Chilly Temps, Hot Racing at the 2022 Blue Ridge Nationals

Filed under General on February 01, 2022 | Comment(s)

    As Snow-MAGGEDON covered the northeast with a blanket of fresh powder, Western Virginia's only hope to melt away the snowdrifts the hot BMX action ripping through the Lexington Horse Center. With 800 feet of indoor track to work with, racers wasted no time getting their legs warm and their lines dialed.

The Battles To Rewatch

   The premier classes are on everyone's minds (13 through 17-20 Men and Women). However, with every class bringing killer laps, we want to highlight the main events that brought next-level racing to Lexington, VA.

  If you've watched any of the racing that has hit the national series the season, you've heard the names Remy Sessa, Eden Ireland, and Isabella Smith of the 6 Expert Girls class. All weekend long, the three BMX best friends were battling on the track, often finding themselves filling up the podium together, with Remy Sessa taking the clean sweep and a triple-double in class and mixed open!

6 GIRLS EXPERT TOTAL RIDERS = 9 GROUPS = 2

• 1REMY (THE ROCKSTAR) SESSA, FULL TILT/RADIO, RICHLAND HILLS, TX
• 2EDEN (ROO ROO) IRELAND, FACTORY ANSWER, HENDERSON, NV
• 3ISABELLA (ISA) SMITH, IMPACT BMX RACING, HENDERSON, NV
• 4AMELIA (SPEED RACER) WILLIN, SSQUARED, MOM AND DAD, BETHEL, DE
• 5BRENNA WINDOWS, CAMERON MILLS, NY
• 6AVANNA GEORGE, PRESTO GEORGE RACING, WINSTON SALEM, NC
• 7EVELYN NEARPASS, FARMER CYCLES, FORT MILL, SC
• 8ZOEY SNYDER, SENT IT!, DUMFRIES, VA

The great racing didn't stop there in the #GirlsClub! The Lexington Horse Center saw battles that had the crowd on the edge of their seats in 13-14 Girls Cruiser and 15-16 Expert Girls! In the 24" battles, it was the Alden vs. Neiderberger showdown. With Double-A, Alexis Alden being the racer to beat in the class, Factory Answer rider, Kylee Niederberger, came in with her speed and skill, looking for her name to ring throughout the arena! The two racers put on a show right off the jump, battling bar to bar down the first straight on all three days, with inside gates and defensive riding setting the stage for a Sunday tie-breaking race. With a strong run out of the first turn, Niederberger took an unfortunate dirt sample in turn two, leading Alden to take home the Sunday win. Understandably disappointed in her Sunday finish, the Answer BMX rider should hold her head high as she made a statement and put eyes on the class for future Nationals to come!

  The Nationals Title Winner's class is always challenging to excel in, and with 15-16 Expert Girls, one of the most heated classes in BMX racing, Ava Corley, Chloe Kappen, and Rylee France put on a show for all to watch!

  The action started early Friday when National No. 1, Ava Corley, went down in motos, hurting her finger and limiting her snap out of the gate for the rest of the weekend. So when Friday mains hit the track, Chloe Kappen snapped out of the gate and took control to the third turn, where Corley pushed to make her move—ultimately taking them both to the dirt, which opened the door for Clayborn/Answer racer Rylee France, to take the win. Ava got her redemption, though, both Saturday and Sunday wins went to "Ricky Bobby" (Corley's new nickname) with a similar move, in turn, three on Sunday, but she makes it under Kappen clean taking 2/3 wins on the weekend.

15-16 GIRLS EXPERT TOTAL RIDERS = 13 GROUPS = 2

• 1AVA (RICKY BOBBY) CORLEY, BMX SHARKS, LA MIRADA, CA
• 2CHLOE KAPPEN, FACTORY ANSWER, PHOENIXVILLE, PA
• 3RYLEE FRANCE, CLAYBORN/ANSWER, BAKERSFIELD, CA
• 4ISABELLA NELSON, J & R BICYCLES/SPEEDCO/AVIAN, SUFFIELD, CT
• 5PEYTON PULASKI, FACTORY ZERONINE, MERIDEN, CT
• 6ISABELLA ZITELLI, SPIN TECH RACING, WELLINGTON, FL
• 7AUBREY (BIG SIS) DOUGLASS, SSQUARED, POWDER SPRINGS, GA
• 8SAGAN (BOP) WILSON, INDIAN CYCLE AND FITNESS, FLORENCE, MS

•• MORE COMING SOON ••