*** BMX Track In Utah Mirrors Beijing's ***
South Jordan, UT -- 07/20/2007
Since she started competing in BMX bike races nearly
seven years ago, Ashley Topham has dreamed about
taking the s****t she loves to its highest level by qualifying
for the Olympics.
For several years, fulfilling such a dream meant traveling to
surrounding states to find the right tracks and the right races.
Now to get a feel of an Olympic BMX track, all the Lehi
resident has to do is travel a few miles up I-15 to the RAD
Canyon BMX complex.
There, Topham can take practice spins on the newest
addition to the complex — a pro BMX track which is
also an exact replica of the track that will be used in the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
For someone like Topham who harbors Olympic
qualifying dreams, it's a dream come true.
"To have it here, pretty much in my back yard, is pretty awesome,"
Topham said.
The track — called the OPTS at RAD Canyon — was completed
and opened for practice in June. It was constructed on the unused
southern end of the facility and carries the distinction of being the
first permanent pro style BMX track located in the Intermountain
West.
Some of the more seasoned local racers have
already noticed a difference practicing on it.
"It's just got bigger jumps," said Ogden resident Mitch Ropelato.
"It's a little bit rougher than most tracks, but we can work that out."
Track groomers do their best to keep the track in pristine shape.
Jason Melton, a local BMX rider who is head of maintenance at
RAD Canyon, said it took nearly two months of landscaping by
tractor and by hand just to prepare the track for the summer.
"Once you build the track with all the jumps and everything,
you still have to rake them out," Melton said. "Get all the rocks
out. Get all the bumps out. That kind of thing."
Maintaining it will be an ongoing process. Once the track
for the 2012 Olympics is revealed, RAD Canyon will once
again build an exact replica.
Serving as a tune-up for the Olympics isn't the only purpose
of the track. Racers have been using the OPTS track to prepare
for the 2007 UCI BMX World Champion****ps in Victoria,
Canada, at the end of July.
RAD Canyon also hopes to use the track to stage a pro
challenge event in September after the Dew Action S****ts
Tour wraps up its races scheduled for Salt Lake City.
A new state-of-the-art Olympic replica track seems to be
just the thing that will put BMX racing in Utah on the map
nationally. Local racers like the idea of drawing top BMX
racers from all over to their home state.
"It's pretty cool to see some of the pros wanting to come
down here and train on the Olympic track," said Riverton
resident Cody Kelley, a six-year veteran of BMX racing.
"Having it is good for everybody."
Spectators will notice an immediate difference in the skill level
of races, Melton said, once they are regularly staged on the
new track. Much more jumping, air time and action are featured
than on a normal BMX track.
Skilled racers will appreciate the differences even more.
"The riders themselves will enjoy this more than something
that's built for everybody," Melton said. "They'll enjoy a
track that's built specifically more for them."
On The Web:
http://www.utahbmx.com
| http://www.radcanyonbmx.com
*PHOTO
Mitch Ropelato of Ogden, in foreground, and Cody Kelley
of Riverton grab some air during practice at the RAD Canyon
BMX complex in South Jordan. The BMX track is an exact
replica of the one that will be used during the 2008 Summer
Olympic Games in Beijing.
http://deseretnews.com/photos/4346385.jpg
*PHOTO
Riders try out the new track. It has bigger jumps and is a little
bit rougher than most BMX tracks, some of the riders say.
http://deseretnews.com/photos/4346375.jpg
*PHOTO
Ashley Topham of Lehi, a BMX enthusiast, says of the track:
"To have it here, pretty much in my back yard, is pretty awesome."
http://deseretnews.com/photos/4346387.jpg
ACC - http://www.genesbmx.com/2008-bmx-olympics.html
Geneb...Wenatchee,Wa****ngton-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com
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