Name: Mahieu Romain
Racing number: #100
Hometown: SQY, France
Elite Men UCI World Cup Ranking 2018: 4th
Being in the top 10 in the UCI World Cup Ranking, what's your goal for the last two rounds in SDE?
Romain Mahieu: We are pretty tight in points with Twan, so the goal will be to keep that 4th place in the ranking. Which means being in the mains and doing my best to get a podium.
Is the Olympic qualifying period on your mind when you're doing races after 1 September?
Romain Mahieu: Well, of course we all think about it now. But it doesn’t really change anything for me. I’m just gonna go to every race the same way I was going earlier this year.
What's the best section on the track in Santiago del Estero?
Romain Mahieu: I like the pro set. There is nothing big but you have to be clean and smooth.
How long is your travel from home to Rounds 7&8 in Argentina?
Romain Mahieu: Hm, very long... I don’t really know exactly haha. I’d say more than 20 hours!
What is your best result on that SDE track up until now?
The Rollback: a BMX Podcast episode twenty-one with Justin Kosman.
Name: Kai Sakakibara
Racing number: 77
Hometown: Helensburgh, NSW Australia
Have things changed for you since 1 September, the day the Olympic qualifying period has started?
Kai Sakakibara: Not at all. I’m always training and preparing for events to the best of my ability, so it’s been business as usual.
Are you looking for races where you can score more points?
Kai Sakakibara: Not necessarily, but as the Olympics draw nearer I may start to prioritise my events schedule, i.e. possibly skip smaller events and focus on the major competitions.
Has peaking after 1 September been something you aimed for?
Kai Sakakibara: I believe that I’m still developing as a rider, and learning at every event that I compete in. Of course I want to race well now and need to race well to qualify the country, but I want to bring my peak in July 2020. Everything until then will be building towards that.
How badly do you want to go to Tokyo for the Olympic Games in 2020?
Kai Sakakibara: Being half Japanese and having represented Japan while living in Tokyo as a kid, the
Name: Carlos Alberto Ramirez
Racing number: 278
Hometown: Medellin, Colombia
Elite Men UCI World Cup Ranking 2018: 9
Being in 9th in the UCI World Cup Ranking, what's your goal for the last two rounds in SDE?
Carlos Alberto Ramirez: I would really like to just go out there and enjoy the racing but of course ride my way to the main events and fight for the podium positions and why not get my first ever SX win.
Is the Olympic qualifying period on your mind when you're doing races after 1 September?
Carlos Alberto Ramirez: Yeah for sure the qualification will be on my mind! We all know we gotta earn those spots for our country!
What's the best section on the track in Santiago del Estero?
Carlos Alberto Ramirez: I would say the third straight, gotta love how tight and technical that Rythm section is!
How long is your travel from home to Rounds 7&8 in Argentina?
Carlos Alberto Ramirez: The travel is not that long but it is a bit tiring due to the lay-overs!
I fly Medellin - Bogota. Then Bogota - Buenos Aires, that is 6 or 7 hours. Then swapping airports! And
#020 - Albert Mercado / The Rollback: a BMX Podcast. The Rollback: a BMX Podcast episode twenty with Albert Mercado.
Name: Joris Harmsen
Racing number: Currently 4, career number 921
Hometown: Luyksgestel, Netherlands
Being in 7th place in the UCI World Cup Ranking, what's your goal for the last two rounds in SDE?
Joris Harmsen: To be consistent and make both finals. After that, make it to the podium.
Is the Olympic qualifying period on your mind when you're doing races after 1 September?
Joris Harmsen: Of course, but a race is still a race. Got to focus on myself and not too much about that.
Name: Mathis Ragot
Richard Racing number: 161
Hometown: Saint Etienne, France
Elite Men UCI World Cup Ranking 2018: Actually 10th
Have things changed for you since 1 September, the day the Olympic qualifying period has started?
Mathis Ragot Richard: Nothing change, I'll just try to do my best each race I compete as usual. French team were strong this year, and we'll try to get 3 spots for Tokyo, this is the most important for us.
Name: Dave van der Burg
Racing number: 8 (192)
Hometown: Arnhem, Netherlands
Have things changed for you since 1 September, the day the Olympic qualifying period has started?
Dave van der Burg: Not really, of course the qualifying period started so it’s important to score points but it didn’t change my attitude going into a race weekend. If I compete no matter what kind of race, I have my mindset on winning it.
Name: Quillan Isidore
Racing number: 164
Hometown: London, England
Elite Men UCI World Cup Ranking 2018: 16
Have things changed for you since 1 September, the day the Olympic qualifying period has started?
Quillan Isidore: I have yet to compete in an Olympic qualifier yet. My first one will be Argentina at the end of the month. Nothing has changed just continuing to train hard with the goal of making finals.
Are you looking for races where you can score more points?
Quillan Isidore: So our aim for BC is do as many as possible to give us the best possible chance to score the maximum amount of riders.
Has peaking after 1 September been something you aimed for?
Quillan Isidore: For Argentina yes that’s been my main target since after work!
How badly do you want to go to Tokyo for the Olympic Games in 2020?
Quillan Isidore: This is on top of my goals list! What an honour it’ll be to represent my country at the
Ride On Talks to Ian Morris PART 2 by Neil Waddington
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.