Intense/Phantom/On-Trac Captures the Inaugural Disney Cup!

When the ABA 2007 schedule was released we all knew early we were going to Disney World. Rarely do we get to be part of a special event offering three National scores, the Disney Cup and momentum going into the Grands, it was clear we had to be a part of BMX history and an alliance that can only be HUGE for our beloved sport. Driving under the Disney arches as we entered the property and being exposed to all the great men and women of Disney, this event was really something special. Oh – and the racing rocked, too!

Terra Nichols took on the monsters of Women’s BMX including Alise Post and Marian Pajol. Terra rides awesome and nails a 3rd on Day One and crashes taking an 8th on Day Two and is retired for the weekend. Hopefully, she’ll be healed up in time for Tulsa. Chad Street, BMX’s version of John Wayne’s “Quiet Man”, does what he always does – rides consistently and very well taking the podium in 2nd two days and a capturing a respectable 4th the other. Watch for Chad in Tulsa at the Grands – he might just sneak up on ya!

All of our ladies rode very well most of whom came away from the weekend with hardware, victories and momentum heading towards the climax of the season. The fearsome Kristen Long is really coming into her own and showed it this weekend nailing a Triple in 11 Girls and a 1st and two 2nds in 11-12 Mixed Open. Dominique “Demolition” Daniels continued her dominant ways achieving an unprecedented Triple – Triple – Triple in 14 Girls, 14-16 Girls Cruiser and 13-14 Mixed Open. Teammate Taylor Wolcott also had a tremendous outing finding Dominique her biggest competition managing three 2nds in 14 Girls and two 2nds and a 3rd in 13-14 Mixed Open. And last-but-not-least veteran Shelbi Long also compiled an impressive Triple in 16 Girls and two 1sts and a 2nd in 15-16 Mixed Open.

Future CFO Seanie Seanie Gaian got a preview of the Grands in 11X and held his own making his mains and nabbing a 2nd, 3rd and 4th for the three days. Fergus Falls’ BMX ambassador Derik Bergh made all his mains for the weekend managing a 2nd and 3rd in 11-12 Open and a 3rd on Sunday in a stacked 12X class. UCI World Champion and NAG 1 Rusty “Razzberry” Nesvig had an extraordinary weekend competing in 13-14 Open and 13X. Rusty’s blazing first ten pedals enabled him to easily handle the top dogs in 14X winning two out-of-three 13-14 Opens and taking down a 2nd on day three. In class he did what he always does – win it all notching an impressive triple in 13X.

In another young versus old match up, new to the 15X class Connor Fields also mixed up the 15-16 Open class. The Conman takes the win Saturday and 3rd and 4th for the rest of the weekend. In the 15X class, Connor notched two wins and a 2nd. Nic Long a.k.a. “The King of Open” turned in yet another dominant performance sporting his new Leatt neck brace (www.leatt-brace.com), a new accessory since Nic’s glute-clenching UCI Supercross debut in China. Smart kid, this one! Nic powered his way to a Triple in 17 and over Open and two 1sts and a 2nd in 17-18X. Teammate Jake “Pumkinhead” Peebles also had good outings in 17 and over Open taking a 2nd and 3rd . Matt Baisley celebrated his 20th birthday with his BMX family and put together some great races in 17-20 Cruiser achieving three 2nds behind Florida-boy Josh Meyers.

Several of our riders came home with Disney Cup hardware establishing their names in history as inaugural winners. These winning riders include Kristen Long, Dominique Daniels, Shelbi Long, Christopher Blevins, Rusty Nesvig, Connor Fields and Nic Long. Additionally, the Intense/Phantom/On-Trac team captures the Factory Team Title and are proud to have our team set the tone for many great Disney competitions in the future. The team would also like to offer our “Congratulations” to all the other Disney Cup winning riders and to both Intense Racing and BMX Rush for their team victories in the Bike Shop and Trophy Team categories, respectively.

Now that the Disney race is over, it is time for the most serious business of the year; the ABA Grands in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Greatest-Race-On-Earth. There’s a lot at stake for the team as we enter the season’s ultimate event sitting atop the Factory Team table with the clear goal of recapturing the Factory Team Title. Additionally, the team has several riders on the cusp of history. Three of our male riders are representing the team in the most exciting “Rock-Star” event of the year – the NAG 5 Challenge. Nic Long, Jake Peebles and the Conman, Connor Fields will all be vying for this auspicious title. From our Ladies corp, Dominique Daniels, Taylor Wolcott and Shelbi Long will all be in the new Ladies version of this event. Just making the main is a victory in itself in the NAG 5 elite pack of riders.

In addition to the NAG 5 representatives, a handful of our racers are also in contention for top honors in the Amateur classes. Nic Long sits # 2 in the country in amateur standing, only two points out of the lead. Connor Fields is a dark horse in the 4th spot. In Cruiser, “Bad-Boy” Billy Russell sits # 2. In the ladies classes, Dominique Daniels holds the lead in Girls Cruiser and sits # 2 in Girls. As always, the season comes down to Tulsa for everyone. If you can’t make it this year, watch all the action “live” on www.go211.com !

As the season winds down, we’d like to thank all the terrific sponsors who helped us get to this point including Intense BMX (www.intensebmx.com), On-Trac Garage Doors (www.ontracdoors.com), Phantom BMX Products, Fly Racing www.flyracingbmx.com, Bombshell (www.bombshellparts.com), FSA (www.fullspeedahead.com), THE Products (www.the-industries.com), SINZ Racing (www.sinz-racing.com), Intense Tire Systems, (www.intensetires.com ), BMX Jerseys (www.groupdmfg.com), and Scott goggles (www.scottusa.com).