From the Vancouver Sun, published Monday, July 30, 2007

VICTORIA — They had better fasten their seatbelts in Beijing when BMX makes its Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer Games.

The finals of the 2007 world championships Saturday featured top racing, highlighted by spectacular spills and thrills. It promised to be the greatest cycling event at the Juan de Fuca recreation complex since the 1994 Commonwealth Games and it didn’t disappoint.

More than 6,000 flag-waving fans roared their approval as American Kyle Bennett and Shanaze Reade of England claimed the world men’s and women’s championships, respectively.

The hosts, though, failed to make a dent in the competition. Team Canada did not place in either the men’s, women’s or junior finals.

Canada’s best hope for a medal, world No. 5 Samantha Cools of Airdrie, Alta., fought back tears after fading in the women’s elimination rounds. Points earned at the 2007 worlds count toward Olympic qualifying for Beijing.

By contrast, Bennett was ecstatic.

“I can’t believe this is happening … I’m trying to take it all in,” said Bennett, after holding off a fierce charge down the stretch from silver medallist, Khalen Young of Australia.

But he knows the big prize will be in Beijing.

“Everyone’s goal is the Olympics,” said Bennett, who was injured for much of the past year, before rebounding to win the world championship.

Bennett, born and raised in the small Texas town of Conroe, said he could almost feel the Aussie’s breath on his shoulders.

“To be honest, man, I was getting tired and just trying to hold Khalen off,” said Bennett.

Randy Stumpfhauser of the U.S. took the bronze medal. Defending world champion Luciano Javier Colombo of Argentina didn’t make it past the first elimination round and 2005 world champion Bubba Harris of the U.S. crashed in the quarter-finals.

“It was an explosion out there, and real tight. But that’s BMX,” said Harris.

“It was so intense out there … there’s nothing I can do … it’s just racing,” said Colombo.

Women’s champion, Reade, from Cheshire, used a shrewd tactic in winning the world title.

“I was so nervous out of the gate at the start … but I listened to the [public address] commentator during the final to try figuring what was going on,” said Reade, as all three finalists from the French team crashed behind her.

“I thought he was saying they [French riders] were catching up. But when I heard him say ‘crash,’ I thought to myself: ‘Oh my god, I’m going to be world champion.’ Now my focus is the Beijing Olympics.”

Sarah Walker of New Zealand took the silver and Jana Horakova of the Czech Republic won bronze.

The men’s junior world championship was won by Yvan Lapraz of Switzerland, and Magalie Pottier of France took gold in the junior women’s final.

The competitors raved about the Victoria organizers for the 2007 worlds.

“They produced great racing and a great atmosphere,” said Reade.

“We couldn’t have asked for better,” Bennett agreed. “This whole world championships was put together well and was a great push to Beijing.”

The only downside was the lack of success for the host nation, a recurring theme from the Under-20 World Cup of soccer.

“It’s rough, there are no shoo-ins,” said Team Canada BMX head coach Tanya Dubnicoff.

“It’s hard. We did everything we could, we had everyone in form and everything in place from coaches, mechanics, chiropractors, physiotherapists and doctors. You should see how thick my notebook is.

“But our athletes must learn you only get this chance [world championships] once every 365 days, and at the Olympics, you only get that chance once every four years.”

Although Saturday was the big day, world championship racing continued Sunday at Juan de Fuca with the cruiser classes. That’s a non-Olympic BMX discipline in which racers use larger wheels.