Fields and Post Earn National Titles at BMX Nationals


Connor Fields (Henderson, NV/Chase BMX) and Alise Post (Saint Cloud, Minn./Redline) took home elite national titles as the USA Cycling BMX National Championships wrapped up on Sunday. Nick Koehler (Tustin, CA) and Danielle George (Palmdale, CA/Supercross BMX) also earned junior elite national titles on the supercross track on the final day of an action-packed week of BMX action in Southern California.

The event offered important USA Cycling BMX Power Ranking points, which will help determine the athletes who will represent the United States at the Olympic Games this summer in London.

The sixth-annual national championship event began on Saturday with over 400 amateur BMX racers vying for the right to earn the Stars-and-Stripes on the traditional BMX track.

Elite and Junior Elite 

In the elite men’s event, the best of three motos qualified for the semifinal, and the top top half moved on to the elite men’s final where Fields continued his flawless weekend after winning both the time trial superfinal and the main event at the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup #1. Fields was able to separate himself from the gate and hold off 2010 national champion Nic Long (Lakeside, CA/Haro Bikes) and David Herman (Wheat Ridge, CO/Free Agent-Rockstar) by less than a second to earn the to the victory.

“When I was younger I was never really that fast out of the start, so I always had to come from behind and that forced me to get really good around the track and helped me hold them off,” explained Fields. “It was definitely windy out there and that slows everything down and forces you to really concentrate. We have another world cup in two weeks, so there’s really no time to dwell on this.”

Alise Post (Saint Cloud, Minn./Redline) edged Amanda Carr (Punta Gorda, Fla./ Endeavor-Paul Williams) in the elite women’s main to defend her 2011 national championship and become the first-ever back-to-back USA Cycling BMX national champion in the elite division. 2011 Chula Vista World Cup winner Arielle Martin (Spanaway, Wash./Intense BMX) earned the bronze ahead of Danielle George (Palmdale, Calif./Supercross BMX) who earned the junior elite women’s national title with her fourth-place result.

“I’m ecstatic, especially considering this is my first race coming back from injury and to be able to do it twice is pretty sweet for me,” explained Post. “We head off to Norway in a week for another world cup round and I’m definitely hungry to do a little better than I did yesterday when I finished fourth.”

Nick Koehler (Tustin, CA) won the battle of the future stars, earning the men’s junior elite national title. 2011 bronze medalist Lain van Ogle (Auburn, Wash./Hyper Bicycles) moved up into silver position this time around and Maliek Byndloss (Cape Coral, Fla./Ssquared-Answer-Troy Lee) rounded out the podium with the bronze.
Saturday’s amateurs

Over 400 juniors and masters athletes also vied for national titles on Saturday at the sixth-annual USA Cycling BMX National Championships. Riders from the ages of five all the way to 50+ years of age took to the traditional BMX track on the campus of the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. for the right to call themselves the best in the nation in their respective divisions.

Over 40 champions were crowned as they not only fought for the right to slip into a Stars-and-Stripes jersey on the podium’s top step, but also for eligibility to represent the U.S. at the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships from May 23 – 27 in Birmingham, UK. The top eight athletes in each age group earned invitations to the amateur world championship event.

The day also marked the debut of Collegiate BMX with Dominique Daniels (Gilbert, Ariz./Grand Canyon University) and Danny Caluag (Chino, CA/Lindsey Wilson College) taking home the women’s and men’s individual national titles for their respective universities.

London-replica Ribbon Cutting
USA Cycling and U.S. Olympic Committee officials also cut the ribbon on the new London-replica BMX Supercross track on the campus of the U.S. Olympic Training Center over the weekend. The 430-meter (women)/470 meter (men) track is expected to be fully operational by mid-April. A special thanks to Dane Herron Industries, Marathon Construction, the Culver Group and Brown United for helping make the track a reality for our athletes.

2012 USA Cycling BMX National Championships
U.S Olympic Training Center; Chula Vista, CA
Saturday, March 31, 2012

Results

Elite Men:
1. Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev./Chase BMX) 34.745
2. Nic Long (Lakeside, Calif./Haro Bikes) 35.072
3. David Herman (Wheat Ridge, Colo./Free Agent-Rockstar) 35.718
4. Mike Day (San Diego, Calif./GT Bicycles) 35.877
5. Barry Nobles (Menifee, Calif./DK Bicycles) 36.272
6. Denzel Stein (Desoto, Texas) 36.537
7. Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz./GT Bicycles) 36.653
8. Tyler Faoro (Coral Springs, Fla./Profile Racing/Optimum Nutrition) 39.010

Elite Women:
1. Alise Post (Saint Cloud, Minn./Redline) 38.871
2. Amanda Carr (Punta Gorda, Fla./ Endeavor-Paul Williams) 39.085
3. Arielle Martin (Spanaway, Wash./Intense BMX) 39.277
4. Danielle George (Palmdale, Calif./Supercross BMX) 40.203
5. Brooke Crain (Visalia, Calif./Haro Bikes) 60.364
6. Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla./MCS Bicycles) DNF

Junior Elite Men:
1. Nick Koehler (Tustin, Calif.) 37.470
2. Lain van Ogle (Auburn, Wash./Hyper Bicycles) 37.970
3. Maliek Byndloss (Cape Coral, Fla./Ssquared-Answer-Troy Lee) 38.580
4. Zachary Vankammen (Lake Elsinore, Calif.) 39.053
5. Jeremy Smith (Dayton Ohio/Factory Extreme-Fly) 40.858
6. Jordan Miranda (Bakersfield, Calif./GT Bicycles) 48.001
7. A.J. Hiatt (Fresno, Calif.) 55.557
8. Brandon McDowell (Hebron, Ind.) 66.395

Junior Elite Women:
1. Danielle George (Palmdale, Calif./Supercross BMX) 40.203
2. Shelby Stacy (Bakersfield, Calif./Answer-Rennen)

Collegiate
Women: Dominique Daniels (Gilbert, Ariz./Grand Canyon University)
Men: Danny Caluag (Chino, Calif./Lindsey Wilson College)
Team: 1. Lindsey Wilson College, 2. Grand Canyon University, 3. San Diego State

Photo © UCIBMX/craigdutton.com

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