Without a doubt the people at Papendal are a professional bunch. When they called for a press conference and we received the invite, it was time to get up early on the Sunday and head towards Arnhem for the showdown. At 9am, the big room at Hotel Papendal was filled with interested people. A wild guesstimate would say 70 people showed up indicating that it was time for BMX fans to come together after not much happening over the past 5 months. People from the city, the fastest BMX Racers from the Netherlands and the organizing committee of the 2021 UCI World Champs to be held at Papendal, explained the importance of the event and the struggles that Covid-19 is bringing in getting the job done.
We've made it to the UCI BMX Racing World Championships in Belgium just to hit the rain once again. The weather was perfect (if you like the heat) when we left and everyone was sweating like a pig but just before the Elite riders could event enter the track for their first official practice in Zolder, it started to rain. Combined with the lightning, thunder and wind it was time to postpone practice and that's where we're at right now. Championship Racing will be held on Saturday and even for tomorrow the weather doesn't look too good. But the show must go on. And if racing was possible at the UCI World's in Zolder in 2015, it will be possible with a bit of rain tomorrow. But the weather can turn around so could be back complaining about the hear again in 16 hours.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.