The 2011 ABA BMX race season officially kicked off last weekend in Reno, Nevada. Nic Long, Allan and I made the 10 hour drive to Reno on Thursday morning where we met up with Khalen Young and our newest addition, lady pro Brooke Crain. The trip to 'The Biggest Little City' was a bit rough for us in the sleep department, but when the gate dropped in Reno, our guys [and gal] did not disappoint.
Brooke Crain, in her first race with Haro/Rockstar, took to the track on Saturday morning to start her second year in Jr. Elite Women. In her qualifying rounds, she won 2 out of 3 laps to easily qualify for the main event. In the main, she went uncontested wire to wire and made it look too easy. Sunday wasn't much different, she showed up sleep walking at 8am for her first qualifier and ended up with a 2nd place. The rest of the day was like clockwork though, two easy wins to wrap up a solid season opener.
What can I say about Nic Long besides, Unreal? Dude eats unlimited junk food, stays out late nights when he has to race the next day, and still kills it. Friday, Nic insisted to make a little extra money and signed up for Pro Open at the Friday night pre-race. To make a long story short - $500 richer after winning the main at 9pm. After dinner and festivities, we walked into the hotel room in time to get a quick 4 hours rest. Nic won some of his qualifying rounds, cruised through the quarter final and into the semi where his luck changed for a minute. After a bad start, Nic made his way through the pack with a crazy high-low pass in turn 2 but unfortunately, that didn't stick. Into the last turn, Nic got dive bombed and had to sit the main event out, missing the cut by 1 spot.
With an 8:30pm bed time on Saturday night, Nic looked to seal the deal on Sunday and that's exactly what he did. Nic breezed through the qualifiers, quarter final, semi final, all without any trouble. In the main, Nic had second gate pick and lined up in gate 2 next to GT's new heat, Corben Sharrah. When the gate dropped, it looked like Nic would take the holeshot but it was Free Agent's Kyle Bennett with Nic closely in second. In and out of turns 2 and 3, Nic sprinted for the finish and stretched out a half bike win at the line, putting his Haro Race LT on top of the podium once again. With this win, Nic extends his lead in the Power Rankings. If he remains this lead for the next year and four months, he will find himself as USA Cycling's #1 pick to represent the country at the 2012 Olympic Games. What a shredder.
Khalen Young, after a month off the bike and a little vacation to his homeland in Australia, looked pretty solid considering the mini vacay. Saturday saw Khalen out front in the qualifying rounds but in the quarter final, he surprisingly smashed the gate hard enough to nearly flip the bars. Sunday, after winning the quarter, KY was on a mission to the main event but the semi didn't go quite as planned when he got dive bombed and parked in turn 2. Khalens season is about to get busy after a couple more rounds of racing in America and then it's off to South Africa for round 1 of the Supercross series and then back to Australia to follow the qualifying criteria in search of a spot on the Australian Olympic Team for London 2012.
Brooke Crain, in her first race with Haro/Rockstar, took to the track on Saturday morning to start her second year in Jr. Elite Women. In her qualifying rounds, she won 2 out of 3 laps to easily qualify for the main event. In the main, she went uncontested wire to wire and made it look too easy. Sunday wasn't much different, she showed up sleep walking at 8am for her first qualifier and ended up with a 2nd place. The rest of the day was like clockwork though, two easy wins to wrap up a solid season opener.
What can I say about Nic Long besides, Unreal? Dude eats unlimited junk food, stays out late nights when he has to race the next day, and still kills it. Friday, Nic insisted to make a little extra money and signed up for Pro Open at the Friday night pre-race. To make a long story short - $500 richer after winning the main at 9pm. After dinner and festivities, we walked into the hotel room in time to get a quick 4 hours rest. Nic won some of his qualifying rounds, cruised through the quarter final and into the semi where his luck changed for a minute. After a bad start, Nic made his way through the pack with a crazy high-low pass in turn 2 but unfortunately, that didn't stick. Into the last turn, Nic got dive bombed and had to sit the main event out, missing the cut by 1 spot.
With an 8:30pm bed time on Saturday night, Nic looked to seal the deal on Sunday and that's exactly what he did. Nic breezed through the qualifiers, quarter final, semi final, all without any trouble. In the main, Nic had second gate pick and lined up in gate 2 next to GT's new heat, Corben Sharrah. When the gate dropped, it looked like Nic would take the holeshot but it was Free Agent's Kyle Bennett with Nic closely in second. In and out of turns 2 and 3, Nic sprinted for the finish and stretched out a half bike win at the line, putting his Haro Race LT on top of the podium once again. With this win, Nic extends his lead in the Power Rankings. If he remains this lead for the next year and four months, he will find himself as USA Cycling's #1 pick to represent the country at the 2012 Olympic Games. What a shredder.
Khalen Young, after a month off the bike and a little vacation to his homeland in Australia, looked pretty solid considering the mini vacay. Saturday saw Khalen out front in the qualifying rounds but in the quarter final, he surprisingly smashed the gate hard enough to nearly flip the bars. Sunday, after winning the quarter, KY was on a mission to the main event but the semi didn't go quite as planned when he got dive bombed and parked in turn 2. Khalens season is about to get busy after a couple more rounds of racing in America and then it's off to South Africa for round 1 of the Supercross series and then back to Australia to follow the qualifying criteria in search of a spot on the Australian Olympic Team for London 2012.
In other Haro highlights, the boss man Allan Cooke was back on track in 28-35 Intermediate. With arguably one of the absolute worst starts in BMX, Allan served his competition over the jumps and through the rhythm section, wrapping up a main event win on Friday night!
The next event for Nic and Khalen is round #2 of the ABA national series in Guthrie, Oklahoma, January 28-30. Brooke will be back on track in Oldsmar, Florida, mid February for round #3.
The Haro/Rockstar Factory Team proudly endorses: Rockstar Energy Drink, Kenda Tires, CLiQ components, Alienation Rims, and Troy Lee Designs.
The next event for Nic and Khalen is round #2 of the ABA national series in Guthrie, Oklahoma, January 28-30. Brooke will be back on track in Oldsmar, Florida, mid February for round #3.
The Haro/Rockstar Factory Team proudly endorses: Rockstar Energy Drink, Kenda Tires, CLiQ components, Alienation Rims, and Troy Lee Designs.
