BMX-ers at Stoppelcross round 2. Boekel, NL. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. By BdJ

Nov 15, 2014

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 3497 times

Things don't always go as planned. I found out at the second stoppelcross of the season. Once again it was an early wake-up call on a Sunday. 6am the alarm went off and it was time to get some breakfast, make some food for the day and load up the bag. The KTM was still in the van from last weekend's race but Philip's Electric MX bike charged overnight and we added that ride to the van in the morning. Pieter Does and Eric Mulders were there at 7am sharp and we were on our way to Boekel for round two.

On the way we met up with Martijn van Bakel who followed us there.

We signed up, had a tea, walked the track and got ready for warm-up. The track in Boekel is always spectacular. This year the steep 6 feet tall 'killer jump' was nuts. It got adjusted three times to make it safer. The 4 jumps in a row were there again and even a berm was created which looked very BMX-Y. Practice was fun. It feels good to just open the gas and ride around with 50 other guys at the same time. The weather was good once again. A bit colder than the week before, but it was dry, and sunny.

We spotted several (former) BMX-ers on the track. Sem Kok, Govert Schonewille, Raymon van der Biezen, Ivo van der Putten, Jurgen Meyer, Pieter Does, Patrick Claessens, Eric Mulders, Jay Schippers, Harm van Brussel, Wilco Groenendaal, Jeffrey van der Biezen and Boyd Karsmakers were a few of them. We even heard the name Laura Smulders announced in the moped class but that must have been a mistake as we did not spot the bronze medalist from the London Oympic Games. But once again the BMX level was high at the Stoppelcross.

It's no secret that once you're lined up on the starting gate, everyone wants to do well. Especially the BMX-ers out there that get to ride MX a couple of times a year. Beating fellow riders gives you credit for some bench racing afterwards. With that in mind it was on as soon as that gate dropped.

Luckily I had a decent spot on the gate this time as I picked number 14. Last week I had number 51 so no spot on the gate. Eric Mulders took number 60 but Wilco Groenendaal offered him his number so Eric found a spot on the gate as well. The first straight was a lot longer than at the first race in Handel. Not quite in my favour with the 125cc against the 4-strokes. But if you stay on the gas, you move forward.

I got out of the first turn in about 25th and did the same thing I did the week before. I took the outside in turn two. Last week someone crashed in front of me and took me out. This time people crashed on the inside and I could pass a few more riders. On the straight with the four jumps I started counting and I was well in a position for A-final. But then that tricky jump came and people started jumping all over the place. I ended up next to the track and rode through the wire to get back on and take the left turn. I was a bit heavy on the front brake and crashed with 30 more riders to come. Two of them crashed on top op me. A few parts of my body felt it, but that A-final was the goal. I got back up and continued but the crooked handlebars sent me to the left for half a lap.

This wasn't going to happen so I stopped, hit the front wheel against a pole a few times to staighten the bars and got going again. By this time everyone was gone and chances were slim of making the next round. My rear fender was ripped and almost came off, but I didn't notice until I was back in the pits. That's where the damage to the bike and to the body became clear.

Trying to walk was tough with a swollen ankle. I couldn't even make it to the MON bus to check what place I ended up getting. The crooked bars and broken fender were fixed by Team Verbakel (thanks) in case I'd be able to ride the B-final. Pieter, Eric, and Patrick all made A-final in the MX-2 Hobby class. Over 90 people lined up for it split in two groups. MX remains a popular sport in our part of the country. As time passed by it became clear that I had to skip on riding another session. I couldn't even walk properly so riding wasn't a smart thing to do. It hurt even more not being able to ride. But that's life.

Instead I stumbled to the track with the camera to take some pics of the BMX-ers out there. Something I would not have been able to do had I lined up again. Martijn van Bakel once again was our man and he scored another trophy (5th). Not sure if he picked up this one (probably not) as he couldn't be bothered to wait for the one in Handel either. The biggest prize in Boekel was won by Ivo van der Putten in the Off-Road class.

The rider grabbing the holeshot would win a round of beers. Well, Ivo got that one and then dropped back a few places afterwards. Jay Schippers got 4th, Pieter 20th, Eric 27th, Patrick 32nd in the MX2 A-final. Round three will be held in Volkel this Sunday. From the feel of it I won't be making that one nor the final round as the Vans rebeljam is on the program for that weekend. To all other BMX-ers out there, good luck!

BdJ