Election Night proved to be an exciting one in Henderson, Nevada--but not for the reason you might think. As the final ballots were being cast in America, Free Agent Bicycles announced another formidable addition to their "Dream Team" which, just last week, added Olympic Gold medalist Maris Strombergs to its ranks. Connor "Conman" Fields, the supreme commander of the 16 Expert class will don the big "FA," come January. Connor scored USAC and NBL number one honors so far this year, and that appears to be just for openers, as he is also leading in the ABA NAG points.
In a press release, Free Agent Team Manager (and "Dream Team" member in his own right) Dale Holmes said “Connor is already ahead of his time with his skill, speed and maturity for such a young age. When Connor is out on the track even the World's best Pros stop and watch, keeping a close eye on where the competition could come from in the next few years.”
The release also stated that "Fields will focus on both the ABA and NBL National series, alongside the UCI North American Continental series and the World Championships in Australia," so, more or less, world domination is the plan for 2009.
Connor will ease into the UCI World Cup over the next few years with the 2010 Junior Olympics in his sights, and then laser-lock focus on the London Summer Games in 2012.
Look for the Conman to be sporting his new threads and piloting the FA hardware at the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, January 9-11, 2009. BMX News will be there to get the first photos of Connor, Stumpy and all the other Uniform-swappers.
A quick flash of the micro display on a point-n-shoot digital camera in the final moments of the ABA Grands foreshadowed some big news from the North. And after holding tongue for just about a month, hoping not to slip with some kind of major state secret, today, I can report that Alise Post will be suited up in the Red White and Black of Redline, effective immediately (which means Reno).
Aside from gathering titles and accolades on the BMX track for nearly a decade, Alise manages ace performances in track and field, gymnastics and in the classroom, where she's 4.0 student in the midst of her senior year of high school. Her first national gate on a ProLine will be at the ABA Silver Dollar Nats in Reno, January 9-11. Be sure to give her and new teammates Denzel Stein and Jason Carne$ a big BMX News "congrats" when you see 'em there.
We're talking about all the new 09 rides in the forum, so come on over.
Merry Christmas from BMX News!
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
From the nostalgia file: Can anyone name Who...Where...When...and what this image was used for? Log your guesses here and the person who has all the right answers will win a $50 gift box.
Update! Here are the answers:
Who: Mike Carruth
Where: Orange Y BMX
When: August 1986
What: Subscription Ad for BMX Plus!, Appearing in the December 1986 Issue
Thanks to those of you who said that the rider was Richie Anderson. Also, props to those of you who came close.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas!
"Young Guns" a Hit in the Hoosier State
Monday, 15 December 2008
By Brad Cloutier
The 2008 Midwest Young Guns Shootout is in the books and it was far better than we had dreamed. In planning the race, we thought "maybe 30 or 40 riders." Well, surprise! Tallying up the riders after registration, we had 19 in the girls class, 27 in the 11-13 boys class and 32 in the 10 and under boys class. That gave us quarters in both boys classes and semis all around—78 riders in all!
Mike Carruth of BMXNow.com, BMXNews and Vintage was in the house taking pics , and kicked in a ton of shirts and stickers for the giveaways. The special raffle for Young Guns participants had some amazing prizes, including two Intense frames, Decal Works t-shirts, gift cards, and a free enrollment in the ABA Winter Supercamp (coming to Steel Wheels on January 17 and 18), compliments of Burlin Harris. All winners were given a beautiful plaque, a commemorative number plate from RaceFace Plates, and a $75 gift card. Second place received a $50 gift card. Third place finishers won a $25 gift card. All main makers received a commemorative medallion and a gift pack from the fine folks at Decal Works.
Have you ever watched one of those shows on the Discovery Channel about what would happen if a meteor hit the Earth, wiping out civilization as we know it? Suppose you got confirmation today that it was, in fact, happening. What would you do?
Well, yesterday, a thread was posted on VintageBMX saying “[I] took the kids to the track last night and the scuttle butt was that Kuwahara is out of business... Something about getting shut down by the federal government.” Well, as usual with rumors, most of the content is puffery, with a few grains of truth mixed in.
The truth of the matter, according to Ryan Birk, is that, because of new regulations enacted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), they have decided to stop selling Kuwahara complete bicycles in the United States.
These regulations, passed into law on August 14 as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), spell out new requirements for third party laboratory testing of all products that fall under CPSC jurisdiction to certify that lead-based paint, and overall lead content of all parts therein are within very specific limits...
Mostly By Chase Campbell, with a few syllables by Mike Carruth
Some of the top pros showed up for the "No Bull Classic and Pro-Am" this weekend in Indianapolis. With a total purse of over $2,000, it was a dash for the cash in the main, with a $600+ first-place payday. Stacked to the rafters with some of the hottest talent in the land, including Jeff Upshaw, Tommy Zula, Weston Pope, Logan Collins, Marty Wisehart, Frank "the tank" Hoskins, Scotty McMahon, Matt Kelty, Colby "weezy" Murphy, Louis Taylor, and (added by Mike C), Chase Campbell. They should have sold tickets, because people would have been pleased to pay to see this kind of off-the-hook racing.
Colby Murphy was on fire in the semis, moving from 7th to 3rd in the 2nd straight, making the main He lined up as the main event underdog and ended up with respectible 4th place cash. Tommy Zula and WastonPope tangled in the first turn of their semi, knocking both of them out of the "great eight."
The gate dropped in the main and Kelty won the holeshot award, with Jeff Upshaw and Logan Collins hot behind in the two and three slots. Jeff summoned his usual skills in the rythm to ride the last turn high and inside, getting past Kelty and coming up with the win. Logan scored the second, and Frank the Tank taking the third.
The Girl class was fun to watch, and hotly contested between Trackstar's Savannah Lahr (who ultimately took home the win) followed by Standard army's Allie Dragoo.
The "No Bull" part of the program pitted 26 old-timers against each other, with a special set of rules, including an age minimum (35), and a requirement that all riders run flat pedals. Vince Potter seemed to be up front throughout the day, and the main was no different, with the top three going to Vince, John Sabatini and Jeff Longere.
The event was a great success, and thanks go out to Scott Moreland and his great team of volunteers, as well as Dan "Magoo" Darling who organized the No Bull. Crossroads is a great indoor track, so if there's sno where you live, and you havent hit it up, your missing out.
Chase gets a free BMX News T-Shirt for submitting the race report.
"No Bull IV" in the gate in Indy
Sunday, 07 December 2008
BMX News is currently in Indianapolis for the fourth running of Dan "McGoo" Darling's "No Bull." A race with very specific rules, and a whole lotta 'tude, the race has attracted riders from as far away as Florida and Iowa. Speaking of which, we've got spy photos of Saturday night's practice with Bryan Franklin and Gary Mason getting the gate and first straight at Crossroads BMX wired.
We'll have more from Indy this evening, so stay close!
Race to the Stripe in Columbian Championship!
Thursday, 04 December 2008
Just got an email from Angel Vives with tale of the Columbian National Championship results.
Team Antioquia's three riders in the 20" main went to the front, but by the last turn, it was Andres Jimenez challenging for the lead with Tín Castro. The final straight proved to be a drag race to the stripe, with Castro taking top-of-podium by inches (millimeters?). Jimenez (who scored a respectible, but off-podium, fourth place Olympic finish in Beijing) settling for the silver. Here's how the results broke down:
20 Inch
Gold: Augusto Castro (Antioquia)
Silver: Andres Jimenez (Cundinamarca)
Bronze: Carlos Okendo (Antioquia)
And complete Antioquia domination in cruiser
Cruiser
Gold: Sergio Salazar (Antioquia)
Silver: Augusto Castro (Antioquia)
Bronze: Carlos Okendo (Antioquia)
Now all we need to do is learn how to pronounce "Antioquia." Thanks for the update Angel! Keep that Columbian news flowing.
From the nostalgia file: Can anyone name Who...Where...When...and what this image was used for? Log your guesses 
By Brad Cloutier
BMX News is currently in Indianapolis for the fourth running of Dan "McGoo" Darling's "No Bull." A race with very specific rules, and a whole lotta 'tude, the race has attracted riders from as far away as Florida and Iowa. Speaking of which, we've got spy photos of Saturday night's practice with Bryan Franklin and Gary Mason getting the gate and first straight at Crossroads BMX wired.
