The offical 2008 Olympic cycling/BMX/mountain bike/TV Schedule thread(Merged)

[2wheel_lee]

As some of you may know, they will have BMX racing at the Olympics in Bejing in 2008. This is promising for mountain bikes as it creates generally more exposure for bicycle racing, which will likely trickle over to mtbs.

Check out the track, and really take note of the dimensions - there are some big gaps in there! Also note that there is are men's and women's lines.

This should be really cool!

[Skeeter]

Originally Posted by 2wheel_lee

This should be really cool!

You got that right some exciting siht
Those are some major gaps, 32'...damn

[sdyeti]

Whoa! Looks awesome...can't wait to see Jared Graves hit it!

[nappyt]

I have been watching some of the BMX stuff on the TV not much track stuff though. This should be better then some of the other stuff on.

[CalEpic]

Those do look like some big gaps on the mens line. Is this a pretty long track or are pro tracks similar in length?

C

[2wheel_lee]

According to the specs, the men's course is 1213 feet. Most BMX tracks in the states range from 750-1000 but from what I understand, there are many that are 1250 feet.

[spookydave]

that's not even 1/4 mile. should be able to get that done in under 7 seconds. opps wrong sport.

[cbHarping]

Olympic BMX Blitz!

By Jeff Foss
EXPN.com
(Archive)

March 31, 2008, 6:29 PM


Mike and Jill share a laugh at EXPN's expense.

Until fairly recently, the term "action-sports" made members of the International Olympic Committee feel a little queasy. The IOC nerds didn't quite know what to make of all these punk kids who, unlike bulging gymnasts and sinewy sprinters, hadn't devoted every waking minute to winning an Olympic medal. Snowboarding Halfpipe helped initiate a paradigm shift here back in 1998, but other "unconventional" sports have been throwing their sideways hats into the ring for Olympic consideration for years. Enter: BMX racing, 2008!

Indeed, freestyle BMX's speedy predecessor will make its Olympic debut this summer in Beijing (along with women's 3000m steeplechase, team table tennis, marathon swimming and six other inaugural barn-burners). Top American BMX racing hopefuls Mike Day and Jill Kintner recently stopped by our Manhattan offices to give us the scoop on fast little bikes, freestyle riding during downtime, and questionable border crossings.

EXPN.com: When do you head out to Beijing?

MIKE DAY: Well, we have to qualify first. It's a points system, and we still have four more races this season. The schedule just came out last night—we'll be in Dallas next weekend, Australia at the beginning of April, Copenhagen at the end of that month, and Chula Vista, California, in May for the finals. Three guys and two girls will go to Beijing based on points, trials, and coaches' pics.

EXPN: How did you get into racing BMX in the first place?

JILL KINTNER: Well, I started riding bikes when I was two. I have an older brother and grew up in a neighborhood full of boys with a BMX track just down the way, so we'd ride our beater bikes there every day. When I was eight or nine I started racing, and I turned pro around age 14. By the time I was 21 I was racing mountain bikes and BMX bikes and was kind of ready for something else, so I stopped doing BMX for about five years. Then I heard about it being in the Olympics, so I got back into it.


We hope the suits here at ESPN don't mind a few tire tracks on the massive mahogany boardroom table.

DAY: I was the younger brother tagging along with the older brother at the track. I started getting serious when I was about 11 and turned pro at age 17, but I was always the kid with good skills and bad acceleration at the start. So I'd spend a lot of time on trails and at the skatepark instead of the track. Then I did BMX Downhill in the 2003 Summer X Games and realized that if I put a little work into it, I could be much better. Then the whole Olympics thing came out, so I got a coach and started training extra hard. It's pretty much been my goal for the last three years.

EXPN: Do you still hang out in skateparks and mess around with freestyle stuff?

DAY: Yeah, but just to have fun and break up all the sprints and gym work I have to do for training. I'd say most of the guys who race still mess around in skateparks once in a while, and most of the guys who do freestyle raced at one point. For me, freestyle is a way to not stress on racing.


Jill has won so many titles on two wheels that an Olympic medal would just be icing on the cake. Delicious, I-simply-must-have-it icing ...

KINTNER: Racing is where it started with BMX, but I think anybody who's had any association with a bike will be into watching us and rooting for us if we make the Olympics.

EXPN: What's it like living at an Olympic training facility?

DAY: It's been cool. The facility is down in Chula Vista, outside San Diego, about nine miles from Mexico. We went to Rosarito for tacos the other day, actually.


Mike is 6'3", pretty tall for a BMX racer. "My long legs are actually an advantage, because they help me get my wheels where they need to be," he explains.

KINTNER: I've never been into shot put or discus, but living with all the other athletes makes you feel like a part of everything. You meet everybody at the Olympic center and it gets you interested in all these sports. Now I'm friends with Olympic javelin throwers and archers and rowers and kayaks and softball players and paralympic athletes and all kinds of people.

EXPN: Take us through the Olympic BMX track.

KINTNER: You start on top at about 40 feet high with seven other riders. Then you come bombing down the ramp at about 38-40mph for the guys and 35-37mph for girls, because we're lighter. You get to the bottom and hit the first jump almost the exact same time, so everyone's in the air with maybe one wheel's distance between each bike. You hit that giant double, pedal, hit another jump, pedal, and then come into an even bigger jump that's a step-up double step-down. The guys are tripling that one. Their section goes right and the girls' section cuts back around, and then you have two straightaways full of jumps. You try to stay smooth here into the right-handed turn, which is a section of the course that the guys actually jump over—roughly 40 feet. Then you get into a long technical section that almost looks like a supercross course with like eight jumps in a row. Finally you have another turn and then a straightaway to the finish.

EXPN: That sounds ... hard.

DAY: It is, but it only takes about 45 seconds to get around the whole thing, so it's over pretty quick.

KINTNER: We've ridden the exact replica in Chula Vista, because the same guy built both tracks. It's a nice little advantage there—now all we have to do is qualify for the real thing!

EXPN: Right on. Good luck!

[cbHarping]

Here's a news video from NBC San Diego showing the Chula Vista track. Pretty gnar entrance! Says they get speeds up to 40MPH.

http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=207550

Some photos here on the NBC Olympics blog:

http://universalsports.nbcsports.com/blogs/show/4246

[sdyeti]

Dayum...that is a huge entrance. Whew...got my adrenaline up just thinking about it.

Jill's been writing about the OTC a lot on her blog...www.jillkintner.com

[allison]

Are they really going 40? Doesn't look that fast?

Thanks for the links, though. Very cool.

[2wheel_lee]

The most common gearing for 20" BMX bikes is 44/16. That chainring looks a lot larger than a 44! And the rear looks like it could be smaller than a 16.

This course looks like it's really going to ramp up BMX - pun intended!

Originally Posted by cbharping

[Nagaredama]

Carla you coming out to Bellflower tomorrow?

[cbHarping]

Originally Posted by Nagaredama

Carla you coming out to Bellflower tomorrow?

Unfortunately I can't - gotta work Saturday. Can't make it on Monday either, I'm bummed. Bellflower is really close for me.

I was going to try the Orange Y next week, either Wed or Fri. How about you???

[2wheel_lee]

I may try to make it to Orange on Sunday. Anyone planning to go at that time? Can't do Bellflower on Sat.

[kevinator]

Congrats to Amber!

http://www.amberneben.com/index.php?...=209&Itemid=50

[newpos]

So BMX is in the Olympics... I can't help but feel that mountain biking deserves its fair place there as well as a physically demanding, technical, and challenging sport. What are your thoughts?

[jayman_29]

They do have mountain biking in the Olympics...Cross Country.

http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/pro...sp?DiscCode=CM

http://www.webmountainbike.com/20olmobite.html