August 21, 2007 (Beijing, China) – The second round of the UCI BMX Supercross series was also the inaugural race on the Olympic track, acting as a trial run for what will be one of the most exciting sports to watch at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as BMX makes its debut.

The track, built by world-renowned builder Tom Ritzenthaler from the USA, has a massive roll-in that goes straight into big burly technical jumps, staying true to his style. This made for spectacular racing, crashes and carnage. Also new was the random gate start, which means there is a 1 to 3-second delay after the start command when the gate drops.

This will be the only time riders will be able to ride the Olympic track prior to the Olympic Games in August 2008. This second round also saw the introduction of a women’s class (open class Elite Women/Junior Women) in BMX Supercross World Cup racing.

Over 140 riders showed up to test their skill against this huge track, although Canada didn’t send any riders, not even 5-time BMX World Champion Sam Cools from Alberta. Cools was disappointed at the CCA’s decision not to send her to Beijing for this pre-Olympic test event to gain valuable experience against the international field on the Olympic track, and possibly earn coveted UCI points which are required to earn an Olympic berth.

The Elite women’s main event saw Gabriella Diaz (Arg) take the holeshot shutting down MTB DH star Anne-Caroline Chausson (Fra) long enough for 2007 BMX World Champion Shanaze Reade (Gbr) to power around them both to take the lead right to the finish line. Chausson came back, passing Diaz in the as slipped back to fourth.

With the USA’s Bubba Harris out of the race due to a shattered ankle suffered during the time trail qualifying, it was up to teammate Donny Robinson to get the job done. Robinson was out of the gate first, in front of “˜Afro’ Bob De Wilde (Ned), and they never looked back. Jared Graves (Aus) finished third while Latvian sensation Arturs Matisons crashed hard, almost taking out a couple of other riders.

Results

Women

Semifinal

Heat 1
1. Anne-Caroline Chausson (Fra)
2. Laetitia Le Corguille (Fra)
3. Nicole Callisto (Aus)
4. Jill Kintner (USA)
5. Aneta Hladikova (Cze)
6. Arielle Martin (USA)
7. Kimberly Hayashi (USA)
8. Joyce Seesing (Ned)

Heat 2
1. Gabriela Maria Diaz (Arg)
2. Shanaze Reade (Gbr)
3. Sarah Walker (Nzl)
4. Tanya Bailey (Aus)
5. Jana Horakova (Cze)
6. Amanda Geving (USA)
7. Lieke Klaus (Ned)
8. Willy Kanis (Ned)

Finals

1. Shanaze Reade (Gbr) 36.923
2. Anne-Caroline Chausson (Fra) 1.12
3. Laetitia Le Corguille (Fra) 1.28
4. Gabriela Maria Diaz (Arg) 1.406
5. Jill Kintner (USA) 2.584
6. Sarah Walker (Nzl) 3.14
7. Nicole Callisto (Aus) 3.422
8. Tanya Bailey (Aus) 3.779

Men

1/4 Finals

Heat 1
1. Mike Day (USA)
2. Donny Robinson (USA)
3. Raymon Van Der Biezen (Ned)
4. Moana Moo Caille (Fra)
5. Manuel De Vecchi (Ita)
6. Tomas Slavik (Cze)
7. Thomas Hamon (Fra)
8. Danny Caluag (USA)

Heat 2
1. Arturs Matisons (Lat)
2. Pablo Gutierrez (Fra)
3. Jonathan Suarez (Ven)
4. Damien Godet (Fra)
5. Edzus Treimanis (Lat)
6. Michal Prokop (Cze)
7. Randy Stumpfhauser (USA)
8. Jamie Gray (Aus)

Heat 3
1. Kyle Bennett (USA)
2. Van Den Wildenberg (Ned)
3. Luke Madill (Aus)
4. Ivo Van Der Putten (Ned)
5. Andres Jimenez (Col)
6. Jeremy Chaffot (Fra)
7. Roger Rinderknecht (Sui)
8. Lukas Tamme (Cze)

Heat 4
1. Steven Cisar (USA)
2. Jared Graves (Aus)
3. Robert De Wilde (Ned)
4. Martijn Scherpen (Ned)
5. Tyler Brown (USA)
6. Nicholas Long (USA)
7. Yvan Lapraz (Sui)
8. Marc Willers (NZl)

Semifinals

Heat 1
1. Arturs Matisons (Lat)
2. Donny Robinson (USA)
3. Pablo Gutierrez (Fra)
4. Raymon Van Der Biezen (Ned)
5. Jonathan Suarez (Ven)
6. Moana Moo Caille (Fra)
7. Mike Day (USA)
8. Damien Godet (Fra)

Heat 2
1. Robert De Wilde (Ned)
2. Jared Graves (Aus)
3. Roman Van Den Wildenberg (Ned)
4. Martijn Scherpen (Ned)
5. Steven Cisar (USA)
6. Kyle Bennett (USA)
7. Ivo Van Der Putten (Ned)
8. Luke Madill (Aus)

Finals

1. Donny Robinson (USA) 36.949
2. Robert De Wilde (Ned) 0.185
3. Jared Graves (Aus) 0.422
4. Raymon Van Der Biezen (Ned) 0.631
5. Pablo Gutierrez (Fra) 0.672
6. Martijn Scherpen (Ned) 0.68
7. Rob Van Den Wildenberg (Ned) 15.442
DNF Arturs Matisons (Lat)