FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

ELITE MEN
1 Randy Stumpfhauser
2 Javier Colombo
3 Cristian Becerine
4 Matt Pohlkamp
5 Jason Richardson
6 Joey Bradford
7 Yvan Lapraz
8 Jonathan Villa

ELITE WOMEN
1 Amelie Despeaux
2 Stephanie Barragan
3 Danielle Brisson
4 Rachel Smith
5 Amanda Geving
6 Liz Passwaters

In continuation of the brand’s commitment to BMX racing, BAWLS Guarana announced the launch of a limited-edition line of BMX racing-branded cans, now available nationwide. Proceeds from the sales of these BMX cans will go to support the growth of BMX racing in the US. Fresh off the sport’s debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics, BMX racing is a still-growing force in the extreme sports community. Proceeds from all BAWLS BMX can sales will be donated to the American Bicycle Association (ABA) – the nation’s leading

With four REDLINE Global Team members - Damien Godet (France), Manuel DeVecchi (Italy), Rob van den WILDENBERG and Raymon van der BEIZEN (both from The Netherlands) in the Semi’s, there was the rare possibility that Flight bikes could’ve filled half of the gate in the Olympic main. But REDLINE would gladly settle for 2 out of the 8. 

GT Bicycles is proud to announce that team rider Mike Day has won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing China! Teammate Jill Kintner, the sole American woman competing in BMX, won the bronze medal in the women’s race. Santa Clarita, CA’s Day earned silver medal honors with his brilliant racing at the Laoshan BMX Complex tonight. Fighting his way through qualifiers, quarterfinals and semifinals amongst a field of 32 of the world’s best BMX Race competitors, Mike found himself among the top eight riders on the planet battling for a top three finish.

Maris Strombergs of Latvia kept a cool head in a heated Men's race to carve a narrow victory as BMX made its Olympic debut on Friday, August 22. Strombergs grabbed the decisive lead in the first corner and rode with smooth confidence to win the gold medal as rivals crashed in his wake.
Americans Mike Day and Donny Robinson each avoided a costly spill in the second turn to win silver and bronze, respectively, in the eight-man final. 

Anne-Caroline Chausson of France won the gold medal while pre-race favorite Shanaze Reade of Great Britain crashed out to finish last in the Women's race as BMX made its Olympic debut on Friday, August 21. Laetitia le Corguille of France avoided three pile-ups in the final to claim silver, while US athlete Jill Kintner edged Sarah Walker of New Zealand to score bronze.

Reade overcame a first-run crash in the semifinals to qualify for the

Maris Strombergs (Latvia) destroyed the American Olympic dream by winning the gold medal at the first ever Olympic BMX race. American Mike Day finished second and Donny Robinson (USA) got third. Current world champion Strombergs is a powerhouse and rode to the front on the first straight and never looked back giving Latvia its first gold medal of the 2008 Games. He rode a strong race where surprisingly noone crashed in the first turn. Rob van den Wildenberg (NED) had poor start and was waiting for a move which did not happen until turn two where Nhlapo, Graves and Godet crashed hard. This moved the Dutchman into 4th position but Jimenez had more speed coming out of the turn and overtook number 72 which resulted in a 5th place for Rob. Congrats to Christian van den Groenendaal, owner of ONE Bicycles on the Olympic Gold.

The women's race was a great battle between Ann-Caroline Chausson and Shanaze Reade. Both riders had one color in mind and that was gold. They changed postions on the track a few times

Heat Rank Bike Number Name NOC Run 1 Run 2 Run 3 Total

Heat 1 women
1 2 CHAUSSON Anne-Caroline France 36.931 (1) 37.028 (1) 36.747 (2) 4 Q
2 96 WALKER Sarah New Zealand 37.499 (2) 39.038 (3) 36.731 (1) 6 Q
3 144 DIAZ Gabriela Argentina 37.605 (3) 38.235 (2) DNF (8) 13 Q
4 56 COOLS Sammy Canada 39.765 (6) 39.457 (5) 38.690 (3) 14 Q

5 4 HORAKOVA Jana Czech Republic 39.107 (5) 39.172 (4) 1:32.284 (7) 16
6 42 FAHNDRICH Jenny Switzerland 38.658 (4) 45.912 (7) 52.687 (6) 17
7 146 MA Liyun China 41.789 (7) 41.497 (6) 41.839 (5) 18

There has not been a race where noone crashed it seems like. All of them are diving in that first turn at full speed. Some elbows are thrown and going over the first turn and that speed ain't pretty. Just ask Cristian Becerine about it who experienced that 5 minutes ago.

Mike Day still looks strong and so does Strombergs, ACC and Laetitia le Corguille. Reade finished second in heat two and is still in the running for a spot in the finals. Rob van den Wildenberg finished second and has a total of 5 points. Great racing from the Dutchman. Raymon van der Biezen had a strong start and got to the first turn in second position but there was some traffic there which put him back a few spots. Lieke Klaus finished a lucky 4th but still has chances to make it through.

Results Women after two semi final runs:

 Heat 1:

Under perfect weather conditions the semi finals have started over in Beijing, China at the summer Olympics. Favorites Mike Day, Maris Strombergs, and Ann Caroline Chausson each won their first semi-final heat. Other women favorite Shanaze Read (UK) crashed out on the first straight while in first position and limped back to the finish line. She has some work to do but by the way she is riding it will be an easy task for her as long as she stays on the bike. She has now crashed twice in two days. One more crash and it is over for her.

The Dutch riders had some bad luck. Lieke Klaus rode over Reade's legs in the first turn while being in third but lost her speed to finish 5th. Raymond van der Biezen crashed in the first turn where Marc Willers went out of control. Best finish was of Rob van den Wildenberg who got third in the other semi. The girls have lined up for their second race already.