Grands Roundup

Well now that we have had a week to get back home and relax and recharge the batteries we now can finally look back at an amazing Tulsa 2023 USABMX Grand Nationals. It is always a great time at the grands because more often than not you will see a who is who of BMX royalty and a few new faces usually can leave long lasting impressions. With this being the end all season culmination race it was destined to be a statement event for some and a coming out party for others.

Speaking of a coming out a few new faces have popped up in the pits and a nice warm welcome goes out to 2 ladies joining the Supercross crew for 2024 and beyond. Join me in welcoming Lexis Colby along with Eden Ireland who will bring the #girlpower to an all new level at races through the year.

Eden is the kid sister to Kaiden but she holds her own and will be a dominant force as she looks to push the RSX line and prove that the aluminum offerings out of Apple Valley are some of the best in the business.

Lexis has been quietly creating a solid base of results while riding out with Black Mountains HOF Bad Bubba Harris and we look for her to be a threat alongside our newest rookie pro Annabella Hammonds who has jumped into the pro ranks for 2024.

We are quite thrilled to bring in so much new talent and all the ladies will be looking to check off goals! Speaking of girls... Hannah Leakey was back in the pits and is looking to getting back to work on the track in 2024 and carrying the weight of the #girlpower push was Sequoia Scoops Gomolicke who would have an amazing Grands bagging a 1st in cruiser and a 2nd in class. You should have seen her due to her being out front all week but your eyes may have needed to adjust as she was in our new Legacy kit in primarily White colorway. That's right Fly Racing has been so gracious signing back on as the title sponsor to the team in 2024 and you can see us and the all new offerings from Fly at nationals all year round.

Speaking of seeing, make sure to check out the team who has expanded to the 2024 Fly goggle offerings as well. Fly has been making moves and you can now see our factory squad utilizing the best in the biz when it comes to goggles. Not to be overshadowed by his sister Gaige Gomolicke had what only some can dream of winning both ROC with the race of the week and then backing it up with a huge grands win also. He now has a collection of #1 plates to choose from in 2024.

Another grands winner was Downtown Deegan Brown who narrowly missed the 17-20X main but would rally to come out on top with a win in 17-20 Cruiser as well as a NAG 1 to boot. He has his eyes set on a Junior Elite run and may debut early in 2024 so help us cheer him on.

Another rider soon to be considering the big hills and big thrills style of racing is none other than Josh White. He would make the ultra tough NAG 5 challenge main and more impressive had a great inside line going in the Grands 16X main before the tires just couldn't hold the lean or speed and turn 1 would end a promising run for Josh this year. Josh has won the big race before and this year he was close to trying to track down another win but we are glad to see him healthy and back on the track quick.

Justin Perkins, aka The Doctor, picked up a pair of deuces on the weekend and won 95% of the 14X main but just got beat last straight which was a heartbreaker but the speed and style was definitely there for him.

Swifty, Valencia and Lego Man Merki had great weekends but just shy of the mains while other notables on the weekend were our veteran guys who made some mains and represented well with Turnell Henry making it into the main events along with Gorgeous George also.

Last but never least on the pro side everyone's favorite KJ Romero had plenty of speed and took home some good money for his efforts and overall #2 but the Vet title was all Barry Nobles at least this year anyway. Can KJ make a solid push in 2024 again and finally dethrone the champ? We hope so!

Elite rider Vicente Garcia made his stateside debut and was running up front all weekend coming just shy of the big show, he has shown the speed and just a matter of time and opportunity until he makes a big splash.

Alongside him was our resident elite and no stranger to the circuit Spencer Cole who had some great laps but just a few points too many to make the cut as we all have seen the margin of error is razor thin at these big events. Spencer will end the season ranked #23 so lets hope the Jordanesque ranking will give him some legendary vibes going into 2024!

All in all we had a great weekend racing bikes and having fun with the fans. The crew at USABMX have really shown how to make things happen and somehow this race goes smooth time in and time out. Now we patiently wait for Sarasota Florida Jan 5-7 for the season opener..

-Written by TM Nick Valencia