Darryn Goodwin Backflips the Berm Jump

In Thursday’s Elite practice in Tulsa, Barry Nobles was the first to back flip the pro section berm jump. We missed it, while shooting the first turn…but Wowza!

10 Mins or so later, Aussie Darryn Goodwyn, decked out in the Stay Strong threads, lofted one up and over, and we were in position to catch it.

Darryn also posted it from the POV of his GoPro helmet cam.

Pretty cool!

Stay Strong Website

2012 USA BMX Grand National Photo Galleries

What a week it’s been! Starting out last Wednesday, leaving for the drive down to Tulsa for the 2012 USA BMX Grand National, the action (and the work) was non-stop until about four hours ago. If we weren’t talking tasty BMX scoop with an industry insider, we were shooting photos on the track, if not shooting, we were at the hotel processing photos, or sleeping…only to wake up five hours later and do it all again, and again, and again. Then ring, ring, ring, it’s Monday morning, time to go home–hurry up, you have 10 minutes to pack it all up…housekeeping wants to get in there.

We blew the ref’s whistle at that point (right into the phone), and Priceline saved the day with an “extend your stay” reservation–for the same agreeable $46 rate. That gave us another 24 to catch up on photos, and begin to feel human again.

In all, we punched the shutter button over 2000 times on the weekend, then spent 36 hours refining, tweaking and tagging that set down to about 700 “choice cuts,” which we have posted on PhotosArePosted.com for your viewing and free downloading pleasure (links below).

With all that jawin’ and photographin and tweakin, there wasn’t a whole lot of time for the writin. So, we’re getting our re-cap into shape, and will have it posted tomorrow. But before the site got too much of a “life after people” look and feel to it, we wanted to bring you the photo galleries as a beefy appetizer, leading up to the main course.

We hope you enjoy the photos as much as we did shooting them (and more than we did editing them :))

Team Managers: We have tagged all major teams by brand name. Download this handy PDF for instructions on searching for your team’s images.

Above: Justin Richmond of Answer Ssquared was the favorite to take home the national Number One Amateur cup after points leader Austin Loebe did not make the main. Justin had a solid lead in the main, but his hopes were dashed with an unfortunate crash in the last turn. That paved the way for Intense BMX star, Rusty Nesvig to clinch it.

Hutch Much?

In Tulsa, there were dozens of awesome vintage rides up in the annual M.O.T.O.S show and museum, but we also saw some old names with a new school flav on the track. Case in point: John DeBruin’s prototype new school Hutch racer. Fully-modern geometry, yet all the chrome creature comforts to make it feel like home for thousands of us who remember chrome when it was still chrome.

John says the first order, and then some is spoken for with pre-orders, but another batch will be right behind it. So, if you’re up for hitting track next season, you may want to get some cash squirreled away, and hit JDB up for a spot on the list.

John raced it too! He was solidly in the mix second round, but piled up after the first turn, and had to park it for the weekend.

Photo by Rusty Dial

Hutch BMX Website

Saturday Night Cash Dash

On Saturday Night, when everyone trades their race clothes for street clothes, and comes to the QuikTrip Center for the 2012 USA BMX Pro Spectacular, there will be lots on the line for the guys and gals in the gate. Not only the gold and the glory of the 2012 title chases, which are razor-close, the NAG 5 Challenge bragging rights…but also some cool cash for the kid with the killer first straight pull.

The 2012 Holeshot awards are thick with treasure for the one who wants it most. Here’s a partial list:

AA Pro: $500 from George Costa at Rennen Design Group.
Pro Women: $1000 from Stacy Byndloss at Pinch Gear
Vet Pro: $250 from bmxnews.org
NAG 5 Challenge Girls: $500 from Stacy Byndloss at Pinch Gear

…And more to be added before showtime.

Stacy is also awarding a $500 gift basket to each of the Pinch Gear holeshot winners.

Pinch Gear Website

Rennen Design Group Website

Answer Ssquared On Top Of National Points By One

The 2012 USA BMX Factory Team title is currently a one-point ballgame. Rockford’s own Answer/Ssquared/TLD leads it by the slimmest margin possible. In the political realm, they might call it a “statistical tie.” Only, this weekend, the margin for error is nonexistent.

It’s been close for the latter part of the season, with Answer Rennen putting in strong performances, and Factory Intense in the familiar place they have been so many years before–leading it all.

The Disney Cup proved to be a breakout weekend for Jim Buchanan, Shawn Whitfield and the team. Leading up to the weekend, the threat of rain was ever-present. Thursday’s practice was rained out as Hurricane Sandy steamed up the East edge of Florida, a couple hundred miles away.

The team is missing one of its top stars right now, as National #1 Girls Cruiser champ, Jamie Windholz is out with a broken collar bone (get well soon, champ).

But the girls were well represented on the sheet with Kaitlyn Deters (Nick’s sister) putting in a solid day in 12G, battling some deep talent to grab a second to Crupi’s Anna Johnson. News is going to be watching Kaitlyn closely in the future. We heard she just started racing earlier this summer, and to already be up-top of the results is pretty amazing. Speaking of Dynamite Nick, he was in full effect, with wins in 13C and 13x on day one.

Justin Richmond went into Disney leading the overall national amateur title chase, with Austin Loebe and Justin Posey close behind. He raced three classes on Friday, and ended up with wins in 14 Cruiser and 14x. The Juice is also riding Jr. Devo now, and logged a second to Collin Hudson on day one.

Come to think of it, these guys had full supremacy in the teen cruiser classes, from 13 on up to 17-20, as Ryan Zinzow, Big B Brandon Ceslok and Tyler Whitfield all spiked the ball in the proverbial end zone.

The stacked-to-the-rafters expert classes had some tough customers, but the team pulled out wins in 13x, 14x in the person of Deters and Richmond (25 rider points for the Juice to tack on to his National title chase…but Austin Loebe’s Friday win in 19-27x would give him 37). Zinzow had some trouble in the 15x main, but managed a fourth.

The 16x main faired a little better, with Big B running second (behind Doc Johnson). Even with a couple of off-podium expert finishes, the team still managed a third place in the team sheet battle, with a 214. Answer Rennen moved their game piece a few squares on the board, topping the day’s sheet with a 219. And Redman Rockstar was second.

A few final Friday notes: Tyshawn Carr was out with an injury for a big chunk of the season this year, but is getting his groove back on track, and moving up the results with every time on the moto sheets. Friday saw the Pibull log a pair of threes (12 Cruiser and 12x)

The storm clouds held off for the most part on Friday–only a few sprinkles–and things for Answer/Ssquared TLD were shaping up perfectly for Day Two.

Day two had a lot of the same slicing and dicing in the cards for the team, with solid wins in 13, 14, 15 Cruiser. Super Cooper Sheldon brought home a second in 10 C and Tyshawn was third in 12C. Kaitlyn stayed on the 11-12G podium, with a second.

The age class battles were just as they had been on Friday, and the team’s results were kind of a 52-pickup, deck-tossed-in-the-air situation. Deters and Richmond topped 13 and 14x, respectively. Ryan Z crashed out in the 15x main and limped in for a seventh. Big B stated consistent with a second on day two. Tyshawn and T-Whit both had trubs in class, with a seventh and an eighth.

We were stoked to see Big B on the Jr. Men Podium, with a third. Consistency in racing is great, especially if you’re up top…but it doesn’t make for the most exciting story copy. The Day three Cruiser conflict in 13-14-15 Cruiser went to Deters, Richmond and Zinzow once again, putting the cinch on three Cruiser Disney Cups coming back to the Land O Lincoln. Some Girls class clashing dropped Kaitlyn down to fourth on day three with a fresh pair up top.

Toward the end of the main event running order, we would see the Deters and the Juice put the punctuation on a perfect weekend, as 13 and 14x wins were inked for all eternity. Two more Disney Cups. And the next main to drop was 16x, where a day three rally brought the win of the day, and the Disney Cup win home for Big B. Whitfield was back in the groove, with a second in 17-18x.

The Team took the Factory Team Disney Cup by a slim margin, and wowza! some amazing work put in by this crew.

Going into the Grands, each of the top contending teams has taken a long look at the 2012 season, where they were strong, where they needed improvement and, no doubt adjusted fire where necessary. A month between races gave the team captains a good chance to motivate their top guys into training up (more than usual) for the run for the cup.

Last year, Crupi emerged late in the Sunday main events to win the Factory Team title. With all the other adrenaline packed around the Amateur title chases, it looks like it is going to be another squeaker between Answer Ssquared, Answer Rennen and Factory Intense. One place could make the difference, so tell those guys to sprint PAST the finish line…no getting nipped at the line for the win!

Answer BMX Website

Ssquared Bicycles Website

Troy Lee Designs

Team Co-Sponsors: J&R Bicycles, bmxnews.org, Sun Ringlé, Stealth Products, Crit Plate, SRAM, Stile Industries, Maxxis, XBalm

*Links above have been placed by BMX News to highlight companies who are also BMX News advertisers

2012 USA BMX Grands Display Space Map

**IMPORTANT**

This map is subject to change, and only shows the main chunk of the floor. Not all spaces are represented.

If your space is not on there, it is likely in an area off the 8.5×11 page of our posting. *Do not panic!* See Shannon on setup day, as instructed.

Grands week is officially under way, as people in the “outer ring” (California, Florida, Boston) start day two of their tip-toe into Tulsa Town for the 2012 USA BMX Grand National. Part of the fun of attending the Greatest Race on Earth is strolling Vendor Row, Display Spaces and Team Pit spaces to see what is coming to market soon, maybe get an autograph from an Olympic Medalist, or bro-down with the team that has been making sheep eyes at you since Disney Cup weekend.

Well, to facilitate the experience, USA BMX sent over the *preliminary* map of how the display and team spaces will be laid out. This year, Shannon and the boys are stepping up the display game in a big way by releasing an official map of the spaces, making it easier for people to find their favorite brands and teams. That map will be in the Pull Magazine you’ll get in your goodie bag…but they gave us the green light to post it for your perusal on the drive down.

Download the 2012 USA BMX Grands Display/Team Space Map

Remember, we said it was a preliminary map, and not all spaces are shown, it is subject to change without notice.

BMX News will have team coverage from Tulsa starting on Thursday morning (maybe Wednesday, if we can hustle down I-44 Tuesday night).

Grands Gate Clinic Sign-Ups Open

Wednesday of Grands week, among all the set up and bro-down, it’s always great to go gate up with Dom and Tim Daniels for their annual gate clinic. This year, they’ll be joined by Big Daddy, Eric Rupe and Jordan “The Missle” Miranda for a session that will be extra-primo-good.

The full $20 clinic tuition for each participant will go into a donation to the Kyle Bennett Memorial Fund, benefitting Kyle’s daughter, Kylie. If you did not have the motivation to show up for your own fastness, then maybe helping out the KB88 cause will push you on over there.

Here is the deep-dive on the details…

2012 USA BMX GRAND NATIONALS
ANNUAL GATE CLINIC

BENEFITTING THE KYLE BENNETT MEMORIAL FUND

Hosted By
Dominique Daniels
Eric Rupe
Jordan Miranda

When
Wed November 21, 2012

Times
10 and under – 2:30pm-4:30pm
11 and over – 4:00pm-6:00pm

Location
GATE PRACTICE AREA At The Rear Of The USA BMX Grands Arena

Cost: $20.00

This year we have assembled a wide variety of Pro and Amateur Instructors who will spend a few hours working with you on gate technique, gate timing, second-pedal acceleration and track management.

We will also discuss mental and physical race preparation. Eric Rupe’s race experience in BIG RACES can provide an excellent foundation for preparing our riders for this big event.

The full clinic is normally taught in eight hours. So, in this special format, we are going to focus on the meat and potatoes, giving participants maximum benefit.

Since this is the Grand Nationals, and the most important race of the year to both rider and parent, we will do our best to follow your progress throughout the weekend and assist as much as we can.

Naturally, we cannot fully-change your gate in three hours, but we will give you insight that will help fine-tune what is already there, and help you improve your techniques to maximize your starts. Why the focus on starts? No doubt you know this, but It’s the most important part of the race, and also THE ONLY THING WE CAN CONTROL IN A RACE.

ALL PROCEEDS FROM THIS EVENT WILL GO TO KYLE BENNETT’S FAMILY. OUR HOPE IS TO RAISE ENOUGH FUNDS TO START A COLLEGE FUND FOR KYLE’S DAUGHTER. DONATIONS ABOVE THE CLINIC COST WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

Thank You All And God Bless.

—Dominique Daniels, Eric Rupe, Jordan Miranda and Tim Daniels

PS: WE HOPE TO HAVE MANY OTHER PROS VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME – WATCH VINTAGE, BMX NEWS AND BMXMANIA FOR UPDATES ON WHO WILL BE THERE!!!

FOR INFORMATION
Phone: 602 575 1650 or email- bethandtimdaniels@gmail.com

AGENDA

Warm Up
1. Practice Drills
2. Sprint Drills
3. Gate Position
4. Second Pedal
5. Power Down First Straight
6. Race Strategy
7. Questions

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

Doublecross Bikes Website