecican racers Mike Day and Kyle Bennett gave the fans a great introduction to bmx bike racing in the Bejing Olympics. Day won the time trial and each of his three quarterfinal heats and Bennett advanced although he dislocated his shoulder in a wreck on his final bmx bikes heat.
Top ranked Donny Robinson also moved on, as did American bmx olympic racer Jill Kitner from Seattle. Kitner is the lone American women in the womens 16 bmx olympic racing field despite riding on a shredded knee ligement.
"You can't get much more rad than this" Donny Robinson said.
Heavy rain postponed the medal rounds.

Other quotes from the bmx bike racers in Bejing.

“The Olympics are the biggest thing we’ll ever do,” the American rider Mike Day said.

He skipped every race that was not related to the Olympics, even the world championships. And when he showed up Wednesday, Day turned in the fastest qualifying time and won three quarterfinal heats to advance to the semifinals. He went so fast, in fact, he never saw the back of another bike.

“He had the track dialed,” said Steve Day, Mike’s dad, while sipping a beer. “This whole experience is just surreal. I’m at a loss for words. To have your kid compete in the Olympics is just an unbelievable feeling.”

Day called the prospect of potential growth “overwhelming.” He wanted to concentrate on the course he could ride blindfolded, on the prospect of winning the first gold medal in his sport’s long and gnarly history.

“Just the whole experience has been crazy,” Day said. “Eating in the dining hall, sleeping in the village, getting police escorts. It’s the coolest thing ever.”

Like Day, Kintner tried to soak in the experience. “Wow,” she said to herself. “I really am in China. BMX really is in the Olympics.”

Added her brother, Paul, who builds BMX bike courses for a living: “Her chase of this Olympic medal has taken a lot. To see her here, I can’t even explain it. We’ve made it. Her, the sport, we’ve made it now.”

Dennis Robinson, Donny’s father, felt the same way. He traveled with his family from California, and they all wore matching maroon T-shirts. He watched as one rider crashed after another, as one lonely bike even went tumbling down the hill without its occupant.

For years, he hoped BMX would get its due. He never expected it would be here, in China, at the Olympics.

“The impact is going to be enormous,” Dennis Robinson said. “It’s got to. Or, if nothing else, we had our few seconds of fame. I just hope it brings out more people".

BMX Olympic Cycling champions Jamie Staff and Chris Hoy share BMX boyhood

The pair, who along with Jason Kenny won gold in the cycling Team Sprint in Beijing, were obsessed with the stunt bicycles.

As an eight-year-old, Staff spent most of his time on his Raleigh Burner BMX, riding around his home village of Brabourne Lees in Ashford, Kent.

"My parents gave it to me and I loved it," he said. "I spent hours messing around on the bike - I can still do the tricks and wheelies - and we just spent all our spare time down at the local track riding with other kids.

"Then I started racing and never looked back."

By the age of 22 Staff, the son of a roofer, was the fastest BMX rider in Britain, moving to America where he turned pro, winning everything there was to win in a seven-year career that included World, European and British titles.

It was a gruelling period which took its toll on his body, his official injury list including a broken collar bone (twice), wrist (twice), left ankle, right foot and more concussion than he can remember.

But despite all his trophies Staff was not satisfied. He quit BMX in 2002 and announced that his sole intention was to win Olympic gold in track cycling, a dream he had held since his schooldays.

Staff - now 35 - said he knew that the Beijing Games were probably his last chance after a disappointing performance in Athens 2004.

"I still can't quite believe it," he said after speaking to his parents Alan and Christine, both 61, on the phone.

"They were so ecstatic, mum was crying. After all those years when they used to drop to the BMX track and take me to the races when I was a kid, it's hard to describe what it means."

Cycling partner Hoy - who cites ET as an inspiration - was also hooked.

His mother Carole, who is in China to watch her son compete, recalled how much he had wanted one of his own.

"I got Chris a BMX in a jumble sale in Edinburgh for £5 and within two weeks he'd broken it doing wheelies," she said.

"He was so disappointed I had to get him another one for £99 but I told him he had to pay half.

"He waited for his uncle and aunties to have a couple of glasses of wine and then he got the money off them."

It was the start of a passion which never left the 32-year-old Scot.

His father David Hoy said: "He wrote in his diary aged 13 that he wanted to win an Olympic Gold and now he's done it twice. I still can't quite believe it."

BMX Bikes in Bejing - How will BMX go over?

BMX Bikes Extreme News. The collective gaze of professional cycling has shifted from the scenic switchbacks on l’Alpe d’Huez to the hazy skies above China’s capital city of Beijing. Over the course of the next three weeks — August 8-24 — the world will watch as the top road, track, mountain and BMX cyclists compete for 18 gold medals.

While the Beijing “fog” may not evoke the same magical imagery and beauty as the Tour’s most famous climb, the soupy mix of humidity and smog might be just as decisive in the outcome of all the BMX bikes outdoor races. While the Chinese have taken huge steps to limit the amount of pollution in the air — shutting down all construction within city limits and restricting driving for three weeks — Beijing’s fickle skies have produced inconsistent quality. Two days before the August 8 opening ceremonies, blue skies prevailed. But the following day the soupy mist returned, as did the smell of exhaust that may affect BMX Olympic cyclers.

With the men’s BMX bikes road racing hitting the streets on August 9, the question will be whether one of the region’s frequent rain or wind storms can clean the air. It not, the thick air could likely affect the performances of the world’s top BMX riders. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) retains the power to postpone a BMX biking event in case of poor conditions. But many believe the IOC would balk at postponing an outdoor event due to pollution, choosing instead to appease the will of the Chinese government, which has repeatedly produced reports saying the air is getting cleaner.

Bejing air pollution aside, bicycle motocross, or BMX, makes its debut as an Olympic sport in 2008 with the United States a heavy favorite to take the gold. The IOC is not shy in admitting BMX’s bikes inclusion as an Olympic sport is aimed at attracting the younger X-Games crowd. But unlike X-Games staples such as half-pipe skateboarding or surfing, BMX bikes is decided by a simple rule — first man (or woman) across the line wins.

The sport comes into the Olympics at the expense of the men’s 1-kilometer bmx bike time trial and the women’s 500-meter bmx bike time trial events. The controversial choice effectively halved the number of events for female sprinters.

The traditional BMX bike courses underwent a major boost in brawn with its inclusion in the Olympics. Riders now descend a 26-foot tall ramp before heading out onto the course laden with bumps and berms. Riders catch plenty of air time en route to the finish line. Currently American Donny Robinson is ranked No. 1 in the world, with another American, Kyle Bennett, a close third.

But whether BMX biking makes a lasting impression on the psyche of the Olympics is another question left to be answered.

Laughlin Nevada cyclist named inductee into the US Bicycling Hall of Fame

BMX Bikes News. Twenty seven years ago, a pre-teen girl named Cheri Elliott got talked into signing up for an amateur BMX race at Prairie City, south of Folsom. After much prodding from her parents and older brother, she duct taped her pant legs tight, donned an oversized white motorcycle helmet and climbed onto her clunky Huffy bicycle with her racing number scribbled across a paper plate taped to her handlebars to race against experienced armor-clad youths riding custom racing machines.
Nobody expected her to place. But unfortunately for the other racers who had their hearts set on coming home with that first-place trophy, Elliott dominated the track to win the first of many victories of a 20-year cycling career that would eventually lead to 14 national and world championships in both BMX and mountain bike racing.
Laughlin's Elliott was recently announced as an inductee into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame this November 2 for her contributions to the sport of BMX racing. The news coincides with the sport making it's debut among both men and women in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In 1980's, Elliott's name was a staple among BMXers. Having won virtually every women's title during her first two years, she decided to break the gender barrier to compete against men. “Nobody understood why I wanted to race the guys,” she said. “I just wasn't being challenged enough and I felt like I had to move up to the next level.” Elliott defied opinions by winning several national events and trophy dashes. She could jump higher and soar farther than almost any other racer on the track, becoming the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” of the sport.
Elliott retired from BMX racing in 1985 at the age of 15 after paving the way for many other women to become serious competitors in the sport. Elliott intended to focus on a more traditional, professional career. She graduated high school and attended college at CSU Sacramento with no intent of returning to the sport. But during her senior year in 1993, she read an article about a former BMX rival, Lee Donnovan, who had gone on to dual-slalom mountain bike racing. “I thought ‘what the heck is this? If she can do it, I can do it, too!' So I called up a friend of mine who got me a bike and a sponsorship and took me up to Vale for my first race.”
“I didn't do well...actually it scared me half to death. Riding down a ski slope was very fast and scary...nothing like BMX.”
Undeterred by her early harrowing experience, Elliott decided to take another stab at racing, joining the KHS factory team and committing herself to training full-time. By the end of the 1994 racing season, she had been named the NORBA national dual-slalom champion.
Early mountain bikes bore very little resemblance to the full-suspension monster machines of today, Elliott said, making the ride a lot more challenging. “There was no rear suspension, and front suspension was brand new,” she said. “You only had about an inch of cushion. They were basically cross-country bikes that we were riding on some treacherous terrain...it wasn't until ‘95 that I saw Missy Jovi show up with this mac-daddied out, full-suspension Cannondale that had about five inches of travel. Now the BMX bikes get like nine or 10.”
Elliott's racing career sunsetted in 2001 with a spine-wretching crash that nearly paralyzed her early in the season. “I hit this great big jump, covering about 30 feet,” she said. “I clipped the edge of the landing and went flying into the next berm. I hyperextended by back and watched my feet fly over my head. I heard a ‘crunch' and knew something was wrong.” An MRI following her accident showed significant damage to several vertebrae, which created pressure on her spinal cord that led to temporary partial paralysis of her right leg. She took the injury as a sign to move on from racing and has since pursued a career as a real estate broker. “I felt like I had dodged the bullet with that one,” she said. “Others haven't been so lucky.”
At 38, Elliott still looks the part of a hardcore racer with powerful shoulders, muscular legs and a pixie smile that doesn't detract from her image. She still rides for recreation, she says, dropping off flyers at various properties for sale around the community. “And I'll still go ride on a BMX track just for fun,” she says.
Although no longer a competitive cyclist, Elliott remains a champion of BMX racing, calling it a sport that's more accessible than most people realize. In 2007, she and her brother Kent Elliott founded the national team Next Generation. She also sponsors several athletic teams through her broker business at ERA.
Regarding her upcoming hall of fame induction, Elliott said she wishes she could give the award to the sport itself. “It changed my life,” she said. “I am who I am today because of the sport. For me to get the award myself seems almost selfish. I've decided it to all of the women about to make their debut in BMX in the Olympics this August.”