Meet your 2020 National No.1 Champions

Filed under General on December 09, 2020 | Comment(s)

Please join USA BMX in congratulating our 2020 National No.1 Champions. After such a wild and wacky year, the BMX season was rebooted with rescheduled events and we were able to pull off The Grands in Tulsa, with an incredible turnout and even more wild 'n wacky main events that helped decide the outcome of the seven No.1 plates to riders and two No.1 Team titles. 

NATIONAL NO.1 PRO - 2020: CONNOR FIELDS

• This is Connor’s third USA BMX Pro Title - putting him in the same league as Bubba Harris, Sam Willoughby and Chase team mate Joris Daudet. With the re-scheduled Tokyo Olympic games next year, and Connor talking about retirement from racing afterwards, only time will tell whether he'll go after a fourth USA BMX No.1 title next year. 
• Fields is USA's Olympic BMX Gold medalist from the RIO Games in 2016, and has held every No.1 title there is except for UCI World Champion. He was USA BMX National No.1 Pro in 2017, then again in 2019. Now with 2020, this makes it his first back-to-back Championship. He is the eighth Pro in BMX history to win consecutive No.1 plates.
• For 2020, USA BMX used a different method than all previous Pro points-chases, as the COVID crisis forced them to cancel the regular Pro series and switched up the way the silver Cup would be decided. This time around, it was one race only with three mains, to decide the Champion for the entire year. Fields won it with a 2-1-1 in the mains; with nobody even coming close to his 4 points overall.  

NATIONAL NO.1 WOMEN PRO - 2020: ALISE WILLOUGHBY

• For 2020, due to the COVID crisis, the USA BMX Pro Series was held much differently than the previous 41 years - with a single race (The Grands) being the decider for an entire season.
• Your current (multi-time) USA Cycling National Champion, 2019 UCI BMX World Champion and 2016 Olympic Silver Medalist from RIO, knows how to get it done. 2020 was no different, as she battled it out with Supercross' Felicia Stancil for this year's National Championship. After getting 2nds in the first two mains (4 pts) - against Felicia's two wins (2 pts), Willoughby was feeling the pressure and knew what she had to do. Alise again found herself in the 2-spot going into the first turn, but came underneath Felicia with a slight rub; just enough to take over the lead and back Stancil off her pace. At the same time, former No.1 Pro Woman and Olympic Gold medalist Mariana Pajon snuck underneath to take over second place. 
• In the end, Felicia and Alise were tied with 5 points each, which menat going to the tie-breaker of best-finish in the third round.    
• This was Alise's ninth USA BMX Pro title (and seventh consecutive #1) …and 13th title all together, when you add in her four silver Cups as an Amateur. Having turned Pro at the young age of 15 (in 2006), the now 29-year-old BMX legend capped off her 15th year as a BMX pro.
  WOW - whatta career it has been ...and she's still going strong.

NATIONAL NO.1 VET PRO - 2020: TYLER BROWN

• Riding for his own team - 316 Racing, with support from DK Bicycles, this was Tyler Brown's third consecutive Vet Pro title.
• Consider it sweet redemption, after last year's controversial ending - when Tyler won the title thanks to a DQ against his closest rival - "The Mosquito," Jonathan Suarez, in the third main. The fans on boith sides were anxious to see how this year's title-bout would play out. 
• Earlier in 2020, Tyler took over a second BMX track in the San Diego area - the infamous Kearney Moto Park, and is now running that venue along with Chula Vista BMX. His title of "World's Fastest Track Operator" lives on, with this third National No.1 Vet title.  

NATIONAL NO.1 AMATEUR - 2020: COLE FREDERICK

• Cole is a 3-time World Champion, and previous NAG #1 title holder.
• Frederick is from New Ulm, Minnesota and rides for Factory Full Tilt/Radio. 
• For the season, Cole's Grands win was his 28th win of the year; out of 38 mains. 
• To win the 2020 No.1 Am title, Cole came into The Grands in the No.6 spot. His Full Tilt teammate - in the same age class, Sean Day, was sitting atop the Amateur point standings and was the favorite coming into this race. 
• In the 13x main, Cole (the "Bacon Boy") was coming out of lane 2, with Sean Day right next to his left elbow, in lane 3. Cole got a great first snap, but Day had more power in his second and third cranks and by the first jump, had moved over just a bit to shut down his Full Tilt team mate. But Cole doesn't give up that easy and was hot on the tail of El' Suave. Amazingly, Cole was able to keep things close and halfway through the third-straight rhythm section, made the decision to move over right, setting himself up to take a last-chance swoop into the final turn.
  While Sean Day opted for a wide line in to the last turn, Cole saw the door cracked open - and took his shot. It was a clean, text-book move that he'd likely been taught (over 'n over) at Burlin Harris' Supercamp. Cole made the pass and then finished it off perfectly by taking Sean's line out of the last turn. Day was charging hard and there was just enough of a "love-tap" from Cole to send him toward the white line and into the soft stuff. Day's day ended right there, as he crashed right before the last jump and Cole Frederick flew in for the win and the much-coveted 2020 National No.1 Amateur title.     
• Former No.1 Amateur (from 1986) Eric Carter, summed it up well afterwards on social media: “Watch the video and you’ll see that Cole cuts shorter lines on his turn exits and pedals in spots he shouldn’t be able to." That was an amazing race for the No.1 title ... as it always is.

NATIONAL NO.1 GIRL - 2020: MACKENZIE "SKITTLES" GAYHEART

• Known as "Skittles," MacKenzie is from Fort White, Florida, and races for Factory Full Tilt/Radio.
• In her quest for the Championship, Gayheart earned 30 Wins & five 2nds in 17-20 Girls.
• For the Grands main, the No.1 title came down to MacKenzie and her teammate Olivia Armstrong - a former 2-time No.1 Champ.
  The infamous words came from USA BMX's B.A. Anderson - "With a win and only a win, one of these two girls will become your new No.1 Champion." In fact, both Full Tilt-Radio riders were tied in points, with 2,108 pts. Armstrong was in Lane 5 and Skittles was coming out of Lane 7.  
• In their 17-20 main, MacKenzie and Olivia snapped straight to the front - along with Daylight's super-quick Canadian, Molly Simpson. Armstrong came out of turn one with a sollid lead and MacKenzie was closing in tight in third place. But using her superior jumping skills, Gayheart passed Simpson over the first obstacle down the second straight. With a sweet inside line, Skittle and her colorful carbon Radio jumped the next doubles and closed Armstrong's lead even more. With the speed and perfect line, MacKenzie dove in underneath Olivia to take over the lead in the Tulsa turn. 
  After that move, there was no catchin' Skitttles as she blasted through the rhythm on the way to her first-ever National No.1 Girl title. 

NATIONAL NO.1 CRUISER - 2020: ROWDY HOLZER

• This was Rowdy's second consecutive National No.1 Cruiser title - and his first on Factory Profile.
• Holzer hails from Newcastle, California  - and has that legendary NOR CAL pull! 
  Back home, Rowdy trains on his backyard track with No.1 Amateur contender Nic Adams. He also rips it up on a mountain bike. 
• Throughout the crazy Covid season, Rowdy won 40 (yes ... FORTY!) Cruiser mains ...out of 44 tries! (All 44 mains were podium finishes, btw).
• Rowdy becomes only the third guy in BMX history to get back-to-back Cruiser Cups!
  …joining In Hee Lee ('91/'92) and Beltbuckle Barry Nilson ('96, '97 and '98', '99) in the BMX Record books.

NATIONAL NO.1 GIRL CRUISER - 2020: LANDON BURIAN

• Hailing from Bozeman, Landon Burian is the first racer from Montana to earn a National No.1 title. 
• Riding for Alpha, Landon had an amazing 2020 season - scoring 18 Wins w/ seven 2nds & seven 3rds.
• Burian capped off the Championship by winning the 10 & Under girls cruiser main, which was loaded with potential title contenders.   

NATIONAL NO.1 BIKE SHOP TEAM - 2020: J&R BICYCLES

• With this 2020 Championship, J&R Bicycles set yet another record in the Bike Shop category, winning their ninth silver cup (third in a row). Their big win this year was highlighted by Hayden Passanisi winning 10 cruiser and secured for good by Colombian Gonzalo Rengel after his upset win in 17-20x (the largest class of the weekend). 
• It's been said before, and we'll say it again - TM Scott Angus knows how to put together a SOLID team roster; and continues to do it time and time again with new rider pick-ups each year. 
• 2020 was J&R's 30 Year Anniversary - and this 9th No.1 Championship meant a LOT to J&R owner Kirk Morrison. 

NATIONAL NO.1 FACTORY TEAM - 2020: FULL TILT-RADIO

• To say that the Full Tilt-Radio team was on fire at the 2020 Grands would be an understatement. Not only did they score the No.1 Factory title for a third year in a row, but their riders Cole Frederick and MacKenzie Gayheart both carted home National No.1 Amateur titles in the boys and girls divisions. Even more crazy, is that Bacon Boy and Skittles both took those No.1 plates by passing one of their team mates for the win and title. 
• Once Expert mains rolled around, Full Tilt-Radio went on a hot-streak that hasn't been witnessed since the days of Factory GT back in the 90's. Full Tilt riders win 13X (w/ Cole), 15x (w/ Josh Trerise) and 16X (w/ Brody Cole). 
• It was rumored that Full Tilt-Radio had such a strong points lead coming into The Grands, that all TM Jim Buchanan needed was to have one of his riders on the sheet make a main event.