Great Salt Lake Nationals Race Report

Filed under General on May 30, 2014 | Comment(s)

AUDIO AND VISUALS BY: JASON MCGUIRE

The Great Salt Lake Nationals has always held a special place in my heart. It was the very first national that I attended and while not only having one of the finest BMX facilities in North America, Rad Canyon BMX has always felt like a home away from home. Not just for the racing, but also the many friendships that have blossomed from this BMX community. 

There is no doubt that this is one race I will always try to be at and I can assure everyone that if you have not raced this event, throw it on your BMX bucket list before its too late because the racing at Rad Canyon BMX during the Great Salt Lake Nationals is like the hidden gem of the west. 

FRIDAY:

Friday night kicked off with a BMX legend watching over us as Kyle Bennett's number 88 graced the moto boards for a spectacular evening of racing. Fresh off a recent rebuild, Rad Canyon BMX is loaded with a burly first straight featuring a step-up-step-down into a giant triple step-up sending riders off through turn one. The second straight showcased a real lip heavy table directly followed by two solid size doubles before sending riders into another turn as they prepared for the third straight. Out of turn two was a series of step-ups, rollers and doubles that made for some great passing opportunities for the fastest riders. Lastly, riders face another long rhythmical straight that separated those who train and those who do not as it was a true test of endurance.

For a Friday night, the pro open filled up quickly with two racks of A and AA pros all vying for a spot to make some cash. Come main event time, DK's Barry Nobles went wire to wire without a second glance as he picked up the win over Dan's Comp rider Tyler Faoro and Motive Power Racing's Jacob Peebles. 

Watch out for the young ladies of BMX this weekend as they will do anything for the win. Every year, Rad Canyon's first turn has made a prime spot for riders getting sent up and over. While usually this doesn't happen until later in the weekend, the 13 girls expert class made sure to test the waters early. The first round had Jesse Gregory leading the way until her competition swooped under and rode her to the top where she would fly over and down the backside of turn one. That did not keep Gregory from showing her dominance though, as she came back in the main for the win over seven other girls. 

Friday night turned out to be a picturesque pre-race for this weekends big event and busting the 200 moto mark is a real possibility. Stay tuned for all of the live updates on the USA BMX Facebook page and check back here tomorrow for the recap of day one action here in South Jordan, UT!

SATURDAY:

If you had to use one word to describe day one of the 2014 USA BMX Great Salt Lake Nationals, it would be windy. While the weather at Rad Canyon BMX was nothing short of gorgeous in terms of temperature and sunshine, Mother Nature proved her dominance over the human race once again as the wind blew in with a forceful punch as the semi-mains and main events were just getting underway. Nonetheless, day one turned out to produce some awesome racing that left the crowds cheering for more when the last main crossed the line. 

With Rusty Nesvig making the move up to AA this weekend, it left things wide open in the A pro class. Supercross' Jared Garcia, Haro~Promax's Bryce Hocking, Extreme Team's Jeremy Smith and Motive Power's Austin Hiatt were all top contenders and it was wide open for who would win the main. Out of the gate, Jared "The Jet" Garcia hit the turbo boosters and nailed the holeshot with Jeremy Smith and Bryce Hocking right on his back wheel. Those two definitely put the pressure on Garcia, but it was not enough has "The Jet" would go wire-to-wire and seal the victory. With that win, he put himself that much close to making the jump into the AA class. Once that mark is made, he should be an immediate threat as Garcia has already been a serious contender on the World Cup tour. 

The Vet Pro class was one to talk about as it usually provides some of the best racing available between Cristian Becerine and Javier Colombo. In the main, Becerine had gate one while Javier sat patiently in gate three. Whoever was able to get the snap and pull to the first obstacle had the clear advantage for the remainder of the race. Javier Colombo took full advantage of his pristine gate and squeezed Cristian tight as they entered the first turn. What looked to be a chase by Becerine quickly turned into a cruise style win for Colombo after Cristian went down and took half the class with him, including Matt Pohlkamp. That opened the gates for Stephen Larralde and Adam Treadwell to power through the carnage and pull off the remaining two podium spots for the day. 

Next on tap was the Elite Women's class. While Alise Post is still sidelined with a leg injury and the current National NO.1 Women's Pro Mariana Pajon skipped out on this race, the ladies who were in attendance took full advantage of the opportunity to rack up some much needed points. Unfortunately for the rookie Felicia Stancil, she may have suffered a thumb injury that kept her out of today's main event. That left the main battle between GT's Shanaze Reade and Haro's Brooke Crain. One thing that Shanaze has on Brooke is size, but that did not stop her as she locked bars with Reade after just edging her out for the Answer Holeshot award. Crain would hold the lead all the way through and picked up a relieving win in an extremely deep women's pro class. Reade would hold on for the second and J&R's Amanda Carr just edged out Yess' Amanda Geving for third.

On to the Elite Men we went and once again there were some big names missing out on the big show. Of those included Redline's Tory Nyhaug and Chase's Connor Fields after they both wrecked out in the semi. Another big miss on the weekend was the missing Sam Willoughby who decided to take a week and recoup after a tough weekend in Nashville just last week. That being said, one of the biggest performers of the year has been from the two-time Olympic BMX gold medalist, Maris Strombergs. After winning both days in Nashville from lane eight, he decided to go for lane six in today's main. But before he could hoist another check above his head, he had to make sure his competition didn't beat him to the first turn. Sure enough, "The Machine" did not let that happen as he took the Answer Holeshot award and the win after another dominating performance. Similar to how he has won in the past, where he came in and didn't win a lap all day until the time it mattered most; the main event. He was followed closely by Haro's Corben Sharrah who had an outstanding day of riding and Avent~Bombshell's Steven Cisar who was also another favorite to take the win. 

One great change to this year main event layouts was the movement of girls from running earlier in the show to now running in between the intermediate and expert classes. In reality, the girls class has always been girls expert and now the run order reflects that. Either way, the 15-16 girls main event was one of epic proportions. Tightly grouped down the starting hill, three riders all collided over the first obstacle. Next it was two of the favorites, Kelsey Van Ogle and Kialani Hines who found themselves scrapping the dirt off of their uniforms. That left very few riders up and rolling after the first turn and Phoenix Factory Racing's Shayla Blackmore made sure to avoid the carnage and cruise on in for the victory. Luckily it did not look like any of the ladies were seriously injured and I am sure they will be putting on another awesome show tomorrow. 

One of the performances of the day on the amateur boys side of the spectrum came from within the 28-35 expert class. Extreme Team's Justin Wike and Black Box Industries rider Zach "Fear the Beard" Bean were both coming into turn one at Mach three speeds. Bean got pushed to the top and blew a gasket, but luckily he was able to get clipped back in pretty quick. After falling all the way back to eighth, Bean came out of turn two like a rocket. Down the third straight, Bean picked up another three positions and then another one after a swoop in the final turn. Down the final straight Bean took over another two positions and was reeling in Wike, but it was too little too late. Either way, it was an impressive come back and that second place helped take his team to a bike shop team win for day number one! 

At the end of day one of the 2014 USA BMX Great Salt Lake Nationals, the sun peaked back out and the wind had subsided. The racing was top notch and it set the groundwork for another awesome day of racing tomorrow for day two of the Great Salt Lake Nationals. Be sure to check out the live audio feed at usabmx.com/webcast and also follow updates throughout the day on the USA BMX Facebook page. 

SUNDAY:

When we arrived at the track on Sunday morning, the wind from the previous day was non-existent. On top of that, there could not have been a more picturesque scene than the way Rad Canyon BMX looked as the sun peaked over the mountains and grazed the track's surface with its warm glowing rays of gold. It was almost painterly like and it was in prime condition for day two of the Salt Lake Nationals. 

Getting right into the pro main events, fans were lined all along the fences to spectate the adrenaline rush that the pro classes bring to the table. As it has been for most of the year, the one lap main events have really tightened the gap for points. Everyone knows that they only have one shot when they roll into the gate and they either make it or break it. 

For the A Pro class, it was like deja vu from day one as Jared "The Jet" Garcia once again took it wire-to-wire. And again, Jeremy Smith and Bryce Hocking tried to keep him from the top step of the podium, but fell short and finished two and three just as they did in day one. When we spoke with Garcia after the race, he informed us that he is now just shy of one thousand dollars in order to make the jump up to the Elites. I hope you are ready for it!

Vet Pro was full of fireworks once again and SE's Javier Colombo pulled off one of the best moves of the day. His long time friend and on-track rival, Cristian Becerine, had the pop and the holeshot unlike yesterday and it quickly became his race to lose as he was furthering his lead going into the third straight. At the point in time something must have clicked and Javier realized it was now or never. He started reeling in Becerine and after holding on to the outside line; he set his rival up for the perfect high-low. Colombo swooped under Becerine and shut the door behind him in order to pull of a double for the weekend and Becerine was able to grab second with Matt Pohlkamp in third. 

Elite Women was going to be a hot ticket for the day as many wondered if Haro's Brooke Crain could grab another win over GT's Shanaze Reade. Crain looked to be struggling throughout the day and it was evident once again in the main. When the gate dropped down, Reade shot out like a cannon and didn't look back. Brooke was trying to find her way past, but neither her nor Dani George could make it happen. Crain would land in second and George picked up another third.

Elite Men saw upsets once again in the semis after a handful of top guys missed the main. The bets were lying on Maris for another win from an outside lane, but Fields, Cisar and Sharrah all had something to say about that. Down the first straight it was Sharrah, Fields and Strombergs, and after a close call for the holeshot, Sharrah was walking away with $250 no matter what. Through the turn Strombergs got held high and the Elites shot under him as he shuffled to the back. Sharrah was on top and Fields was chasing him down the third straight by gapping everything he could to get the edge. Unfortunately he ran out of room and Sharrah would walk away with both the holeshot award and the win with Fields in two and Cisar in three.

One of the great lady cruiser races of the weekend was between Battle Born~GHP's Rebecca Schmidt and BOX~Promax~DK's Michelle Senger in 36-40. These two ladies were going back and forth all weekend. Switching positions was something that happened often and going into the main, it was winner take all. Senger was going for the lead when she slid out after pushing Schmidt up high in turn two. Schmidt walked away with the hard-fought win, Senger pulled out the two and Blaze Factory Team's Kimber Bay rounded out the top three. 

It is always awesome to get a win on your home track, especially when your Factory team is local as well. That is exactly what Extreme Team's Hunter Brown did in 13 cruiser. After a disappointing loss on day one, Brown came back with a vengeance and the desire to take down the other riders in his class. After things got a little tight heading into turn one, he showed his home track advantage but carving the turn just right to get a little extra boost to put him out front. After that it was all about keeping second place at bay and he was able to do that and grabbed the win in front of all his family and friends.

2014 has been the year of all out battles in the 17-20 girls class. Mainly between Rachel Mydock, Carly Dyar and Carlie Ferree, these three girls have been swapping wins all year long in hopes of reaching that NAG 1 title. Ferree was not in attendance this weekend, but that did not stop the other two from hashing it out on the track. After Dyar picked up the win on day one, Mydock was determined to get the win on day two. She pulled the inside gate in the main and once the gate dropped it was a battle to hold Dyar off and after a final attempt in the last turn by Dyar, Mydock rode away victorious. Both riders each took a win for the weekend, and it should be an interesting result when the NAG points are up dated with this race. There is no doubt one of these girls will walk away with the NAG 1 title at the end of the year.

Another move of the weekend award, at least in my book, goes out to GT's Jordan Miranda who made a textbook last turn move on Redman's Kyle Bastin in order to pull off another win for his 2014 campaign. While Bastin had command over the class during the first three straights of the 19-27x main event, GT's Jordan Miranda was on the move and ready to strike. The last turn approached and Miranda dove down like a Japanese kamikaze air fighter. It was all over after that as Bastin could not recover his momentum and had to settle for second just in front of Supercross BMX's Kalvin Davis. 

The 2014 USA BMX Great Salt Lake Nationals turned out to be one of the best in recent years. The level of competition was top-notch and the track left many riders wanting more. Luckily this stop is a staple for the USA BMX National Series and I sure hope to return next year. As I mentioned earlier, if you have never had the chance to race at Rad Canyon BMX, be sure to throw it on your list and meet us here for another great event. For now, join us next weekend in Severn, MD for the East Coast Nationals.