Florida Fall Nationals / Disney Cup

Filed under General on October 26, 2013 | Comment(s)

The 2013 Fall National returned this year to Kissimmee's Silver Spurs Arena - to the same arena that had previously hosted the 3-day Disney Cup a few years back. Inside the plush arena, USA BMX built a sweet 800-foot long track that had some good straightaways for layin' down the power, and a smooth but sometimes slippery surface. Sliding out in the turns would be something that decided quite a few races as the weekend went on.

One of those, came in a semi of Vet Pro - where reigning No.1 Vet Cristian Becerine (Free Agent) washed out all by his lonesome,while in a comfy lead. Not making the main on Friday could turn in to a good thing for either Javier Colombo or Matt Pohlkamp;  as they are a few good finishes behind the current No.1 in the points standings. In the end, Javi would wind up with Day 1's win, but Becerine would come back mistake-free to not only get in to the final on Day 2 - but would also win it. 

With the Falls being the final regular-season national of the 2013 circuit, last chance points were on the line and deemed very important. For some, this could offer an opportunity to close some points gaps. Quite surprising to some - and perhaps even a BMX first, was the fact that four of the seven current National points leaders were missing in action due to injuries or just playing it cool. 

No.1 Amateur points leader Lain VanOgle is still mending his ankle, Womens Pro points leader Alise Post decided to play it safe after a shoulder injury in Fresno and is chilling at home with mom, while Cruiser points leader Shan Hatfield is reportedly warming up his wrist back home in Georgia, and No.1 Girls points leader Kelsey VanOgle is a no-show for reasons unknown. The risk taken by these missing riders is that they've left the preverbial "open door" for others to swoop in. In Alise's case, Dan's Comp's Mariana Pajon continued her winning streak from Fresno and would take advantage of Post's absense with wins on Friday and Saturday. Seeing the 2012 gold medalist win her 8th and 9th mains of the season was extremely pleasing to the mass of boisterious Colombians who were filling the stands. Whenever Pajon was in the lead, the Silver Spurs Arena would explode with excitement. 
In the  girls ranks, S-squared's Jamie Windholz was also on a mission to close the poits gap in 15-16 girls; while Kelsey was away. With 20 riders in their class, a win each day could practically tie Windholz with VanOgle - and so far, Jamie has scored wins on the first two days.