The Dirt, Riot in Rio - August 2016

THE

DIRT RiOT IN RIO

THE AUSSIES THEIR.STORIES

THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SPORTING.STAGE Photos in publication by Jerry Landrum/BMXMania.com

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Contents

BMX RIO QUIZ..........................3 FEATURE: 5 Proud Aussies, 5 Aussies to be Proud Of.........4 Meet our riders......................12 Sam Willoughby...............14 Caroline Buchanan..........16 Anthony Dean...................18 Lauren Reynolds..............20 Bodi Turner........................22

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How well do you know bmx?

TRY OUR RIO QUIZ!

1. When did BMX debut at the Games?

2. Which country has been the most successful at the Games?

3. How many medals are on offer in BMX? 4. How many riders have represented Australia at the Games?

5. How many Australians have won a medal at the Games?

6. How many people can fit in the Rio BMX venue?

7. Who was second in the women’s event in London?

8. Who claimed the women’s time trial in London?

9. Who competed for Australia in 2008 a year after breaking their back?

10. Which Games precinct will BMX be held in at Rio?

Answers: 1. 2008 2. Latvia (2 gold) 3. 6 4. 10 5. 1 – Sam Willoughby in 2012 6. 7500 7. Sarah Walker of New Zealand 8. Caroline Buchanan 9. Luke Madill 10. Deodoro PAGE | 3

5 PROUD AUSS

TO

SIES... ...5 AUSSIES O BE PROUD OF

On Friday August 19, just after lunch at the Olympic BMX Centre in the Deodoro precinct in Rio de Janeiro, the best BMX racers in the world will spend just a few minutes, within a few hours putting their life’s work on display for all to see.

Just making the three-moto semi-finals will have been tough, with the seeding time trial contested 48hours before and three-moto quarterfinals just a day earlier. Mental and physical tiredness will already be a factor.

drops in each and every moto.

Then, the finals. The heat of that moment, on their sport’s grandest stage, will be every bit as hot as the Olympic cauldron that was lit 14 days earlier in the Maracana Stadium.

The pace will be insane Who will make up the eight outstanding riders First, the semi final mo- as eight riders in each in the women’s final? tos, where 16 men and semi final moto try to squeeze their way into Australia’s hopes will 16 women will stand rest on current world a finals berth. There on the start gate with hope in their hearts and will be no room for mis- number one Caroline belief in their souls that takes and no space for Buchanan and fellow fellow dual Olympian they could become just conservation. It will be the second man or third an all out effort to keep Lauren Reynolds. woman to win Olympic the dream alive from Multiple world the second the gate BMX gold.

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champion Buchanan is dynamite off the start and a smooth tactical technician that everyone will have an eye on.

Reynolds is as strong as any rider on the gate and was born for this moment.

They will likely have to beat defending Olympic champion Mariana Pajon. The reigning world titleholder is an icon in her native Colombia and will have plenty of local support on the South American continent where she is BMX queen. She is the rider to beat. She

can be beaten. The ever-present Alise Post is America’s best hope and is a threat in any race she enters. She will soon marry Australian star Sam Willoughby in a BMX union for the ages. Will this race kick-start her celebrations?

Laura Smulders gives the Netherlands a shot.

Elke Vanhoof (Belgium), 2015 world champion Stefany Hernandez (Venezuela) and the second American Brooke Crain are also threats to the Olympic crown.

But our eyes will be on Buchanan and Reynolds. Can they get to the final? For Reynolds, it was a bridge too far in her debut Olympics.

It is a stage only two Australian women – Nicole Callisto (sixth in 2008) and Buchanan (fifth in 2012) - have ever reached. Let’s hope that list grows.

Both deserve to be there and both have, for four years, thought of this exact moment, when the spotlight is brightest, to earn some redemption from London in 2012.

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After London Reynolds questioned whether she was quite ready for the big stage. She didn’t quite get to where she needed. Now she is ready. Now is her chance.

women’s champion Anne-Caroline Chausson of France in a club of three victors, they will no doubt have to beat an Aussie – will it be the competitor with the edgy hairstyle and the equally flashy gold bike, or will it be the one-time tomboy from country Western Australia?

Buchanan had her chance and it slipped through her grasp. She is calculating and she is brave. She will not allow herself to be in the The men’s event is just same position again at as compelling. the end of this day.

In the short Olympic If Pajon is to win back- history of BMX there to-back Olympic titles, has been but one champion. A Latvian or if another rider is named Maris Stromto join her and Beijing PAGE | 8

bergs, who upset a bank of older riders to win in Beijing and came back from indifferent form to claim a memorable gold again in London.

He is his country’s biggest sporting star. Just the second Olympic gold medallist in his nation’s history and the only double Olympic champ. In BMX and in Latvia Strombergs is a god.

But so too is Sam Willoughby in Australian BMX circles. And somewhat in America

too where he has made his home on the professional circuit since he was barely out of high school. Blazing a trail that teammate and life-long friend Anthony Dean is now following and many other Aussies dream of emulating.

Willoughby won silver behind Strombergs in 2012 and is one of the sport’s most intense characters. There have undoubtedly been few waking moments – and sleeping moments too – where the shy powerhouse from Adelaide hasn’t been thinking of

this day in the last four years. Perhaps it has been longer? Regardless, he will be ready.

He is the only Australian to win a BMX Olympic medal and along with Jared Graves, who was sixth in Beijing, the only green and gold BMXer to have reached a men’s final.

Every rider in the men’s semi finals will have a chance to progress to the final and all are a chance to win – to hear their national anthem and to join Strombergs as an Olympic champi-

on.

Australia’s most obvious hopes lie with the dogged Willoughby but he will not be in the fight alone. Everything Dean has done in the last four years indicates he will be there or thereabouts. A reserve in London, he has been on the Olympic periphery, now he wants to be centre-stage.

With slightest ounce of luck, a third Aussie will be there too. Bodi Turner is a breath of fresh air. A happy-go-lucky 22-year-old whose laid PAGE | 9

back nature and cheeky grin belies the fire that burns within.

Looking to join the three Aussies in the final 16 and then the remaining eight will be a host of contenders from all over the globe.

Prodigious Dutch world number one Niek Kimmann has earned his spot at the top of the world rankings and Frenchman Joris Daudet is the 2016 world champ. Great Britain’s Liam Phillips has a wealth of experience and will not come to Rio PAGE | 10

with the baggage that competing in front of a home crowd brought him four years ago.

The American trio of Connor Fields, Nic Long and Corben Sharrah will join riders from Colombia, Switzerland and New Zealand’s Trent Jones with high hopes of knocking off Strombergs et al.

In a matter of four races – three semi final motos and the final – totalling less than four minutes – hearts will be broken, dreams will be crushed and others will become

heroes.

We as the Australian BMX family have three chances for the latter, three chances for Olympic glory and as fans, as supporters, we should be grateful for the three young men we have representing us on that busy Rio afternoon.

BMX EVENT SCHEDULE DAY 12

AUGUST 17

wEDNESDAY

TV COVERAGE: Seven Network, 2.30am AEST, August 18 Men’s seeding - Time Trial Women’s seeding - Time Trial

DAY 12

AUGUST 18

THURSDAY

TV COVERAGE: Seven Network, 2.30am AEST, August 19 Men’s quarterfinals Heats 1-3

DAY 12

AUGUST 19

FRIDAY

TV COVERAGE: Seven Network, 2.30am AEST, August 20 Women’s semi finals Men’s semi finals Women’s final Men’s final

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@SW91

@cbuchanan68

MEET THE ATHLETES

@ADEAN144

@LR21BMX

@boditurner

SAM WILLOUGHBY Caroline BUCHANAN Anthony DEAN LAUREN REYNOLDS Bodi Turner

FASTFIVE #1: It all started when I was 6-years-old with my brother & we got a letter inviting us to the local club #2: I always loved watching Kyle Bennett on the BMX track #3: Moving to the USA & turning pro was always my goal - its become my career! #4: I really enjoy the track at Chula Vista, USA #5: Some people may not know that I am a BIG motorsport fan! I’ve always liked Chad Reed & Jimmie Johnson PAGE | 14

Sam I Am is very much The Man when it comes to BMX in Australia and if ever someone seemed destined to step up from child prodigy to Olympic medallist (like he did in London four years ago) to Olympic champion, it is Willoughby.

Few athletes are as focused and singled minded as Willoughby and while he admits to having mellowed over the last year or so, one thing you know is that he hasn’t dropped the intensity and professionalism in his preparation this Olympic cycle. If anything he has gotten smarter, becoming a better listener and learning in the process.

“I have a lot more experience under my belt, but my mentality to cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s, be selfish in preparation and surround myself with great people is unchanged,” Willoughby said.

“From a preparation standpoint I have learned from 2012, but more or less I felt I did all I could at that time, and I feel I am doing all I can now.”

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lian rankings!

Buchanan is one of Australian sport’s great success stories, a one-woman PR and marketing dream who just happens to be one of the very best in the world at what she does. Few elite athletes have put as much back into their sport at such a young age and very few have put their own money into helping develop riders that one day could knock her from her perch at the top of the Austra-

Rio will be Caro’s second Games and the starlet believes she is in a much better position to handle the rigours of an Olympic campaign, including managing the extra-curricular activities that make her the complete athlete package.

“The last four years have matured me and helped me deal with stress and pressure. Now I am more focussed on BMX and hitting the one per cent goals in Rio,” Buchanan said.

“Last time around I tried to do everything from working with sponsors, to being a mountain bike world champion, BMX world champion and put time into media. I overcommitted.

“I’m a whole different human to four years ago. I’m more mature and the strengthening my mental side has helped my performance.”

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FASTFIVE #1: I ride with #68 because I was a little brat at age 6 and knew dad would find it hard to make with electrical tape #2: My childhood hero was Luke Madill #3: I couldn’t pick 1 embarrassing moment, there are too many! #4: My favourite track is sleeman supercross, queensland #5: I’m from the ACT and my home club is Tuggeranong BMX CLub PAGE | 17

FASTFIVE #1: I only got #44 this year! Dad drove SuperKarts with it & F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton races with it too! #2: I always looked up to Luke Madill & it was dad who taught me hard work & dedication #3: Once my goggles are on, it’s GO time! #4: Chula Vista BMX track in California is a favourite of mine #5: This whole journey started at Cross Keys BMX Club in South Australia PAGE | 18

Deano seems like he could be Robyn to Willoughby’s Batman, the pair having grown up together in Adelaide and followed a similar path to the USA and international success.

Willoughby may have reached the sport’s upper echelon a little faster but in Dean he has an offsider, a Robyn, with the belief and ability that one day he just may outdo Batman on a big stage. That stage could even be in Rio. He was the team reserve in London and was able to learn from just outside the furnace of Olympic competition and will be better for that experience now.

“After taking a backseat in London and soaking the experience in, it has fuelled me these past four years to make sure I don’t miss Rio,” Dean said.

“I am more confident in myself and the belief to win is a lot higher nowadays. Although I am still the same guy who is chasing his dreams.”

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FASTFIVE #1: I knew I would turn 21 the same year as London 2012, so I chose that number three years before in anticipation of being selected! #2: No one loves you more than mum and dad, they’re my role models #3: I couldn’t pick 1 embarrassing moment, there are too many! #4: I don’t have superstitions other than just staying true and being myself #5: My home is Bunbury BMX Club!

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Everyone that dons the Green and Gold does so with a huge amount of pride and Reynolds might just be one of the proudest to represent her country. Having experienced the London Olympics where she admittedly performed below her own expectations, Loz is shaping up as a major medal contender in Rio. “It’s an absolute honour to be selected for the second time to represent my country in Rio. All the blood, sweat and tears from the past four years have certainly paid off. I have an opportunity to do everything I can to be better than I was in London and do myself and my country proud,” Reynolds said after her selection was announced.

“Absolutely I am a better equipped rider compared to four years ago. The past four years have taught me a lot as a rider and a person. I’m looking forward to showcasing the best I have and enjoying every minute of it. If I want to be a medallist I need to make the least mistakes and race like I train.”

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FASTFIVE #1: I had #47 as a kid, but that was taken when I was eligible for a career number, so #747 has a nice ring to it! #2: I love Chula Vista BMX Track in California! #3: I look up to Maris Strombergs, 2 gold medals is HUGE #4: I don’t believe in superstitions #5: I live in the Gold Coast, but Eastfield BMX Club, VIC is home!

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Not much phases Turner, the baby of the Australian contingent in both age and experience. But age cannot belie his undoubted talent, enthusiasm and sheer thirst for his own time in the sun. He is patient, yet realistic. Carefree, yet focused.

Some people are made for the big stage, the brightest arena and Turner believes he is one of those people. He also embraces the support around him and is a team player in an individual sport.

“I am one for big crowds and amazing atmosphere, no doubt Rio will be epic, that excites me,” Turner said.

“I have the best team supporting me everyday. The riders amongst our team want the best for everyone and our support staff transcend our expectations, giving us the best opportunity to perform at 100 per cent.”

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THE

DIRT RiOT IN RIO