The Return to Oldsmar

Filed under General on October 12, 2022 | Comment(s)

The eager return to Oldsmar, FL, graced the BMX Community this past weekend with a racing weekend for the ages! As the final Big Hill stop on the 2022 USA BMX Pro Series, the weekend saw title contenders and international travelers fight for the late-season podiums.

With new starting hills standing tall and proud in Oldsmar Sports Complex, racers of all ages and proficiencies charged down the hills toward some of the final scores for the 2022 season. While everyone was excited to race, the top of the 8-meter had a special kind of buzz as practice came on Friday.

Gate after gate, we saw heavy hitters charge through the track. Series regulars like Mclean, Sharrah, Willoughby, Bucardo, Wood, Ridenour, and Stancil were met by a fierce foreign contingency with Smulders, Kimman, Turner, Nakai, Kennedy, and Bearman loading into the big hill. With race legs warmed up and the track dialed in, National racing was officially #BackOnTrack in Oldsmar!

The Ladies take on Oldsmar

The women at the top of BMX continued to impress throughout the years, and the Gator Nationals racing was proof of that! With a big gapped first jump, the ladies of BMX were boosting into the backside down the straightaway, utilizing every inch of pedal room around the track. From the first round on, the front runners showed their skills as Smulders, Willoughby, Stancil, and Simpson became frequent leaders in the class. Returning to the series and delivering an incredible amount of force was our New Zealand friend, Leila Walker, who put the kiwi colors in the mix, locking in a 5th place finish in both main events.

The weekend talk, however, was about The Beast, Alise Willoughby. Coming into the weekend after a crash on the final day of Bogota, Willoughby showed true grit while leading laps and staying in the mix during races. Come Friday's main, Willoughby was charging on the inside, prepping to jump into the first turn, the line she had done all day. With a sharp lip at the beginning of the step table, Willoughby was pitched forward, ending her race day in turn one. BMX fans were concerned that meant the end of her weekend, but we know The Beast better than that. Willoughby came out swinging on day two, taking her GW ride to the middle step of the podium.

WOMEN PRO TOTAL RIDERS = 13 | Friday

• 1LAURA SMULDERS, WIJCHEN
• 2FELICIA STANCIL, FACTORY SSQUARED, PALM HARBOR, FL
• 3MOLLY SIMPSON, DAYLIGHT, RED DEER, AB
• 4PAYTON RIDENOUR, MONGOOSE BICYCLES, POTTSTOWN, PA
• 5LEILA WALKER, CAMBRIDGE
• 6MCKENZIE GAYHEART, FULL TILT/RADIO, FORT WHITE, FL
• 7KANAMI TANNO, YOKOHAMA
• 8ALISE WILLOUGHBY, PROMAX/GW/TLD/TOYOTA/IRC, CHULA VISTA, CA

WOMEN PRO TOTAL RIDERS = 10 | Saturday

• 1LAURA SMULDERS, WIJCHEN
• 2ALISE WILLOUGHBY, PROMAX/GW/TLD/TOYOTA/IRC, CHULA VISTA, CA
• 3FELICIA STANCIL, FACTORY SSQUARED, PALM HARBOR, FL
• 4MOLLY SIMPSON, DAYLIGHT, RED DEER, AB
• 5LEILA WALKER, CAMBRIDGE
• 6CARLY KANE, DK BICYCLES, GUILFORD, IN
• 7MCKENZIE GAYHEART, FULL TILT/RADIO, FORT WHITE, FL
• 8PAYTON RIDENOUR, MONGOOSE BICYCLES, POTTSTOWN, PA

 42 to the final 8: Men Pro

Fresh off his back-to-back world cup wins, Joris Daudet looked to keep the fast laps rolling and show the youngins his veteran speed around the track. However, his fellow Bogota winners, Izaac Kennedy and Cam Wood looked to grab some series points of their own. Like the Women, the front runners popped off fast laps to make their presence known to the rest of the class.

Friday's main event winner, Izaac Kennedy, resembled Mr. Consistant with winning lap after winning lap. With Kennedy's speed on display in the main, his skill in the semi put him as the favorite coming from the back of the pack over the first jump to second place out of turn one, Kennedy reeled in Mr. Tucson to qualify into the A-main on top. By locking in a win on Friday and a close second place on Saturday, the Avian/SpeedCo racer looks like a late-season title favorite with his fellow Aussie, Josh Mclean.

A special shoutout goes out to Mongoose's Asuma Nakai and Haro's Anthony Bucardo, who came out swinging over the weekend. Nakai laid down bike awareness clinics throughout turn two, which later put him in the main on Friday, but an early-round crash on Saturday ended his weekend early. Plagued by injuries the past couple of years, Yung Shibby is looking to have found his stride while making it into Saturday and Sunday's main events.

MEN PRO TOTAL RIDERS = 42 | Friday

• 1IZAAC KENNEDY, SPEEDCO / AVIAN, BRISBANE, QLD
• 2KAMREN LARSEN, HARO BIKES, BAKERSFIELD, CA
• 3NIEK KIMMANN, MEYBO, BOX, TLD, HETEREN
• 4CAMERON WOOD, MONGOOSE BICYCLES, PEORIA, AZ
• 5JORIS DAUDET, CHASE / BRGSTORE.COM, CORONA, CA
• 6CORBEN SHARRAH, DAYLIGHT, TUCSON, AZ
• 7ASUMA (ASUMAX) NAKAI, MONGOOSE/XLARGE, NIGATA
• 8JACK DAVIS, FACTORY SSQUARED, TAMWORTH, NSW

MEN PRO TOTAL RIDERS = 42  | Saturday

• 1JORIS DAUDET, CHASE / BRGSTORE.COM, CORONA, CA
• 2IZAAC KENNEDY, SPEEDCO / AVIAN, BRISBANE, QLD
• 3CORBEN SHARRAH, DAYLIGHT, TUCSON, AZ
• 4NIEK KIMMANN, MEYBO, BOX, TLD, HETEREN
• 5JOSEPH LETO, STAYSTRONG/ROUTE, RAPID CITY, MI
• 6JUSTIN KIMMANN, HETEREN
• 7RICO BEARMAN, SPEEDCO / AVIAN, AUCKLAND
• 8ANTHONY BUCARDO, HARO BIKES, CORONA, CA

Vet Pro Brings the Show

The Most entertaining class to watch added a little spice to the weekend with the addition of Olympian Twan Van Gendt joining the ranks to get his racing fix after announcing his retirement post-Papendal World Championships in 2021. While he still looked in perfect race form, the Alabama Slamma made his presence known. Between Nobles, Upshaw, Marin, and Friday Vet Van Gendt, the Vet battles were as entertaining as ever! 

VET PRO TOTAL RIDERS = 10 | Friday

• 1BARRY (BAMA SLAMMA) NOBLES, CHASE / MERCEDES / FLY, STERRETT, AL
• 2TWAN VAN GENDT, VELDDRIEL
• 3JEFFERY UPSHAW, DRIVEN CYCLING ACADEMY, NAMPA, ID
• 4JUAN MARIN, PLANT CITY, FL
• 5EMILIO FALLA, BOMBSHELL, MURRIETA, CA
• 6JACOB (PUMPKINHEAD) PEEBLES, JET/REMIX/SSQUARED/DANS, ROCKLIN, CA
• 7LEANDRO (PIRII) DA SILVA, PROPHECY BIKES, ORLANDO, FL
• 8ANDRIETI LUCIANO, GASPAR, SP

VET PRO TOTAL RIDERS = 10 | Saturday

• 1BARRY (BAMA SLAMMA) NOBLES, CHASE / MERCEDES / FLY, STERRETT, AL
• 2JEFFERY UPSHAW, DRIVEN CYCLING ACADEMY, NAMPA, ID
• 3EMILIO FALLA, BOMBSHELL, MURRIETA, CA
• 4JUAN MARIN, PLANT CITY, FL
• 5LEANDRO (PIRII) DA SILVA, PROPHECY BIKES, ORLANDO, FL
• 6JACOB (PUMPKINHEAD) PEEBLES, JET/REMIX/SSQUARED/DANS, ROCKLIN, CA
• 7K J (KAYYYY JAYYYYYYY) ROMERO, FACTORY SUPERCROSS BMX, ROCK HILL, SC
• 8ANDRIETI LUCIANO, GASPAR, SP

BEST BATTLE OF THE WEEKEND

Two words. SUPERX WOMEN. The future of the Women's Pro class is in good hands with Manuela Munoz Velez and the Aussies Teya Rufus and Bella May! These three went to war every lap. Whether it was down the first straight, in each turn, or the final stretch at the line, the SuperX ladies put on a show that we couldn't keep our eyes off. 

SUPERX WOMEN TOTAL RIDERS = 5 | Friday

• 1MANUELA MUNOZ VELEZ, BOMBSHELL, CUTLER BAY, FL
• 2BELLA (BIKER) MAY, AUSCYCLING, OLDSMAR, FL
• 3TEYA (THE ROCKET) RUFUS, AUSCYCLING, TINANA, QLD
• 4KEIRA MURPHY, NANAIMO, BC
• 5MARIANTONIA URREGO, MIAMI, FL

 SUPERX WOMEN TOTAL RIDERS = 4 | Saturday

• 1TEYA (THE ROCKET) RUFUS, AUSCYCLING, TINANA, QLD
• 2BELLA (BIKER) MAY, AUSCYCLING, OLDSMAR, FL
• 3MANUELA MUNOZ VELEZ, BOMBSHELL, CUTLER BAY, FL
• 4MARIANTONIA URREGO, MIAMI, FL

The Newcomers in SuperX Men

From the Training sessions led by Twan Van Gendt and Sam Willougby, the New Zealand, Netherlands, and Australian colors were lighting up the track, battling with some of the best that have dominated SuperX Men. Under the watch of Van Gendt, Jason Noordam came into the weekend an unknown on US soil but left with racers and USA BMX National staff knowing his name. The Kiwi, Jake Greenough, traveled with Noordam and gave us rhythm section speed, textbook passes, and all-out sprints to the line. Between Noordam and Greenough, the gates filled with talent as Willoughby pupils Jordan Callum and Joel Marsh loaded in beside them to lock on Saturday's top 4.

SUPERX MEN TOTAL RIDERS = 63 | Friday

• 1JACK GREENOUGH, CAMBRIDGE
• 2JORDAN (THE WOLF) CALLUM, AUSCYCLING, PLAINFIELD, IN
• 3JASON NOORDAM, PALM HARBOR, FL
• 4SEAN DAY, FULL TILT/RADIO, TACOMA, WA
• 5JAMES CUTTER WILLIAMS, FACTORY RIFT TANGENT, POTOMAC FALLS, VA
• 6ETHAN POPOVICH, DK/DUO, VALPARAISO, IN
• 7JOEL (THE MARTIAN) MARSH, AUSCYCLING, CHANDLERS HILL, SA
• 8THOMAS MATURANO, ALPHA FACTORY, HOUSTON, TX

SUPERX MEN TOTAL RIDERS = 38 | Saturday

• 1JASON NOORDAM, PALM HARBOR, FL
• 2JACK GREENOUGH, CAMBRIDGE
• 3JOEL (THE MARTIAN) MARSH, AUSCYCLING, CHANDLERS HILL, SA
• 4JORDAN (THE WOLF) CALLUM, AUSCYCLING, PLAINFIELD, IN
• 5RONNIE (THE ASSASSIN) KIM, AL’S BMX, CORONA, CA
• 6RYOTA NAKABAYASHI, TOTA
• 7SANTIAGO BARRERO, BOGOTA
• 8THOMAS TUCKER, FULL TILT/RADIO, WARNER, QLD