Name: David Graf
Number in Rio: 48
Country: Switzerland
Result: 14 I think
How tough was the competition in your country to get a spot on the Olympic team for Rio?
David Graf: It was probably the hardest one of all the countries this year. Between Renaud Blanc and myself. The fact we had to choose between World Cup ranked 4 and 5 after Papendal speaks a lot I guess.
What kind of preparation did you do with the National Olympic team before you took off to Brasil?
David Graf: I stayed at home, followed my normal routine and tried to avoid the hype.
The track looked a bit different than at the test event(s). What did you like about the Olympic track and what did you think didn't work?
David Graf: I liked everything but the first turn. It was probably the most fun track I've ridden in my career.
Elite Men:
1 Ariel Joao DA SILVA BRA 22 30 30
2 Renato REZENDE BRA 25 20 20
3 Felipe BRICK BRA 30 15 15
4 Guilherme BOURSCHEIDT BRA 23 10 10
5 Franklin VASCONCELOS VITOR BRA 19 8 8
6 Bruno ANDRADE COGO BRA 19 6 6
7 Edipo Galdino BONAPAZ BRA 27 4 4
8 DNF Leandro DA SILVA NORONHA JR BRA 19 2 2
Elite Women:
1 Priscilla STEVAUX CARNAVAL BRA 23 30 30
2 Julia ALVES DOS SANTOS BRA 20 20 20
3 Thaynara MOROSINI CHAVES BRA 21 15 15
Name: Gabriela Diaz
Number in Rio: 446
Country: Argentina
Result: 10th place
"The important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in Life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."
After season-long competitions that saw the most consistent athletes crowned UCI World Cup winners, the best event organisers are also being rewarded.
Stakeholders at the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup have voted for the best event of each of the series, taking into account different criteria including organisation, venue, course/track and atmosphere. The winner is….UCI BMX Supercross World Cup: Santiago del Estero (ARG).
The Argentinean city hosted the first of five rounds that made up the 2016 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup. The hospitality, “awesome” but not too difficult track, good organisation, full grandstands and relaxed atmosphere earned it the “best event” vote of the series.
Name: Trent Jones
Number in Rio: 279
Country: New Zealand
Result: 13th
What kind of preparation did you do with the National Olympic team before you took off to Brasil?
Trent Jones: Not a lot, seeing I employ a private coach, Sean Dwight. In which we had a plan to train in Chula Vista prior to the games. In which Connor Fields came back on board with training under Sean so we spent 8 solid weeks together knocking out the work that needed to be done to prepare.
Name: Joris Daudet
Number in Rio: 33
Country: France
Result: Quarter final
How big was your struggle even making it to the Olympics?
Joris Daudet: It was not a big struggle for me, I had a good season with no injuries, so I knew a little bit before that I would be in the team.
Name: Simone Christensen
Number in Rio: 210
Country: Denmark
Result: out of the semi final
How big was your struggle even making it to the Olympics?
Simone Christensen: I think I was pretty good to not worry too much about points during the races the year towards the Olympics.. so just did my best every time and tried to archive goals for every specific race.. but when I crashed and broke my collarbone in Papendal it started to get pretty exciting, as I couldn't go to the world championship and therefore lost a lot of world ranking points from the worlds 2015, where I had a lot! But luckily my good result during the year kept me in the spot for an Olympic place!
What were your personal goals two weeks before the Olympic race?
Simone Christensen: It was to make the final! Couldn't dream of anything bigger than standing in an Olympic final!
Name: Toni Syarifudin
Number in Rio: 45
Country: Indonesia
Result: Quater final
When was the point for you that you thought you had a good chance of going to the 2016 Olympics in Rio?
2016 UCI Individual Ranking Elite Women:
1 (4) Laura SMULDERS Netherlands 23 1555
2 (1) Mariana PAJON Colombia 25 1480
3 (3) Alise POST United States 25 1370
4 (2) Caroline BUCHANAN Australia 26 1350
5 (5) Brooke CRAIN United States 23 1234
6 (6) Yaroslava BONDARENKO Russia 19 1210
7 (7) Elke VANHOOF Belgium 25 1074
8 (8) Simone CHRISTENSEN Denmark 22 1030
9 (9) Lauren REYNOLDS Australia 25 870
10 (11) Judy BAAUW Netherlands 22 850
11 (10) Maria Gabriela DIAZ Argentina 35 830
12 (12) Priscilla STEVAUX CARNAVAL Brazil 23 785
13 (17) Dani GEORGE United States 22 768
14 (15) Nadja PRIES Germany 22 750
15 (16) Leanna CURTIS Australia 23 745
16 (13) Manon VALENTINO France 26 670
Sam Willoughby | The Long Road Ahead from Generation Media
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.