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Recap: 2014 Berlin SX

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First straight at the 2014 UCI BMX SX - Berlin

By Reed Hamilton – Mother Nature continued to punish the 2014 BMX World Cup circuit as rain hampered Round three racing action, hosted by Berlin’s Mellowpark on June 13 & 14. Round two in Papendal saw steady and sometimes torrential rain, but miraculously that event proceeded with great racing action. Berlin was a bit different in that there were periods of sunshine between storms, but the result was the same as Papendal – fantastic elite bmx racing action.

This was definitely not Red Bull R.evolution 3.0. GSX Events put on two hyper-polished specialty events for the Austrian marketing juggernaut at this same venue in 2012 and 2013 (photo below of 2013 event). Instead, the local Mellowpark promoters took their self-styled #punkbmx hashtag seriously and created a race event that felt more like a dirt jump/trails jam. To be fair, both Red Bull events had multi-million dollar budgets driving all the production values (it’s always better under the lights, which were rumored to cost $50,000 when they did it in Chula years ago). Obviously, it’s considerably easier to put on a mega show with Red Bull’s checkbook powering the festivities.

2013 Red Bull Revolution
Still, basic staples for a spectator event, like grandstands for the fans to sit in, were MIA at the World Cup event. Fans had to make-do with standing on the track perimeter. However, the VIP section did have its own beer garden, keeping guests plied with Pilsner Urquell, and offering a 360 degree view of the race action.

With the unique track layout in Berlin, the UCI BMX SX circuit now requires athletes to master a variety of track styles in order to earn the World Cup Champion title. Mellowpark breaks new ground by incorporating three different sectors.

Sector one was the all-wood first straight that is raw power with the option of manualing the second obstacle.

Sector two was a typical second straight with a step-up and two double jumps—albeit a massive set that also used wood as the launch lips. The first, dubbed the “Berlin Wall” was reminiscent of a 3/4-scale 1980s quarterpipe. Women’s Sector two was the former Red Bull “flow line” and was much tamer than the men’s side.

Sector three was the wild card, with numerous super-tight S-turns and a 90-degree turn going under the first straight to reach the last straight. The turns in zone three were paver stone, and the minor elevation changes between bricks could easily unweight a tire or two at-speed–moreso when damp.

That third sector took a lot of the riders out of their comfort zone and was decidedly unrollable if you bonked or cased a jump. Precision is required at every SX venue, but even more so at Mellowpark with the variety of terrain. A perfect lap required a full bag of all BMX skills.

As always, the start was critical, but the second sector was easily overjumped if you could not control your speed out of turn one. It was going to be interesting to see what type of race action this track would provide once Saturday’s “big show” began. Would it be single-file after the first turn, or would there be battles all the way to the finish?

Friday, June 13 – Qualifying Heats & Time Trial SuperFinals

The new format on qualifying day has brought racing action to what used to be a day filled only with the solo laps of time trials. We now see some rookie SX racers occasionally rolling into the gate next to Olympic heroes Maris Stromberg (LAT) and Mariana Pajon (COL), which happened at Mellowpark. That’s either going to inspire, or intimidate the heck out of them. And although this might not create the most exciting racing action, it’s an experience those rookies will remember for some time, if not the rest of their life—doubly so if they happen to get in front of one of the household names one trip.

For those federations that are not BMX powerhouses, qualifying their riders to Saturday’s main event (top 64 men, top 32 women) is the goal. Do that consistently and come Olympic time, they could have earned enough points to send athletes to Rio. But for the powerhouse federations, qualifying is a must, and those riders that don’t show podium potential may soon find themselves off their nation’s funded team (though some federations stick by a “chosen few” method, which is not as fluid in terms of the funded roster).

Even though the weather forecast for Berlin was partly cloudy through the weekend, a rogue rain shower popped up after the first round of qualifying. But unlike Papendal, the sun came back out and racing resumed after an hour-and-a-half delay. BMXLive.tv commentators Pete Dylewski and Donny Robinson filled the downtime on the webcast with a fascinating and extensive discussion of sprockets (with a heaping-helping of inside-joke humor). This duo is really starting to gel and Donny is giving Pete the support he needs in the booth. They keep it loose at times, but give fans great insight into the racing action when it counts. And Donny speaks his mind, with quotes like “this is the progression of SX, like it or not,” and “the spectators can’t see anything without grandstands.”

Stand-outs in Friday’s qualification round of Elite Men, were Maris Strombergs, Bodi Turner (AUS), and Nic Long (USA). The lone standout in Elite Women was Lauren Reynolds (AUS). All had perfect scores (three wins) in their heat races. Colombian sensation Mariana Pajon would have joined this group if not for a clip-out on the first straight in her second run.

Edzus Treimanis and Caroline Buchanan win time trials at at the 2014 UCI BMX SX - Berlin
Friday’s SuperFinal time trials brought redemption for the men’s winner. After the debacle in Papendal where he was DQ’ed for not running a transponder, Edzus Treimanis (LAT) laid down the day’s only 37-second lap, and he did it from an early starting spot. The other men seemed baffled by the track and could only get within a half second of the Latvian. He sat in the hot seat for most of the time trial and took the win.

For the women, Caroline Buchanan was even more dominant. As points leader, she went last in the order and destroyed the second place time of Felicia Stancil by a full second. Another SuperFinal TT win for CB68.

Saturday, June 14 – The “Big Show”

Racing action started off with sunshine, and the round of motos were completed without any weather issues.

Edzus Treimanis, Maris Strombergs, Nic Long, and Twan van Gendt (NED) were standouts in Saturday’s men’s motos. Fast lap in the motos was van Gendt (actually beating Treimanis’ winning SuperFinal TT time by .01).

Caroline, Felicia Stancil, Mariana Pajon, and Stefany Hernandez (VEN) were standouts in the women’s motos. Fast lap was Buchanan, but Pajon had a slight edge in average lap times.

Fans weather the Saturday Rain Delay at the 2014 UCI BMX SX - Berlin
Shortly after the motos were completed, the skies opened up and everything ground to a halt as fans and competitors alike scrambled for cover. There was some talk of starting the single-elimination rounds during the rain, ala Papendal. But apparently the weather radar showed the storm clearing out and creating a window to complete the race in the dry. So after a 2 hour delay racing resumed and the crowds returned, ready for more racing action from the the best bmx racers on the planet!

During the rain delay, Vincent Pelluard (FRA) bluntly expressed his displeasure at the unique track features in Berlin (likely getting a silent “yeah, what HE said” by some of the other athletes). Speaking to bmxlive.tv interviewer “Annalise,” stating that he prefers a traditional track design and that the track was too tight for eight riders.

That’s a valid opinion. As a fan, it’s different watching the technical skills on a unique track like Mellowpark versus the raw horsepower that the riders often exhibit on a typical M-shaped layout SX track. But diversity is good, and even if there wasn’t a lot of passing after turn one in the qualifying heats or motos, it was great to watch the technique the riders were throwing down. And Pelluard can look forward to the next stop on the circuit, a traditional SX track in Santiago del Estero, Argentina.

On to the “knockout” rounds!

Men’s Quarter 1 – U.S. teammates Corben Sharrah and Jared Garcia went one-two, Renato Rezende (BRA) took third, and SuperFinal winner Edzus Treimanis locked down the final transfer spot with a two-rider pass on the outside of the 180 pavestone berm. SX points leader Liam Phillips (GBR) was bumped by Garcia at the bottom of the start ramp, got squirrelly, and did not recover, finishing fifth. That was obviously a major upset, with many more to come, as it turned out.

Men’s Quarter 2 – Maris selected gate 8, and blazed a trail to the win. He does that all the time, of course, but on this track it was an extra loud statement. Maris was followed in by Joris Daudet (FRA), Bodi Turner (AUS), and Raymon van der Biezen (NED). Anthony Dean was in second place until he unclipped, did a one-footer over the S-jump, recovered, but then later went OTB in a spectacular crash just before the tunnel.

Men’s Quarter 3 – Japanese phenom Yoshitaku Nagasako was in a second place transfer position when he decided to do a kamikaze dive on leader Nic Long in the 180 pavestone turn. Both of them went down – a tough break for Quick Nic, who had been putting in solid laps all weekend. And a lesson learned for the rising star from the land of the rising sun – hold your qualifying position, only use the dive bomb to pass into a qualifying position.

Just behind Long and Nagasako, Cameron was making a similar move on Fields a little bit higher in the same turn, so it was a cluster bomb wipeout that took out the top four. After that, it looked like a cyclocross race, as riders were carrying their bikes, struggling to remount, and going through a mudhole that formed between two jumps. The best CX riders were Kyle Evans (GBR), Trent Jones (NZL), Alfredo Campo (ECU), and Ramiro Marino (ARG), in that order, and those four transferred to the semis.

Prior to the gate dropping in this quarter final, the stars had aligned for Fields when the top two in the SX overall standings, Liam Phillips and Anthony Dean (AUS), were eliminated. It would have been a tough task though, as he had gotten sick on Tuesday, lost 12 pounds, and not eaten for 4 days. What a warrior to still be out there under those circumstances.

Men’s Quarter 4 – Twan van Gendt put in another solid lap, followed by Sylvain Andre (FRA), who overtook Marc Willers (NZL) who settled for third. And they don’t call him the Little Magician for nothing – Carlos Ramirez (COL) pulled a rabbit out of the helmet by maneuvering through traffic for the fourth and final transfer spot.

Women’s Semi 1 – Caroline Buchanan took the holeshot and did not relinquish it. Stefany Hernandez rode smart and was runner-up. Manon Valentino (FRA) made a move on Melinda McLeod (AUS) to capture third – McLeod took the final transfer spot. Caroline took a tight inside line under the bridge during this race – more about this later..

Women’s Semi 2 – Mariana Pajon battled Laura Smulders (NED) down the first straight, but Pajon edged ahead and they went 1-2. Felicia Stancil and Sarah Walker (NZL) bumped into each other while approaching turn one. Stancil recovered and took third, but Walker careened into Brooke Crain (USA) and they both crashed. This cleared a path for Simone Christensen (DEN), who took the fourth.

Corben Sharrah  at the 2014 UCI BMX SX - Berlin
Men’s Semi 1 – Duking it out for the first 2 sectors of the track, Twan van Gendt (NED) eventually pulled ahead of Joris Daudet (FRA) in sector 3, followed by Corben Sharrah (USA) and Renato Rezende (BRA) over the finish line. Trent Jones (NZL) had a gnarly OTB after launching over the first jump. But he did a long slide when he landed on the wooden deck and seemed to be OK.

Men’s Semi 2 – A rare “boat ride” in this race. The term refers to a race where half the contestants crash out and the other half can cruise to the finish line as guaranteed transfers. Maris was captain of the boat, his first mate was Jared Garcia (USA), joined by Kyle Evans and Alfredo Campo (ECU). Causing the boat to set sail for the semi-final were Bodi Turner ,Carlos Ramirez, who ran out of magic tricks, and Edzus Treimanis (LAT) – all three got sideways over the first jump and crashed into each other. Meanwhile, Sylvain Andre thought he was at the first Red Bull R.evolution race and did a one-footer (unclipped?) over the second jump, finishing 7th.

On to the Finals!

Caroline Buchanan wins at the 2014 UCI BMX SX - Berlin
In the Women’s final, Mariana took the lead into the first turn, with Caroline stalking her. Stefany Hernandez settled into third, and Manon Valentino in 4th. Webcast commentator Donny Robinson is urging-on Buchanan, saying that she would not be satisfied with second place. dR had earlier made note of the wide amount of space in the last turn.

Right on cue, and after testing the inside move in her semi, Buchanan dove low in the last turn under the bridge. It seemed to catch Pajon off guard, but it was too late to respond as Buchanan powered-by for the win and a tearful post-race interview. It was kind of a bummer that we did not see a detailed replay of the winning move, as the camera-cuts occurred between the tunnel and last straight long-view just as the move was happening.

This could be the start of a great rivalry – hopefully to be continued next month in Rotterdam at the Worlds. Valentino also made a late move to overtake Stefany Hernandez for the final podium spot.

Maris Strombergs of Free Agent wins the 2014 UCI BMX SX - Berlin
In the last race of the weekend, Maris powered from gate 6, and would not be challenged. This was not only his fastest lap of the weekend, but the fastest lap of any rider. He would not be denied this win! Incredible determination from someone who hasn’t been on the circuit much lately. “It’s about proving to myself that I can still do it on the SX circuit,” he said in his post race interview. Welcome back, Maris!

BMX News 2014 race coverage sponsored by Dan’s Comp

BMX News Race Coverage is Sponsored by Dan's Comp

Full Disclosure: The above photos are not from the actual main event, but pretend they are; they were the only ones available at “press” time.

Podium finishers  at the 2014 UCI BMX SX - Berlin
Twan van Gendt put in another solid performance and now back-to-back second place World Cup finishes. Joris Daudet rode smart all day and rounded out the podium.

Going into Berlin, the women’s overall World Cup standings were very tight. But with Buchanan’s win, she has now distanced herself from the field.

On the men’s side, however, things have tightened up considerably – Liam Phillips keeps the leader’s red plate, but only 60 points separate the top four men. The big mover was Twan van Gendt – can he become the 2nd Dutchman to win the World Cup championship? The first was Robert de Wilde, featured on the bmxlive.tv webcast in some archival footage from the first ever World Cup in 2003.

santiago del estero bmx sx track
Now the SX circuit takes it’s summer break before resuming in Argentina in September. The World Cup will return to a more traditional track layout in Santiago del Estero (above). Will the punk influence from Berlin creep into some future track designs? Most of the riders seemed to enjoy the layout. Do World Cup tracks have to be “M” shaped? Something for us all to ponder during the break as riders prepare for Rotterdam.

Most photos by Craig Dutton for UCI BMX/GSX Events, except the Saturday podium shot and The Santiago del Estero track shot, which we pinched as a screen shot from the webcast, and off Google Images, respectively.

2014 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup: Berlin – Finishes

Elite Women
Caroline Buchanan (AUS)
Mariana Pajon (COL)
Manon Valentino (FRA)
Stefany Hernandez (VEN)
Laura Smulders (NED)
Melinda McLeod (AUS)
Felicia Stancil (USA)
Simone Christensen (DEN)

Elite Men
Maris Strombergs (LAT)
Twan van Gendt (NED)
Joris Daudet (FRA)
Corben Sharrah (USA)
Renato Rezende (USA)
Kyle Evans (GBR)
Jared Garcia (USA)
Alfredo Campo (ECU)

Links

Full Results on bmx-results.com

The post Recap: 2014 Berlin SX appeared first on BMX Racing News at BMXNEWS.COM.


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