Just got back from the USA BMX Grand Nationals and what an event it was!! Nic Long and myself [DB44] drove the Haro truck and trailer from San Diego to Tulsa, a total of 3000 miles, to attend the race dubbed, "The Greatest Race on Earth." It lived up to it's name.
This was the biggest Grand National to date, with nearly 700 motos. All of our riders were in attendance, but with such a focus based around Olympic Games, none of them were in the hunt for the National #1 Pro title. Still though, the race action was solid and our crew was in the mix the whole time.
Saturday morning at 7:30am was the Pro qualifying rounds. Talk about brutal! The 5:30am wake-up call was a rough one but the race action was intense. Nic and Khalen were winning all their rounds, while their team mate, Brooke Crain, was top 3 in all of hers. Each of them qualified to the big show which is the Pro Spectacular, later that night.
The Pro Spectacular is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, and the stands are always packed. The energy was going to be crazy inside the Quiktrip Center as Sam Willoughby and Marc Willers went head-to-head to decide who would come out as the National #1 AA Pro for 2012, but the opening ceremony was one that none of us wanted to ever have to witness. ...
As the lights went down inside the packed arena, all of the competitors of the NAG 5 Challenge and Pro Spectacular aligned the first straight to show their respect for the late Kyle Bennett. In the gate was Kyle's race bike, held by former coach, Sean Dwight, alongside Kyle's mother. A five minute video tribute to Kyle played on the jumbo-tron, followed by one final call to the gate by USABMX announcer, Mike Redman. "Calling three-time UCI Elite Men World Champion, Kyle Bennett, to the gate." The arena was silent for a moment as the cadence turned on and the gate fell. Sean and Kyle's mother walked down the middle of the nights participants and I have to say, it was one of the saddest moments I've ever witnessed in more than 18 years in this sport. RIP Kyle, you've inspired a generation.
Pro semis were staged up just after opening ceremonies and Nic and Khalen were in semi #1 of AA Pro. Nic went straight to the lead group while Khalen got a bit of a bad start and fought his way through traffic. Nic was 3rd at the line, and Khalen's night ended early. Elite Women went straight to main event, so 2 of our 3 riders were in the finale.
After three action packed main events for both the men and women, Nic ended up 5th for the night while Brooke brought home a podium 3rd place. Congrats to both on an awesome ride and way to end a long season.
Sam Willoughby ended up coming out on top of the AA Pro title chase, while Dominique Daniels won her 5th consecutive cup in the women. Congrats to both.
Congrats also goes to San Diego's Rusty Nesvig for winning the ABA National #1 Amateur title on a Haro Blackout. Rusty will be riding for the Haro/Promax amateur squad next year, and he went ahead and debuted his new bike in Tulsa, absolutely killing his 17-18 expert main event.
The highlight of my weekend, was the debut of our plastic frame mold that will soon be Haro's very first carbon fiber race frame. It was well received with a lot of traffic past the Haro booth to check it out, and the team and I cannot wait to start testing next month.
It's 9pm and I just drove 500 miles, and 970 miles yesterday. My brain is cooked, and I need to hibernate. Thanks for reading. -dB
