it can never be guaranteed… Fortunately I had a good feeling about myself and with a decent training camp in Oldsmar, Florida before Rio and Argentina my confidence was good.
I traveled to Oldsmar, Florida 2 weeks later than my team mates, because I focussed on some more training with my physiotherapist for the lower back… Spending 2 weeks in sunny Oldsmar was really nice, because the weather at home was too bad for riding the BMX tracks.
We flew straight from Miami to Rio for some testing at the Olympic BMX Track. When we arrived, the track was not ready yet. Eventually we had 2 days of testing. My opinion: it’s a lot better than last year's Olympic Test Event, but they still have some work to do if they want to see good racing at August 17-19th.
Spending a few days in Rio was nice. From there we traveled to Santiago Del Estero, Argentina for the first stop of the UCI BMX World Cup Series. I really like this place! The fans and atmosphere are great, good race track and nice weather. Going into this race I felt I had everything to get a great result. I won all my qualification heats on Saturday and rode some fast lap times. On Sunday I had a pretty strong heat race including World Champ and team mate Niek Kimmann. After the first 2 races I was in a decent qualifying spot. Unfortunately I went down with a couple of guys going into the first turn during the 3rd race. We bumped each other on full speed and before I knew I smacked the asphalt. I felt something was wrong in my right hand, so couldn’t continue the race. After some X-rays in the hospital it turned out I broke my wrist and needed surgery at home.
Traveling back home was hard! I got sick when we left Argentina and I was wearing a 5kg cast around my arm with a swollen wrist… Anyway, I made it back home and my girl is taking care of me very well since I’m back! Meanwhile I had surgery 2 weeks ago. It took 30min longer to put in the metal plate and 6 screws (75min surgery in total). I knew it would be painful after, because I almost had the same surgery on my left wrist in 2011. I’m not sleeping very well since my crash in Argentina. Not only because of the pain, but it’s also mentally difficult knowing qualifying for the Olympics in Rio is almost impossible. Last weekend I missed round 2 of the UCI BMX World Cup series in Manchester. To make a little chance to qualify for Rio I need to race round 3 at Papendal on May 7-8 or the World Championship in Columbia 3 weeks later. I’m already back in training to stay fit, but I can’t force my wrist! This needs time to fix…
I’d like to thank everybody who support me, can’t do this without you!
-Raymon van der Biezen
After a good off season I felt ready to race in Argentina and get some points for the Olympic Qualification… Last year I ended the season with a broken ankle + torn ligaments at the last UCI BMX World Cup in Rock Hill, USA. I took some time off to heal and rehab. 6 weeks later I was able to ride my bike again and train with the rest of the Dutch team.
My off season felt good. Strong in the gym and fast on the bike. We all hope to feel that way after the heavy winter months, but
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.