Yesterday was a flury of action on the track as the 16 year old boys battled it out for a spot in the final moto. There were over 80 riders looking to garner a spot. Remember, this is the best of the best from around the world; the competition was fierce!
It was a head to head battle between three time world champion Jelle Van Gorkom (NED) and Denzel Stein from the USA. Stein who has been racing 7 years managed to capture the first place world ranking. He was all smiles as he held up his W1 plate sticker for photographers after the race. Placing third was Michael Chasteauneuf from Austrailia. Rounding out the final was:
5th: Kyle Murphy (USA)
6th: Matthew Rubeck (USA)
7th: Jordan Lajmi (FRA)
8th: Josh Callan (AUS)
In the Girls 16 class it was Mariana Pajon from Columbia who battled it out with Alise Post from the USA to capture first place. Both women have been racing for 10 years. Third place went to Lauren Reynolds from Austrailia.
BC rider from Vancouver, Tory Nyhaug captured first place in the Boys 15 age class edging out Corben Sharrah from the USA. Speaking with Nyhaug after he received his award, he told me he has been racing for 11 years. In third place was Lorin Martinez from France.
In Girls 15 action, Arizona, USA native Dominque Daniels came away in first place. An incredible feat for this young athlete who has only been racing for 4 years. In second place was Kristin Hokit (USA); France's Camille Meyran took third.
In the Masters class, it was John Wipperman from the USA who captured the gold. Teammate Tim Dinger (USA) received silver and Henri Pierre Sauze from France recieved bronze.
4th: Alan Hill (GBR)
5th: Yann Bonci (FRA)
6th: Szilard Szurdok (SUI)
7th: Jason Carnes (USA)
8th: Percy Owens (USA)
In the 17-24 Men's class from Clarksville, Indiana, (USA) it was Weston Pope who edged out teammate Jacob Peebles (USA) for the top spot. Peebles who is from California came in a very respectable second place, and Adrien Demaria from France placed third overall.
4th: Nathan Miller (USA)
5th: Matt Kelty (USA)
6th: Adrien Bizouard (FRA)
7th: Maxime Sordet (FRA)
8th: Nick Valencia (USA)
In Men's 25-29 competition, Manuel Tangarife from Columbia came away with a first place finish followed by William Young from Florida, (USA) in second and Sander Meulen Ter in third.
BMX has been around for thirty years with the first races in Canada being held in BC and Alberta in the 1970's. However, BMX in this USA is huge. Speaking with a few of the riders who were on the podium, many have been racing 10 or more years. For some, this means they have been racing since they were five or six years of age.
The USA contingent was strong in the 17 & over women's class. Darci Williams out of California, USA battled it out with teammate Terra Nichols from Texas, USA for first place in this division.
Nichols, who has only been racing for 5 years placed second. In third place from Holland (NED), seasoned rider Angelique Van Gemert came away in third.
Now the guys in the 30 & over class deserve a lot of credit. These guys are in amazing shape! Coming away with a first place finish was Tommy Opincar out of Nashville, Tennessee, (USA). In second place was rider Ben Forwood (GBR) and in third was 33 year old Andy Shaw also from Great Britain. 38 year old USA rider Scott Matual finished the race, placing 8th in the world.
That was it for racing on Friday July 27. Don't forget to check out race and award photos on
www.flickr.com/photos/2007bmxworlds/
