# Olympic BMX and MTB Cycling Thread



## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

Have at it. I've not seen any of the BMX yet. Is it a worthy Olympic sport?


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

BMX is pretty cool. Is it worthy of an Olympic spot? I dunno. Is speed-walking? Is beach soccer?


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## Durt (Jul 28, 2008)

Two Americans finished 3 and 4 in the bmx seeding time trials. Heavy favorite Sam Willoughby of Australia was 6th. Previous gold medal winner Maris Strombergs of Latvia qualified in 11th. 

Of course the time trials are meaningless as real racing with 8 guys on the track at once is a whole different animal. Fingers crossed that USA will win a medal this time around. The track is just gnarly and I wish we had these "supercross" tracks back when I still raced. 

I agree with kbiker above regarding whether it is worthy or not. It is certainly exciting and fun to watch.

Here's a video of the time trials from yesterday


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## pulser955 (Apr 18, 2009)

I raced BMX as a kid. I don't know bout having it in the Olympics. But I think mountain biking has a place. I just don't think the course is going to showcase what mountain bike racing is really like. If it was something like the world cup courses in La Bresse France or Offenburg Germany it would be much better. But I am going to be excited to see of our home town girl Georgia Gould can win. I see her out on the trials all the time. I have talked to her a few times and she is always the nicest person you could meet.


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

BMX sucks.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

Durt said:


> Two Americans finished 3 and 4 in the bmx seeding time trials. Heavy favorite Sam Willoughby of Australia was 6th. Previous gold medal winner Maris Strombergs of Latvia qualified in 11th.
> 
> Of course the time trials are meaningless as real racing with 8 guys on the track at once is a whole different animal. Fingers crossed that USA will win a medal this time around. The track is just gnarly and I wish we had these "supercross" tracks back when I still raced.


I was disappointed with just HOW meaningless the time trials were. 32 riders conducted the time trail. How many went to the quarter-finals? 32. Even the guy who crashed in his time trial and couldn't finish went through to the QF. 

The first few rounds of the QF were a complete mess as there was a crash in seemingly every singles race. But it seemed to settle down after a while and there were fewer crashes. It's interesting. Because of all the crashes, someone referred to it as the short track speed skating of the summer Olympics. Doesn't seem too far off the truth.


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## CalgaryDave (Jan 7, 2002)

Go Pendrel Go !!!!

She has a very realistic shot at gold despite the course not suiting her technical advantage, should be interesting to see how it plays out. 

I'm hoping Geoff Kabush can find himself a top 10 spot in the men's race.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I watched some of the TT's yesterday, pretty cool track, looks like a ton of fun. 

I'm still amazed at how the riders handle those pump-bumps or whatever they're called. Talent.


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## grandprix (Jul 8, 2012)

In the handful of Olympic BMX heats I've seen, whomever is leading at the first hill wins the race. I've seen maybe 1 other where third place overtook second somewhere on the course. Is this how it normally goes?

Regardless, the more people on bikes in the Olympics the better.


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## slowdave (Nov 29, 2005)

While we are cheers locals, "GO DAN" i race on the road with Dan, he finished national rr ahead of some pretty good riders, Cam Meyer Matt Lloyd, Henrich Hausler etc. the boy can ride.


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## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

grandprix said:


> In the handful of Olympic BMX heats I've seen, whomever is leading at the first hill wins the race. I've seen maybe 1 other where third place overtook second somewhere on the course. Is this how it normally goes?
> 
> Regardless, the more people on bikes in the Olympics the better.


I've noticed the same thing. They could shorten the races to end after the first turn and get the same results.


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

> _In the handful of Olympic BMX heats I've seen, whomever is leading at the first hill wins the race. I've seen maybe 1 other where third place overtook second somewhere on the course. Is this how it normally goes?_


Apparently so, and the final race was a one-off (whereas the semis had 3 races, featuring the same riders) - a lot of people thought that turned it into a bit of a lottery. It's a shame as it's like the Monaco GP on 2 wheels.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Catherine Pendrel, World Champ on the mountain bike, seems to have pulled a Cavendish  

Pendrel 9th, Batty raced with a broken collarbone and finished 24th, not a great day for Canada. Maybe Kabush will do better.


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## jlandry (Jan 12, 2007)

Sugarfoot said:


> *I'm not at all surprised about Batty.* Results this season indicated that she peaked too early. I am more surprised about Pendrel, case of thinking she is good enough to do it all?
> Really looking forward to the men's. Been watching all WCs on live.redbulltv and Schurter looks to be the consistently best. All the others yo-yo on the rankings, and it is hard to spot anyone looking for a sweet peak. (Excluding Wells, his shape is coming) I'll put a question mark on Absalon, can't rule him out of contention.


What? You predicted that she'd break a collarbone?


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

thought the finals should have been a 3 - heat point based like the qualifiers were


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## kjdhawkhill (Jan 29, 2011)

Is it a worthy Olympic sport? :D[/QUOTE said:


> Don't know. But trampoline, rythmic gymnastics, and walking all made it in. We'll see darts added for Rio.


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

atpjunkie said:


> thought the finals should have been a 3 - heat point based like the qualifiers were


Yes, that would've been much better. The cream does rise to the top but a one-off race can be a crapshoot.


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

kjdhawkhill said:


> Don't know. But trampoline, rythmic gymnastics, and walking all made it in. We'll see darts added for Rio.


I would find it 100x easier to train for and compete in BMX than any of the above sports (not darts, that's a pub game).

But in case you were wondering, my question was rhetorical. In other words, don't answer it. :thumbsup:


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## hatepavement (Mar 24, 2010)

The mountain bike course looked cool. I'd love to try it.


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## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

The BMX course looked sweet but it's too predictable. As another posters said, the rider who's leading after the 1st or 2nd turn won the race since there is no opportunities for other riders to pass. They should make the course with variation in width of the track allowing the strong sprinters a chance to pass.


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

RoadrunnerLXXI said:


> The BMX course looked sweet but it's too predictable. As another posters said, the rider who's leading after the 1st or 2nd turn won the race since there is no opportunities for other riders to pass. They should make the course with variation in width of the track allowing the strong sprinters a chance to pass.


Or make it a circuit and make the riders do several laps, not just a <30 second sprint.


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## Dan333sp (Aug 17, 2010)

I really enjoyed watching the MTB race for the men today, the course was very interesting and as a non-MTB rider I was very impressed by the technical skills on the rocky sections. Even that little zig-zag between boulders on a downhill stretch where the 3rd place Italian's seatpost fell out had me cringing each time they tucked their knees in to avoid a painful collision. Speaking of the Italian, kudos for being able to ride the last half lap without sitting, and still holding on for 3rd. He broke down in tears after crossing the line, I guess he thought he had something in store for gold until his issue, which was very strange! Improperly tightened seatpost clamp bolt?


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## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

When was the men mt bike race? All I saw this morning was USA basketball gold medal game vs Spain.


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## Dan333sp (Aug 17, 2010)

It was live this morning on one of the NBC networks at around 8:30... maybe it was MSNBC? I've been watching so many different channels and using the phone ap that it's confusing to figure out what time and channel a certain sport is on...


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## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

I feel NBC did a poor job announcing what the other affiliated networks(MSNBC, CNBC, NBC Sports, Bravo, Telemundo) are broadcasting that day or give the viewers a reminders what other events are showing on their other station. Their online Olympics schedule website were inaccurate whenever I go on to look. I thought they did a better job with the Vancouver Winter Games back in 2010.


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## abadyam (Feb 27, 2011)

Dan333sp said:


> He broke down in tears after crossing the line, I guess he thought he had something in store for gold until his issue, which was very strange! Improperly tightened seatpost clamp bolt?


Pretty sure he was excited to get 3rd, he tried a few times to drop the leaders but they responded very quickly, I think he felt fortunate to hang on for the bronze. I'd love to ride/race on a course like that, plenty of passing room, a lot steeper than it looked on TV.


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## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

Is it the same course as the women's race yesterday? I saw part of the women's race on some farm. I think it's Paddex Farm? Correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Dan333sp (Aug 17, 2010)

Same course, I'm pretty sure.


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## PRB (Jun 15, 2002)

Dan333sp said:


> Speaking of the Italian, kudos for being able to ride the last half lap without sitting, and still holding on for 3rd.


 Not to take anything away from him but that pales in comparison to Cindy Whitehead's epic ride.


> Jacquie Phelan had won every off-road race she entered, starting with her first NORBA event in 1983.
> 
> Here she leads Cindy Whitehead in the brutal 50-mile Plumline off-road race held near Bishop, California in 1986 in mountains that reached elevations of 11,000 feet.
> 
> Cindy was riding without a saddle on her bike, as her seatpost had broken in the first few miles. In one of the legendary exploits of mountain biking, she defeated the reigning champion over the long course, without ever being able to sit down.


http://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/ftf_covers.htm


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## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

PRB said:


> Not to take anything away from him but that pales in comparison to Cindy Whitehead's epic ride. http://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/ftf_covers.htm


Wowser! Wonder Woman???


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

> _ I think it's Paddex Farm? Correct me if I'm wrong. _


It's Hadleigh Farm.


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## RoadrunnerLXXI (Jun 3, 2012)

Thank you for the correction. My Alzheimer kicked in I couldn't remember.


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## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

I raced BMX for several years. Lane assignment is HUGE at that level - everyone is fast. And yeah, if you get the hole shot, it's your race to lose. If the first turn is a right, being toward the left of middle, but not too far left is the ideal spot. All the way, right... man you better have a helluva a gate! Lane is so important that I do think a multi-race final should be considered. 

Imagine if the 200m freestyle had 6 turns and no lane lines - just starting blocks and a finish line. Aside from it being a *#$^ing hysterical race, lane choice would so much of a factor, that we'd surely have even more swimming events to cover...

Anyone else watch those races and want to reach through the TV and swap the 16 tooth for a 15? Seemed like just a bit more gear would've allowed them to pull ahead in time to have the line into turn 1. But ya gotta figure... they know what they're doing ;-)


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

OldZaskar said:


> Anyone else watch those races and want to reach through the TV and swap the 16 tooth for a 15? Seemed like just a bit more gear would've allowed them to pull ahead in time to have the line into turn 1. But ya gotta figure... they know what they're doing ;-)


Interesting insights old Z! Yes, I thought they seemed to be pedalling Wacky Races style, lots of effort for little discernible increase in forward movement...


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## MXL (Jun 26, 2012)

"Is BMX an Olympic sport?" I guess, it would make more sense if you're in the 6th grade. I thought most graduated to a 10 speed by the 7th grade. 

Question: In drassage, does the horse get the medal or the rider? Seems like the horse is the athlete and doing all the work. To my mind both are right up there with curling and some of the other sports that require limited to no athletic ability.


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