2017 GRANDS Race Report & Pics

Filed under General on December 06, 2017 | Comment(s)

Year after year, the #Grands lives up to its name. When you get nearly 3,000 competitors from over 23 countries, competing for National Championships over four action-packed days, it will always be the #GreatestRaceonEarth."

This year, competitors who came to Tulsa, OK were given one of the fastest and funnest tracks ever built inside the River Spirit Expo.  Inspired by the 2004 Grands track layout - but built with much better (drier) dirt and many cool mods, this year's track was being called an "All-time favorite" from plenty of racers who'd been coming to Tulsa for the past 20 years. In fact - in a seemingly impossible statement, we can't recall hearing one complaint from anybody about the track. 

*Yes keyboard critics, I know that "funnest" is not a word - but in this case, the Grands track very much was so.

The decision maker out of the too-tall Tulsa turn had riders making either the safer route to the left for a rockin' rhythm or veering right for the riskier route that rewarded successful jumpers with 50-feet less track. ...that is, if you survived it smoothly. One little bobble or case and your chances of survival (and winning) were much, much slimmer. Partly, this was due to "The Beach" - a deep sandy section between launch and landing that made it impossible to ride thru. Track designers Billy Allen and Bill Morris wanted riders jumping - not rolling thru the "Pro Section" for all ages. Come up short and you might be heading to the vendors for a new rim, bars, fork or frame. It was the challenge you'd expect from the #Grands - and it challenged all. 

After all-day practice on Thursday. Following Friday's 500+ moto Race of Champions. Saturday seemed to arrive quickly, and the Grands officially began with moto 1, out of 733. They'd run at a rapid pace - upwards of 130 mph (that's motos per hour), and the first rounds of transfers gave us just an inkling of who to keep an eye on. Who to watch for. For the most part, it was the usual suspects - but on occasion, there were a few standouts who surprised many and had stepped up their game for the #GreatestRaceonEarth."  If there's one race you want to train hard for, this is it.  

LET THE TITLE CHASES BEGIN

Coming into the 2017 Grands, as tradition has it, the battles were tight for all four No.1 silver cups that would be handed out Sunday night. Even the two Team Championships were closer than bumpers on the 91 Freeway during rush hour. Once the racing began, the chase for the Cups clinched even tighter.

136 Eighths. Done.
305 Quarters. Started at 1:55, right on time.
206 Semi's. Kicked off at 4:36pm.

The gate kept dropping and slowly, riders did too - until Sunday evening, when the classes had finally been narrowed down to the fastest eight per age-group. As usual, the semi's were ultra-exciting, as racers in 5th and 6th were in a do-or-die, go-for-it position and weren't backing down. Things got pretty exciting! ...especially in that Decision Maker! 

Once mains began, things REALLY got serious. This was IT. The chance of a (possibly) a Lifetime. The time to show everybody what you're worth. The time to SHINE! 

No.1 GIRL CRUISER: 

TOTAL RIDERS = 20 GROUPS = 4

13-14 GIRLS CRUISER 

• 1 MADELYNN DESANTIS, HARO/PROMAX, SIMI VALLEY, CA
• 2 RYENN CAPITANI, FACTORY CRUPI/REMAX, VACAVILLE, CA
• 3 GRACE PADILLA, BAY AREA BMXERS, BUELLTON, CA
• 4 TRINADEE STOFLET, FACTORY THUNDERBEACH, WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI
• 5 CAITLYN FARMER, RIDE LIKE A GIRL/DANS COMP, SANDY SPRINGS, GA
• 6 AMANDA TAYLOR, PROFILE, SARASOTA, FL
• 7 SIERRA ALTENDORF, FACTORY KUWAHARA, EVERETT, WA
• 8 TIFFANY HUBER, BLACKCROWN BMX, IJAMSVILLE, MD

No.1 CRUISER

TOTAL RIDERS = 37 * GROUPS = 7

10 CRUISER 

• 1 MARSHALL  GEHRKE, ANSWER/RENNEN, ANTIOCH, IL
• 2 AVERY FULTON, VENOM RACING, CAMBRIDGE, MN
• 3 KYLE KIRCHHOFF, HRPdesigns, MIDLAND CITY, AL
• 4 HARLEY DAIS, THUNDERBEACH, WINONA, MN
• 5 JUAN MANOSCA, POPAYAN, Colombia
• 6 SEAN DAY, DOUBLECROSS, TACOMA, WA
• 7 HUDSON WHITE, SONIC BMX, SEATTLE, WA
• 8 JASON LINVILLE, HARO/PROMAX, RIVERSIDE, OH

No.1 GIRL

TOTAL RIDERS = 29 GROUPS = 5

11 GIRLS 

• 1 KATJA SHRIVER, THRODWN, LAKEWOOD, CA
• 2 GRECIA CRISTODULO, SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia
• 3 SARA GARCIA, W ELITE, BARRANCABERMEJA, Colombia
• 4 SYDNEY GARONZIK, DAYLIGHT CYCLES, LAKE TAPPS, WA
• 5 JAYDAH-LILY LEES, DAD, WHAKATANE, New Zealand
• 6 AVERY YOCHIM, FACTORY YESS, COOMBS, BC, Canada
• 7 SACHA MILLS, BRISBANE, QLD, Australia
• 8 ADDISON SHREVE, CLAYBORN ANSWER, GLEN BURNIE, MD

No.1  AMATEUR

TOTAL RIDERS = 76 GROUPS = 13 

13 EXPERT 

• 1 BRANDON (BIRDMAN) CRAIN, ANSWER/RENNEN, RIVERSIDE, CA
• 2 ANGEL MONTOYA, JR BICYCLES.COM/CHASE/BOX, LAS VEGAS, NV
• 3 PETER CHOAT, FULL TILT BIKE CO, BAKERSFIELD, CA
• 4 ALEX MIRAMONTES, SE RACING, WESTMINSTER, CA
• 5 KYLE HEWIG, DAYLIGHT CYCLES, NEWBURY PARK, CA
• 6 JOSEPH(MAD DOG) MILLEK, BAY AREA BMXERS, TORRANCE, CA
• 7 TYLER KNIGHT, LAKESIDE, CA
• 8 JACOB TRUJILLO, HARO/PROMAX, LAS VEGAS, NV