Putting the RAD in Colorado: Mile High Nationals

Filed under General on August 21, 2015 | Comment(s)

Driving down Hwy 50, thru the middle of Grand Junction, Colorado, passer-bys now get a great glimpse of the roadside SX starting hill, which stands out from the road like a a gold-tinged casino boasting the name Trump. It's a huge step forward from the previously hidden-in-the-back-of-the-fairgrounds Grand Valley track. Something this awesome needs to be up front and in the spotlight - and it is. 

Getting this incredible facility built and finished has been a 3-year process and is the new pride and joy of the city of Grand Junction, as well as track operators Nick and Krisit Adams. The story of Grand Valley BMX's success over the past decade is a tale of hardwork and persavearance, as they took a barely-10 riders in the town to becoming multi-time host of the Colorado State Championship finals. Plenty of fast riders have also come thru this facility - including former National No.1 Cruiser champ Reid Austin. With Colorado Mesa University just up the road a bit, and their solid collegiate cycling program, the Grand Junction SX track is bound to draw some more top cyclists to their school. Colorado's Collin Hudson is among those, and will definitely help put CMU at the top of the BMX colleges. Look out, Marian and Lindsay-Wilson!

Pulling in to the freshly paved parking lot of Grand Valley BMX, you can't helped but be mazed as you walk thru the entrance gate and take your first gander at the soil-tac'ed awesomeness. Behind the Am hill is a state of the art canopy that snakes you from behind the second turn on up to the top of the concrete hill. Once you're up at the top, you'll notice the new barrell gate - boldy emblazined by gate-sponsor Dan's Comp. Beyond that, you've got a wide-open, jump-infested "M" course that is both challenging and a blast. However, keep in mind - that this IS Colorado, and right about the 3rd straightaway, those who aren't in the best of shape (and even some who are) might begin to feel the lack of oxygen that is normal for those who live at the nearly 5,000 foot elevation mark. (Add 26 feet more to that elevation when you climb to the top of the SX hill.)  

For some riders, you could see that the difference in elevation was slowing them down at the halfway point, while others were looking strong and unbeatable all the way to the finish. If the track wasn't challenging enough, or the elevation wasn't playing enough of a factor, mother nature decided to throw in a little bit o' wind to make the Mile High's pre-race even tougher. The wind was actually half positive, as it was a hefty tailwind down the first and 3rd straightaways. 

With a lot of the U.S. Olympic hopefuls getting some hefty frequent flyer miles, it was going to be a mystery as to who and how many top Elites would make it to Grand Junction - but with the big bucks ($7,000 for men, $3,500 for women) on the line and the pro points chase being one of the closest it's been in years, we knew that the Redline power-couple and Chase twins would be present and accounted for. Right now, Joris, Connor and Sam are in a tight battle for the 2015 No.1 Pro title - and right now it's looking as if it'll come down to the Grands third main in Tulsa. 

Friday's field of Elites, as well as the amatuer Super-Open were jam packed with talent. And by the time the final eight lined up for the finals, the mains were definitely full of the fastest men, women and boys in BMX. 

WOMEN ELITE

Throughout qualifying, some of the gals were having a bit o' trouble over the first jump or monstrous first berm. Dani George, Kelsey VanOgle and Teegan O'Keefe were among those who met the surface during the motos. Earlier in the day, Brooke Crain decided to pull out of the motos due to a still-nagging injury from her recent trip to Sweeden.
To us, one of the most impressive ladies on the track was FastSigns' Ashley Verhaggen - who was spotted out front of Felicia Stancil in some rounds and was looking extremely strong. We can only guess that all of that practice at AZ-ProTrac and it's big hill were now paying off. 
Clearly though, Alise Post was going to be the one to beat - as she didn't lose a single race.  

Soon as the gate slammed down, so did Alise's feet on her two accelerator pedals. BOOM! She checked out by the first jump and didn't look back. Meanwhile, the real race was for 2nd place as Amanda Carr did her best to find a way past GT's PanAm Games god medalist - but just couldn't make anything stick.  

WOMEN ELITE 

• 1 ALISE POST, REDLINE, CA
• 2 FELICIA STANCIL, GT BICYCLES, CA
• 3 AMANDA CARR, J&R BIKES-REDLINE, FL
• 4 LAUREN REYNOLDS, SSQUARED/ANSWER, WA
• 5 KELSEY VAN OGLE, STAATS/CIARI, WA
• 6 ASHLEY VERHAGEN, FAST SIGNS, AZ
• 7 RACHEL JONES, DK BICYCLES, QLD AUSTRALIA
• TEAGAN OKEEFFE, So.AFRICA

SUPER-OPEN
Supercross owner Bill Ryan must've been stoked watching the main events on the live feed:  USABMX.com/webcast, as his Supercross dynamic duo went 1-2 in the final. Being the first time in his Factory Supercross gear, Coey Salas was doin' it with that "new sponsor psych" - which always seems to add an extra crank or two. Staats' Michael Boyle looked mighty impressive, to0 - rounding out the podium. 

SUPER-X OPEN 

• 1 BRIAN ENSEY, SUPERCROSS BMX, CA
• 2 COREY SALAS, SUPERCROSSBMX.COM, CA
• 3 MICHAEL BOYLE, STAATS/CIARI, ID
• 4 BRYANT WHITE, RIFT/TANGENT, CA
• 5 ETHAN ALVEY, KUWAHARA, UT
• 6 RYAN PUCKETT, SUPERCROSS BMX, CA
• 7 NICOLAS DETERS, SSQUARED BICYCLES, MO
• 8 PAUL MOORE, HORNBALL RACING, AZ

MEN ELITE

Ever been to an amusement park with a wooden roller coaster? If so, you know that familiar rumble of something highspeed coming at you. That is exactly what it sounds like if you happen to be standing underneath the Supercross hill when a pack of 8 pros are blasting down it. 

For the main event, we had half the gate filled with 2012 Olympians hailing from 3 countries: USA's Long and Fields, Aussie Willoughby and France's Joris Daudet. Two of those guys have their country flag sleeves - showing that they are the National Champs for their country. Joing them on top of the hill were three more Americans - Sharrah, Zula and Collins, with Antoine Dean. 

MEN ELITE

• 1 SAM WILLOUGHBY, REDLINE, CA
• 2 JORIS DAUDET, CHASE BMX, CA
• 3 CONNOR FIELDS, CHASE BMX, NV
• 4 NIC LONG, HARO, CA
• 5 CORBEN SHARRAH, HARO, AZ
• 6 THOMAS ZULA, DK BIKES, OH
• 7 LOGAN COLLINS, SPEEDCO / SINZ, TN
• 8 ANTHONY DEAN, CHASE/DHR, CA

PRO OPEN
The A-pros were stoked this time around to be able to hit the big hill, and it was Colorado's rookie - with the crowd on his side, winding up with the win. In the 2-spot, Arizona's Layne Gainer - no longer on FastSigns and doing it for himself, was lookin' fast and sharp in a Shift uniform that brought back flashbacks from the 80's (my personal favorite decade). 

PRO OPEN

• 1 WALKER FINCH, HARO/PROMAX, CO
• 2 LAYNE GAINER, GAINER PERFORMANCE CYCLE, AZ
• 3 HAYDEN FLETCHER, SSQUARED, VIC
• 4 PAUL WASSENAAR, BELLFLOWER BIKES, CA
• 5 MARTY WISEHART, FAST SIGNS, AZ
• 6 KYLER MIFFLIN, NV
• 7 CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ, UT
• 8 SETH ALLDREDGE, WY