Report: BMX Indoor de Caen
Source: Tony Luckhurst
Posted: 5th February 2009
Tony Luckhurst's European odyssey continues, last week it was the Belgian champs. This time, Tony reports from the Indoor de Caen
Arriving in Caen and driving into town looking for the Parc des Expositions, you couldn't help notice the flags on the lamp posts and the illuminated adverts on the bus shelters promoting this event "BMX INDOOR de Caen". You knew that a lot had been put into this, the first indoor that Caen BMX Club have hosted. The organisers at the registration were so friendly and helpful and you could tell that the success of this weekend meant a lot to them. They took nothing for granted, and it showed. They seemed to value the attendance of the British that made the trip.
Saturday morning and with over 1,000 riders registered, it was time for the Cruiser category racing. Jon Moore (pictured) was our sole UK representative. Jon rides for Dialled and rides out of Bournemouth Raceway where he is also a club coach. Jon gave up racing in 1985 and didn't come back until 2005. He soon got his groove back and finished 1st in the Nationals and 2nd at the Brits in 2008. We expected a lot from Jon this weekend. He didn't disappoint.
40+ Cruisers were going straight to semis, so with only a few practice laps before Motos, it was time for a cool head, with no room for mistakes. Jon was on it, straight out the gate to take first and we all breathed a sigh of relief. A 2nd and 3rd in his other Motos and with a win in his Semi, we knew Jon was in with a chance of the number one slot. It wasn't to be though, with French champion Frederic Moal putting Jon into 2nd place. Still a great start for the travelling British contingent. Well done Jon, another trophy to show your workmates. At this stage we were unaware that Jon would be the only Brit to podium this weekend.
Saturday evening, and time for the Big Show! And boy what a show the French put on, Dancing Girls and MX Freestylers. All of the guys had practiced the track by now and pretty much all agreed that although the track was short, it was going to make for some great racing, with no room for error.
First round on the gate was the open event for over 16's, with only Farran Afflick-Straker out of Brixton and Dan Whyte of Peckham representing. This race went straight into 1/32's with top four only progressing to the next round, so once again, no room for mistakes. In fact we'd noticed by now, that if you missed one single pedal, for whatever reason, before the big doubles on the second straight, then you were pretty much done for.
Farran got lucky when the field fell in front of him while in last, so he was well happy to take 2nd. Dan got a confident 3rd to progress with Farran, but the fun was short lived with Farran getting an unlucky 5th in the 1/16ths and Dan getting caught up to finish at the back.
Billed as Supercross, in the open for the 16 and under, we had Jack Smallpeice and Dan McBride to cheer on. Once again with a 1 Moto transfer system there was no danger of us losing our voices, as although both Jack and Dan got 3rd in the first round, they then got 7th and 8th respectively in the 1/8's. We decided to leave early to get some pro sleep. Sunday was going to be tough...
...Sunday was tough.
First up the Cadets/15-16's with Jack and Dan getting a second chance to prove their worth. Neither got past the Motos. Jack was going backwards getting a 4-6-7 but came away from his first big international knowing what has to be done to make an impact out here. I had big hopes for Dan McBride this weekend, being part of British Cycling's Talent Team, 2nd at the Brits and 2nd in the Nationals, he comes with a pedigree. When he won his first Moto, we were all confident he could go all the way out here. The track was unforgiving though, and when he got squeezed into 5th in his second Moto and found himself towards the back in his third, he tripped on the step up double going for the finish line in 5th and ended up in the Medics tent. He had a cut face, a bashed knee and a battered ego. A tough weekend for Dan, but at least he had the experience and will be stronger for it. Dan left for the hospital and missed the rest of the British riders in action. Maybe a good move Dan? Hope the stitches in the face didn't hurt too much and we hope your knee injury is not too serious.
17-24 Men: Charlie Luckhurst didn't get by the first round on this occasion. Farran, Dan Whyte and Billy Luckhurst all got out of the Motos fairly comfortably, but you just knew that there were going to be no guarantees on this track. Into 1/16's, Billy got 6th and Dan got a super-donk over the second turn. Only Farran got through with a good 3rd place, but he could get no further than the 1/8's finishing in 7th. This was a French National round, so this gives you some idea of the catching up our guys have to do.
And so to the 30+ guys, with comeback kid Ryan Yearsley and seasoned travellers Marco Dell'Isola and Andy Shaw, I felt that we would at least finish on a high. Ryan was maybe the victim of a bit of team riding to only get a 4-4-5 in his Motos and go out, he was gutted not to get further. Even Mr. Precision Andy Shaw wavered on a 2-4-3 in Motos and could only manage 5th in the quarters. This was Marco's last race before leaving for Australia for a year out and after getting a 2-1-1 he was on a roll. Marco looked strong and smooth in getting a 2nd in his quarter. It was written in the stars - the race was his. However, in the stands we saw a pattern emerging that involved the 5th to 4th place pimp-move on the last turn, it was happening in every race. Great for the fans, not so great for Marco who fell foul to this in his semi, leaving him pretty much devastated. Unlucky Marco, the Euro circuit will miss you, see you in Adelaide!
Caen was a complete contrast to the previous week's trip to Kortrijk, Belgium. At Kortrijk, a lot of English turned up to a poorly organised event and performed well. In Caen a few English turned up to a super-organised event and generally didn't perform. Reality bites hard.
I enjoyed them both, but the organisation, the moves that the track brought out, the talent on show, the polished presentation and the sense of occasion all brought together made me start to think that this event in Caen was probably the best BMX event I have ever attended.
Apportez a la prochaine Francaise course indoor!