Niek Kimmann is a professional BMX racer, three-time World Champion, and a gold medalist Olympian. His accomplishments follow a lifelong journey of BMX racing. He shared his story with Box on what his BMX career was all about. Kimmann grew up in a small village called Lutten, located in the Netherlands and lived there for 15 years. His parents were influential, athletic and enjoyed the outdoors. His mother was a horseback rider, and his father was an ice skater. When he was younger, he spent two hours a week trying out different sports such as track and field, football, and others, but none of these called out to him. It wasn't until his friends introduced him to BMX that he found his passion instantly. His first experience riding at his local BMX track was what he would call "love at first sight."
The flying Dutchman began his riding journey when he was only seven years old. Growing up on a farm, he had plenty of room to ride his bike around. As he continued to race, he would frequent the Dedemsvaart track near his hometown for an hour every Tuesday and Thursday. He was mentored by the track's coach amongst other kids. "I was lucky to have a good coach at my track, the help they gave me,
Elite results 3 Nations Cup - Ahnatal, Germany. 10 October 2021.
Elite Men:
1 Philip SCHAUB GER 60 UCI Points
2 Mitchel SCHOTMAN NED 45
3 Axel WEBSTER GER 40
4 Thibaut STOFFELS BEL 35
5 Jack DAVIS AUS 30
6 Magnus DYHRE DEN 25
7 Matthijs VERHOEVEN BEL 20
8 Ruben GOMMERS BEL 15
9 Kasper OLSSON DEN
10 Justin KIMMANN NED
11 Kay STINDL GER
12 Jan-Viktor VRANCKX BEL
13 Jonas BALLBACH GER
14 Wouter SEGERS BEL
15 Liam WEBSTER GER
16 Ynze OEGEMA NED
Name: Payton 'P-Nut' Ridenour
Age: 19
Hometown: Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Sponsors: Mongoose, WD-40, Shimano, FLY, EVS, E6, Socksmith, Oakley, Tioga, ODI, HRP Designs, Potter Racing, Answer, Onyx
What has the UCI Pump Track World Champion title meant to you since you got it?
Payton Ridenour: It was a dream come true to win the first ever rainbow jersey given out for pump track! I think it's every cyclist's goal to win a world championship title, so to win the entire event was incredible.
Is it fair to say that BMX Racing comes first for you followed by riding Pump Track?
Payton Ridenour: Yes, BMX racing comes first for me and then pump track. It's really convenient that I can transition so easily from racing to pump track too. I train specifically for racing and that transfers right over to the pump track, and my bike set up is the exact same for both.
Leading up to the Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, have you ridden more pump tracks lately?
Results C1 Race Azuay Azuay, Ecuador 08 October 2021
Elite Men:
1 Wilson GOYES LARREA ECU 60 UCI points
2 Cristhian Felicicimo CASTRO CEVALLOS ECU 45
3 Josue Sebastian ALVAREZ PESANTEZ ECU 40
4 Efrain Josue CHAMORRO HERRERA ECU 35
5 Andres Patricio CARDENAS PESANTEZ ECU 30
6 Juan Francisco BORJA CAZAR ECU 25
Enjoyed riding the BMX Track in Copenhagen while on holidays in Denmark.
The last of Velosolution's RED BULL UCI Pump Track qualifiers took place in Switzerland. That leaves one last chance to qualify on October 16th, the day before the 2021 Red Bull UCI Pump Track World Champs in Lisbon on the same pump track. A small mistake in the Big Final, saw Nadine Aeberhard lose out on that World Final ticket to Christa Von Nierderhausern. Nadine, number 2 from 2019, and Christa brings a number 1 from 2018 and a number 3 finish from the 2019 World Final. High level racers come out of Switzerland.
A close top 4 in the Men's Category but Tristan Borel, number 2 from 2019, remained unbeatable on race day. A 2nd place for French rider Axel Jondeauu in a close battle till the end.
Results:
Women:
1. Christa von Niederhaeusern
Tokyo 2020 was huge for Bethany Shriever. The British BMX racer won Olympic gold by beating her idol, two-time Olympic champion Mariana Pajon.
Connor Fields: An in depth talk about his 2020 Olympics crash, memory loss, recovery, and the future by PulpMX
PULP MX. Connor Fields talks about his Olympic crash.
When I first got into FPV, one of my lofty goals was to one day get a call from a brand like Red Bull to ask me to fly for them for a commercial or an event like this... 2 years later, this actually happened. I'm having trouble expressing how much of a life achievement this was for me. Being validated by the brands that you looked up to for the better part of your professional career. This is HUGE for me.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.