FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Olympic and world champion Maris Strombergs and Olympic medalist Laëtitia Le Corguille appear at the start of the BMX European Championship held in Haaksbergen, the Netherlands. Round 11, on Saturday July 9th, has been upgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 3 race. This means that the riders can earn additional qualifying points for the Olympic Games in London 2012. During the press conference at June 29 in Haaksbergen was revealed that next to the top Dutch riders also lots of strong international riders are attending the Open European Championship. The Olympic qualifying points even attracted riders from Australia, Brazil, Canada and Venezuela to the Netherlands.

The Lativian rider Maris Strombers, who rides in the Elite Men class, is the first Olympic champion BMX. During the Beijing Olympics in 2008, BMX was on the program for the first time and Maris took the gold medal. Maris is also reigning World Champion and he uses the Final Rounds BMX in Haaksbergen to get in shape for the world championships in Copenhagen. 

Many BMX athletes sometimes get anxious when they go against a tough opponent. They get nervous on who they are competing with and they get so worked up that they lose focus on their performance. In the end, they make mistakes and end up beating themselves up if they do not win. As a result, here is a list of techniques that a BMX athlete can use to help manage the stress of going against the competition.

The first step is to learn as much as you can on your opponent. Although this may seem obvious, some athletes may think they already know what they need to know. Remember there is always something to learn about your competition. Read the reports about your opponent and watch him or her performance. Try to figure out an angle on how you can beat your competition. The more you know about your competition the better your chances are you will win. This will also help to reduce your worries in the future.

Do not assume anything about your competition whether they

It was announced recently by Alienation BMX that a two year sponsorship deal for 2011 & 2012 has been signed with the French BMX National Team for product support with the world’s best high performance rims from Alienation BMX. The sponsorship deal was hammered out by French National Team Coach, Fabrice Vettoretti and Alienation BMX Sponsorship Coordinator, Jerry Landrum. According to Landrum, “Everyone here at Alienation BMX is VERY excited to be able to work with the awesome riders and World Class Coaching Staff of the French BMX National Team! The French BMX Program has been at the “Elite Level” before any other national team in BMX, and we know that our product will be used at the height of BMX performance under the sterling leadership of Fabrice, his staff and of course, some of the best riders in the world.”

With the goal of being “The Fastest of the Fast”, Team France will be primarily using the Deviant/Insurgent rim combo. With the superlight Deviant on the front, weighing in at 305 grams

Multiple Dutch champion, 10 times European champion, 4 times Worldchampion, 2009 European Elite champion, SWATCH pro team rider Martijn Scherpen “The Terminator” joins the European INTENSE BMX team. Martijn used to race for the team in their early Crupi period and raced several years for the National team, after parting ways with the Dutch National team last weekend Martijn was given a warm welcome by the European INTENSE BMX team.

Both, Martijn and team management are very pleased with their renewed cooperation and are looking forward to a bright future together.

From its humble beginnings in the 1970’s to its inclusion in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, BMX racing has seen many changes through the years. Many sanctioning bodies have come and gone during the 40 year history of the sport, but two have remained. The American Bicycle Association (ABA) and the National Bicycle League (NBL) have both been in operation since the 1970’s and now, like so many sports leagues, the two have joined forces and will operate as USA BMX. USA BMX will operate out of the current ABA headquarters in Gilbert, Arizona. With over 350 sanctioned tracks around the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, USA BMX will serve as the sanctioning body for these tracks and over 70,000 members. USA BMX will coordinate the national, regional, state, and local scheduling for all tracks as well as manage the 2012 U.S. Olympic BMX Trials in conjunction with the United States Olympic Committee and USA Cycling. American BMX racers who grew up racing at both ABA and NBL tracks have gone on to win three Olympic medals and nine BMX World Cup events; more than any other country. BMX racing returns to the Olympics in 2012 in London.

Clinton Tudor just launched his BMX racing specific website featuring over 2 years of his personal and professional journey into the sport from New Zealand. Clinton has been a contributor to FATBMX for over a year and makes excellent stuff. He's been racing BMX himself for over 15 years to he knows the ins and outs about the sport.

At times, our worries and anxieties can overwhelm us. In addition, our worries can distort our perception of what is reality and what is not. As a result, this may interfere with your performance. Here is a brief list of techniques that a BMX athlete can use to help gain a better perspective on things during their anxious moments. Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could read the newspaper, listen to some music or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things. This is a great technique to use right before your next event.

Remember that our fearful thoughts are exaggerated and can make the problem worse. A good way to manage your worry is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make you fearful or anxious, challenge those