None of our Elite men progressed beyond the qualifying rounds on Friday, with elites Gavin Lubbe and 2008 Beijing Olympian Sifiso Nhlapo finishing 73rd and 98th respectively and junior elite Kyle Dodd 110th in amongst the 140-strong field – the top sixty-four riders to count.

Teagan made good progress when she finished 15th in the first and 16th in the second of her time trial qualifiers on Friday. But the real action began on the American west coast on Saturday, when the eighteen-year-old faced the world’s best on the challenging, spiced up replica of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games track, at the United States Olympic Committee Training Centre.

With the best 4 riders from each heat after 3 runs qualifying for the semi-final round, Teagan clocked 38.672 (4th place) 53.399 (6th) 38.141 (4th) to slide through. In the semi-finals, the KwaZulu-Natal local finished third, where the top 4 from each of the two heats progressed to the final, rounding off the weekend with an 8th place. O’Keeffe was delighted with her result!

Confirming his time trial success of the day before, Connor Fields (USA) claimed victory in the men’s competition and Arielle Martin (USA) won the women’s final.

Martin was the fastest out of the gate in the final race of the Elite Women. She took the first straight and went on to win, extremely happy to win a Supercross title in her home country.

Joris Daudet (FRA) and Sarah Walker (NZL) win the 2011 Supercross series after the four rounds, which were held in Pietermaritzburg (RSA), Papendal (NED), London (GBR) and Chula Vista (USA).

Teagan flew to London from her home base at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland, where she has been training with her coach Thomas Alliers. Located in the north of the Olympic Park in Stratford in east London, the new BMX Track is approximately 450m long and features an eight-metre high ramp at the start, followed by jumps, bumps and tightly banked corners. The BMX Track will host both the men and women’s Olympic BMX competitions next summer, with a total of 48 riders competing for two gold medals.

Teagan O’Keeffe clears the jump during practice at the recent UCI BMX World Champs in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Although this weekend’s racing is part of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup series, it also forms an integral part of the ‘London Prepares’ series, which allows the London 2012 Organising Committee to test crucial aspects of its operations ahead of the Games.

With less than a year to go to the start of 2012 London Olympic Games the riders are all anxious to get on this track – for the first time ever, the track features the ‘Oakley Underground’ – a 15m long tunnel that is part of the women’s 2nd straight, and the ‘Red Bull Box Jump’ – a challenging feature on the men’s straight.

Despite breaking her fingers in a training session at the World Cycling Centre last week due to the start gate malfunctioning, Teagan is feeling strong and ready to race. Teagan will return home to South Africa for a 2-week vacation after the race and then heads off to the USA to race another Supercross Event in Chula Vista.

Proudly South African – Elite BMX racer Teagan O’Keeffe in her national colours, competing in her first year in the Elite Women category.

BMX made its spectacular Olympic debut in 2008 and met with immediate worldwide public success. It is now one of the fastest growing Olympic disciplines.

Cycling South Africa’s BMX High Performance Commissioner Kim Stiebel reports on the challenges and successes of the first day of competition:
Practice started at 7:30am on Wednesday morning 27 July and the finals were completed at around 6:00pm in the evening on a beautiful hot day here in Copenhagen.

The morning did not start too well, with Maia Rawlins, who had looked really good in practice, falling heavily in the warm up after unclipping on the first jump. After some time recovering she was ready for the moto’s, but unfortunately came together with some other riders on the first jump again and fell heavily again – she needed to go to the hospital for a scan. Fortunately all is good for her and nothing broken.

With so many riders and a really small area to accommodate everyone, there was a lot of chaos getting everyone staged and ready to race. Fortunately everything settled down in the day and all ran smoothly so we could focus on having the riders prepared for the racing rather than worrying about missing a race.

As is to be expected with racing like this at the highest level, some will have good days and some will have bad days. Georgina Grassie was unfortunate to end up on the wrong side of the bubble and did not make the semi finals; Maia was unfortunate with some crashes; Anita Zenani only arrived in the afternoon and had 2 practice laps on the track before racing. Despite this, Zenani rode really well but did not advance to the semis. Jason Fanourakis was on the wrong side of the pack in turn 1 in the 1/8ths finals and went down.

Someone who was having a great day was Roger Goncalves, who picked up a couple of moto wins and a win in the 1/8th final. Unfortunately in the quarter final he did not have a great gate, got boxed in and was last, but fought his way through the pack and almost stole 4th on the line.

With six riders in the semi finals, we had high hopes that all of those riders would appear in the final however, the knockout rounds are always so tough and there are no second chances. Luca Bollea gave it everything and just came up short; Tyrrone Verral was lying comfortably in 3rd going into the 2nd turn, but a rider from Aruba (who was in 5th place) made a crazy high/low move to move up from 5th to 3rd and Tyronne lost his momentum.
He fought valiantly to almost get back up for the last qualifying spot. Lauren Coetzee narrowly missed out on a transfer position and Kayla was unfortunately boxed in going into the first turn.

In the finals, Connor Terblanche (who had been doing all the right things all day) had a bad draw to be placed gate 8. He fought all he could to get across the track, but just had too much work to do. Dylan Eggar was in gate 3 and came out the gate really well but got boxed on the first jump and had to settle for 6th.

Connor Terblanche Courtesy Kristoffer West

Dyaln Eggar Courtesy Kristoffer West

All in all we can be very proud of how all of our riders performed today.

Today’s (Thursday 28 July) racing is for the 15 and overs, and the start of the Elite practices, resulting in an even longer day as the practices are scheduled to finish at 7:30pm. On Friday we have the Elite time trials, with Saturday being the Championship day. Hopefully the weather holds for all of that, although rain is predicted for Saturday.

For the full results from Race 1 in Copenhagen (27 July 2011), visit this link and click on “Day 1”.

RESULTS: UCI BMX World Challenge, Copenhagen – Race 1/Challenge (27/07/2011)

9 BOYS
Pos. Bike UCI Code Rider Name Country
1 1 USA20020105 DITTRICK, JULIAN (9) USA
2 817 USA20020529 PAPAJOHN, ANDRES (9) USA
3 210 LAT20020623 RITINS, RONALDS (9) LAT
4 5 ARG20021004 FINI, STEFANO (9) ARG
5 6 COL20021029 ECHEVERRY ZAPATA, ALEJANDRO (9) COL
6 819 ZIM20020301 MASON, BRENDAN (9) ZIM
7 199 FRA20020410 CHAPELET, SIMON (9) FRA
8 8 RSA20020219 TERBLANCHE, CONNOR (9) RSA

12 BOYS
Pos. Bike UCI Code Rider Name Country
1 1 USA19990204 GONZALES, MICHAEL (12) USA
2 342 CZE19990123 HOLEC, RICHARD (12) CZE
3 2 GER19990705 WEBSTER, AXEL (12) GER
4 6 SUI19990723 BUTTI, CEDRIC (12) SUI
5 334 AUT19991011 BRESCHAN, NOAH (12) AUT
6 5 RSA19990416 EGGAR, DYLAN (12) RSA
7 3 ARG19990503 SORIANO, FRANCO (12) ARG
8 899 NED19990209 VAN DE GROENENDAAL, KEVIN (12) NED

The BMX track in Copenhagen, Denmark for the 2011 UCI BMX World Championships

This morning’s final practice session went well in perfect conditions without incident, and after the final tweaks were done, everyone is fit and ready for the racing. “There were a few guys that were looking really good out there,” continued Kim. “So hopefully that form will take them into the finals.”

World numbers will be hard earned in Copenhagen with capacity entries being recorded – there are 891 entries for the 14 and under category alone!  Including the Elite category, there is a total of 2,200 entries at the World Championships!

Maia Rawlins (14 Girls category) had her composure challenged when her bike was stolen from the bike storage area in the hotel where she is staying – a total of eight bikes were nabbed.  Fortunately, Rawlins had the guidance of seasoned traveller Sydney Webster close at hand and Sydney and his helpers managed to put a bike together for her. Maia trained on fellow competitor Axel Webster’s bike yesterday and was fortunate to have her own bike ready for today.

Some of the riders representing South Africa - Luca Bollea (seated front right) is the youngest at 7-years of age

Let’s hope that the rain holds off for some exciting racing to kick off the 2011 UCI BMX World Champs tomorrow.  Racing takes place in Copenhagen and will see all of the competitors vying for the prestigious World Championship title.

Taking place in Copenhagen from the 25th to 31st July 2011, the World Championships is expected to draw close on 2000 competitors in the challenge classes, attracting many of the top European contenders – all of them vying for the prestigious Wold Championship title.

The BMX Commission is optimistic toward Kyle Dodd’s performance in the Junior Elite Men category. In the 12-year boys category, Dylan Eggar has represented South Africa in every World Championship final since 2006, and his sister Kayla is expected to rack up a top-3 result in the 14-year girls category.

“A lot of our riders will be defending titles from last year’s World Championships – hopefully they will be able to emulate last year’s success,” said BMX High Performance Commissioner Kim Stiebel. “It was slightly easier when the Championships took place at ‘home’, in Pietermaritzburg, and the competition will no doubt be tougher out there this year as many of the European countries are expected to be in full attendance.”

Five competitors will be racing in the Junior Elite and Elite categories, which means they will be racing an Olympic qualifier in this group. Kane Herbert (Elite) has been working on speed training, and transforming power into speed during his training preparations. “I’m feeling quite strong at the moment – I was fortunate to test the Copenhagen track out in October last year on a training camp, and they haven’t changed the track since then! This is a great advantage for us.”

Elite competitor Teagan O’Keeffe’s training abroad at the UCI World Cycling Centre in Switzerland has tapered down in the lead up to Worlds in order for her body to recover and be ready to perform. “I have gained a lot more pedal speed and I am really feeling confident,” said Teagan. “I still have a few areas to work on but I am ready to give it my best at the world championships, but keep in mind this is not my immediate goal, my legs will still not be at their fastest and I will use this more as a training race but I am still going to go out there as go as far as I can and do my very best.”

Dean Holdstock (Elite) has been racing in Belgium and the USA earlier in the year, and his training has been to peak for the world champs. “I’m feeling ready for this and quite relaxed,” said Dean. “There will always be a case of the nerves when it is the world championships, as you are psyching yourself up for the big one, and there is only one shot at the race to determine your world ranking for the year!”

Holdstock commented that the start hill would present a major challenge as there is nothing quite like it on South African BMX racetracks. The 8-metre high ramp has a flat top where racers drop in and riders can reach speeds of 60km/hr as they launch from the start gate.

Junior Elite Kyle Dodd, who has just returned from a 4-week training camp in Durban, is very excited. “Everything feels perfect,” commented Kyle. When asked about the anticipation of the high and fast start hill, Kyle said, “I have been training hard since last year. I love the supercross start hill – I am so excited and I am going to give it my all!”

“I feel ready and I am going to do the best that I can,” said Junior Elite Miguel Carvalho. “I have been training hard for this race and it is the main event of the year for me.”

Corben Sharrah rose to the occasion to win the grand final of the UCI BMX Supercross at Alexandra park while the young French rider Manon Valentino confirmed her status as one of the hottest properties in female BMX racing by completing a rare double in the women’s division, winning the time trials and the main final.

Sharrah: “The track suited my style of riding”

Sharrah, a quietly spoken 19-year-old from Tucson, Arizona timed his charge to perfection, shifting up a gear in the semi-final where he dominated the Frenchman Joris Daudet who, until that stage, had been setting the pace.

In the final, Sharrah got the hole shot and as he led into the first berm he looked to be in total control. While the pack jostled behind him, resulting in classy Kiwi Marc Willers going down, Sharrah never lost control, racing home to win from Australian Khalen “Wild Child” Young, with time trial superfinal winner Daudet in third.

“This track really suited my style of riding,” said Sharrah as he was mobbed by well wishers from Team USA. “I had a really good gate and won the big battle to get into the first turn first. When I realized I was leading it was all about staying calm and focused. That was the critical part for me. It feels fantastic to win the first World Cup of the season,” he added.

Valentino: “This is totally amazing”!

21-year-old French sensation Valentino was ecstatic after her complete domination in the women’s main final. “This is totally amazing! What a comeback for me!” gushed the former Juniors World Champion, whose first year as a senior was troubled by injury.

In truth she had won the final by the time she had turned into the second straight. From her quicksilver reaction off the start gate to her athletic and fluid pace across the demanding 15 meter triple on the first straight, she was unmatched, and romped home to win by more than a second from Argentinean Gabriela Diaz, with Kiwi icon Sarah Walker earning the last spot on the podium.

Action packed event

Australian ace Sam Willoughby was the shock omission from the main final line-up. He was one of four riders to crash out of the semi-finals in a pileup on the first berm that also eliminated gutsy Canadian Tory Nyhaug, Dutchman Jelle van Gorkom and Joshua Meyers of the USA.

Two podium contenders fell by the wayside in a drama-laden men’s second quarter final, where on-form Frenchman Sylvain Andre and former World Champ Donnie Robinson (USA), who was being cheered on his comeback to the Supercross circuit, were both unseated in spills.

The heady mix of on-track action and music under the blazing sun provided a compelling spectacle for the big crowd that packed into the new BMX venue at Alexandra Park, which will become a permanent BMX facility after the Supercross.

FINAL RESULTS:

MEN

1.Corben Sharrah USA 34.054
2.Khalen Young AUS 34.815
3.Joris Daudet FRA 35.095
4.Raymon van der Biezen NED 35.156
5.Andres Jiminez Caicedo 35.620
6.Robert de Wilde NED 36.026
7. David Herman USA 37.689
8. Marc Williers NZL 1.13.216

WOMEN
1.Manon Valentino FRA 33.714
2.Maria Gabriela Diaz ARG 34.858
3.Sarah Walker NZL 36.116
4.Magalie Pottier FRA 43.085
5.Caroline Buchanan AUS 43.726
6.Vilma Rimsaite LTU 49.473
7.Stefany Hernandez VEN 1.04.473
8.Lauren Reynolds AUS Did Not Finish