Bennett takes big lead in BMX standings

By ANDY KENT
Special to The Palm Beach Post
Saturday, March 15, 2008

WEST PALM BEACH — When the BMX track at Okeeheelee Park first opened two decades ago, having it mentioned in the same breath as the Olympics was just a pipe dream.
In 1988, the sport of Bike Moto Cross racing was seen as an extreme sport, and certainly not fit for the Olympic Games.

But on Saturday evening, racers looking to land a spot on America's first Olympic BMX team that will compete in this summer's 2008 Beijing Games brought attention to the venue just east of Florida's Turnpike.

As the crowd filed out near sunset and the racers began breaking down their bikes, the weekend results confirmed what has been known for months: world champion Kyle Bennett is in complete control of his Olympic hopes. He left Okeeheelee with a huge lead in the men's Olympic points standings, and Jill Kintner, Amanda Geving and Arielle Martin remained closely bunched in the race for the automatic women's Olympic berth.

As many as three men and two women can qualify for the U.S. Olympic BMX team, but the final determination on the official roster won't be made until the USA Cycling selection procedure ends in mid-June.

The second and final day of qualifying drew competitors from around the world for the International Cycling Union event sanctioned by the National Bicycle League.

"We don't make money from this, but that's not what it's about," said Robin Brow, Okeeheelee track president. "It's about the honor and prestige to have this type of a race at your facility, and the elite who race rank our track among the top three in the world, so they were pressing to have it here."

What has made this weekend an even bigger challenge is the fact that the Olympic qualifier was run at the same time as the NBL Gatornationals, so some creative scheduling was needed. Beginning at 10:30 a.m., the NBL preliminaries, quarterfinals and semifinals were run consecutively under the hot sun, with the finals set for Sunday morning at 8.

Bob Tedesco, managing director of the NBL, is one of the principal people behind making BMX's vision of becoming an Olympic sport a reality. He said the success of snowboarding at the Winter Olympics has helped pave the way for BMX racing as an Olympic sport.

"When the world sees a BMXer with a medal around his neck, this sport is just going to go through the roof," Tedasco said.