DERBY CITY RACE REPORT

Filed under General on August 30, 2013 | Comment(s)

Welcome to Louisville, KY. Home of the 2013 USA BMX Derby City Nationals and Eastern Divisional Championships. USA BMX Nation converged on Derby City BMX with high hopes of tackling their goals of taking home their age groups Eastern Divisional Championship. 

There are only a couple of times each year where BMXers can enjoy a weekend with three national scores on the line and this weekend in Louisville has brought some of the best in the world. An even sweeter treat for everyone in attendance was the opportunity to see all of the Pro classes hit the track once again as they inch closer to the Pro Spectacular at the Grands later this year. 

FRIDAY:

To our knowledge, every American Elite Men's racer was in attendance for Day 1 of the Derby City Nationals and definitely plenty of other big names from other countries as well. For the day, it seemed as if CARNAGE was the overall theme but then again when every round has main event potential it should come to no surprise. With guys like Sam Willoughby, Nic Long, Riley Stair, Justin Posey and Marc Willers all missing out on the main It would leave the door open for Chase's Connor Fields. This being a UCi event, these guys had to leave it all on the track for the one lap turbo burner. Out of the gate it was David Herman who seemed to have the holeshot on lock but before you could blink, Fields would swoop in to nab the holeshot and never look back. Looks like he is still in top form after his win at the Redbull Revolution and a solid second place at the McCollum Park Pro/Am last weekend. 

The Elite Women's main event was one race that had potential to change the title race. With the battle brewing between Dominique Daniels and Alise Post it was only a matter of time before they had to settle it. However, they had to make their way past Mariana Pajon in order to pick up the win. The gate hit the deck and it was bar to bar all the way into turn one between Post and Pajon and then Daniels swooped in on the underneath trying to make the double pass stick but ended up hitting the ground and taking Post with her. The mishap would eventually lead to a win for Pajon but it is clear that the battle is heating up between Post and Daniels. Maybe the cup is still up for grabs...

Junior Men was one fire with some heavy hitters and in the end it became a showdown under the lights between the newly crowned Jr. Men World Champ Sean Gaian and the 2013 Jr. Men USAC Champion Maliek Byndloss. Two of the fastest amateurs in the country flew over the first obstacle fighting for the inside line. As they flew towards turn one and Gaian was looking for the inside, Maliek slammed the door which completely shut down Gaian. The rest was history as Byndloss took home the win...can you saw REMATCH?!

Last but not least the new Jr. Women World Champ Felicia Stancil was in the house and lookin' fast! Felicia would not lose a lap all day. But it does look as if a young lady from Ecuador by the name of Domenica Azuero is on the rise as she was right on Stancil's back wheel all day long. However, I’m already putting Felicia Stancil on my 2016 Team USA list after her recent performances. 

On to the amateurs we went and the racing got even better with some big wins. Here is the list of the Expert class winners for Day 1 of the Derby City Nationals. We even saw the return of Dale Holmes as he debuted into the 41&Over expert class and Alltow Wrecking Crew picked up their third straight Factory teams win.  See you tomorrow and as always, make sure to check back on usabmx.com tomorrow night for an update photo gallery and day 2 race report! 

6 EXPERT:Devin Gracey

7 EXPERT:Cannon Wood  

8 EXPERT:Liam Elo

9 EXPERT:Brody Cole

10 EXPERT:Nichola Adams

11 EXPERT:Spencer Cole

12 EXPERT:Aram Scwhinn 

13 EXPERT:Daylen Pendley

14 EXPERT:Dodge Munson

15 EXPERT:Ryan Pettigrew

16 EXPERT:Collin Hudson

17-18 EXPERT:Maliek Byndloss

19-27 EXPERT:Kenneth Gustafson 

28-35 EXPERT:Frank Hoskins

36-40 EXPERT:Luke Segal

41&Over EXPERT:Jeremy Thompson

SATURDAY:

Saturday kicked off in a big way as riders from around the country got together for 256 motos of racing action that was sure to leave spectators on the edge of their seats. Practice went off glamorously and the pros were ready for battle. As we breezed through qualifiers and headed for the mains, the sky was looking very dramatic. It was about 10 minutes after the pros finished their mains when a giant crack of lighting came shattering down. It sent everyone in multiple directions and when it rains it pours all night long. It would not be until Sunday morning when the remaining main events from Saturday were completed. If it was not for the volunteers, Derby City BMX staff and the USA BMX staff getting out there at 5 a.m. who knows if there would have been another phenomenal day of races. 

Throughout the qualifying rounds it was obvious that Kuwahara's Jeff Upshaw was the favorite in the A pro class. Upshizzle was sizzlin' his way out front all day long and once again he would head into the main event with that target on his back. Sure enough when it came down to the main event it was all Upshaw from the gate drop to the line as he picked up his second win of the weekend. 

The Elite Men left many spectators pondering if Sam "I am" Willoughby was going to come back from Friday night's semi crash and take the win for day two. It was evident that Willoughby was out for blood as he powered through the pack to win every qualifier. Sam was on the outside in 7 and had the "Machine" Maris Strombergs sitting on his left in 6. It was the two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Maris Strombergs with the perfect gate to launch him into the lead. Willoughby made every attempt he could in order to find a way to the lead but came up short. The Machine took the win with Willoughby in two and Nyhaug in three.

In Junior Men it was another battle between Maliek Byndloss and Sean Gaian, this go round was the rematch. These two are undoubtedly some of the fastest amateurs in the country and always have put on a spectacle of a show. Bydloss had picked up the win and Friday and it was up to Gaian to settle the score 1-1. The gate goes down and Gaian edges Byndloss to the first turn. You can see Maliek catching him with every crank but as they went into the third straight it was too little too late as Gaian made it cleanly through the rhythm and across the line for the win. Looks like the tiebreak will be on for tomorrow! 

The battle between Felicia Stancil and Ecuador's Domenica Azuero in Junior Women was once again outstanding. This is partially because it has been quite some time since we have seen someone contend with Felicia in this way. While Azuero rode greatly, Stancil rode flawlessly and that type of thing is what sent Stancil to the top of the box once again. 

The Elite Women's class was nothing short of great. After Friday's turn one pile up, many were hoping to see Alise Post and Dominique Daniels keep it on two wheels. However, as the gate dropped it would be Alise "The Beast" Post who carried the lead but would blow up coming over the first obstacle sending her to the ground. That would leave the door wide open for Mariana Pajon who would go on for win two over the weekend.

SUNDAY:

When the crew rolled onto the track Sunday morning right around 5 a.m. there was still a light drizzle in the air. It finally stopped and the track work began! 3 hours and 2,500 pounds of drying solution later, it was time to go racing! Luckily the weatherman was wrong and Sunday blessed us with partly cloudy skies all day long as we finished up Saturday's main events and hammered down for the final day of the Eastern Divisional Championship.

For the A pro, Vet, Jr., and Elite classes we did not see many surprises. Jeff Upshaw found himself on top once again and is only a win and a podium away from being promoted to the AA class. Jr. Men and Women saw repeats of Friday night as both Maliek Byndloss and Felicia Stancil took the wins. Vet pro showed off for a three-peat as Rockstar~Free Agent's Cristian Becerine picked up a third win. Alise Post and her hunk Sam Willoughby made the Factory Redline team proud as they both kept it on two wheels on their way to wins in Elite Men and Women.

On day three of both the Eastern Divisional Championship and Western Divisional Championship, all of the riders put everything on the line trying to secure that jersey. Some riders thought they had the win on lock but came up short while others secured their first every jersey with last straight passes. Either way, it was bigger and better than it has ever been.

Please see below for the complete photo listing of the Eastern Divisional Champions...

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