Robinson was one of three Americans to advance to the eight-man final, along with Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and Derek Betcher (Boulder, City, Nev.), who placed sixth and seventh respectively. The U.S. was the only country to advance multiple riders to the finals, illustrating the depth of the American BMX program just 16 months away from the sport’s Olympic debut in Beijing.

The opening event of the four-race series was won by Khalen Young (AUS) ahead of Robert DeWilde (NED) and Cristian Becerine (ARG).

After advancing all 12 of its entries to the 64-rider 1/8 finals with strong performances in the qualifying time trials, the U.S. still had five riders in contention in the semifinal round – Robinson, Day, Betcher, Brandon Meadows (Sacramento, Calif.) and Jason Rogers (Mesquite, Texas). The only other country that sent more than one rider to the semifinals was Latvia, which advanced two.

In the first semifinal heat, Robinson took the win to advance to the final while Rogers narrowly missed an invitation to the final moto with a fifth-place finish.

In the second semifinal heat, Betcher and Day placed second and fourth respectively to move on, while Meadows was eliminated from contention.

Of the 84 riders that began the day, Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.) secured the top seed by clocking a time of 27.023 seconds in his second of two qualifying runs, but was eliminated in his quarterfinal run when he and two other competitors crashed.

The U.S. entered the World Cup opener ranked number one in the world and the four events on this year’s calendar weigh heavily into a nation’s qualifying for the 2008 Olympic Games and also provides individual competitors with valuable international ranking points.

The next UCI BMX Supercross World Cup will serve as the Olympic Test Event on the Olympic course in Beijing, August 20-21 and will also include a women’s competition. The Supercross then continues in Salt Lake City, Sept. 21-22 and concludes in Frejus, France, October 13-14.

2007 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup #1
Madrid, Spain
April 14

Final Results
1. Khalen Young (AUS)
2. Robert DeWilde (NED)
3. Cristian Becerine (ARG)
4. Donny Robinson (USA)
5. Damien Godet (FRA)
6. Mike Day (USA)
7. Darren Betcher (USA)
8. Roger Rinderknecht (SUI)

About USA Cycling
Recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Union Cycliste Internationale, USA Cycling promotes American cycling through its 60,000 members and 2,500 annual events. USA Cycling associations include the BMX Association (BMX), National Off-Road Bicycle Association (mountain bike), U.S. Cycling Federation (road/track), the National Collegiate Cycling Association and the U.S. Professional Racing Organization (professional men’s road). For more information visit or contact USA Cycling Director of Communications, Andy Lee at 719-866-4867.