Bennett led a deep United States team that placed five riders in the eight-man main despite losing three of its top competitors in the quarterfinals. Bennett and Stumpfhauser were joined by Americans Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.), Danny Caluag (Chino, Calif.) and Jarrett Kolich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) in the final. The U.S. was the only country that sent multiple representatives to the final which also included Khalen Young (AUS), Pablo Gutierrez (FRA) and Augusto Castro (COL). After the gate dropped, Bennett and Young entered the first turn neck-and-neck, but Bennett took a slim advantage into the third and final turn and held off Young to win his third career world title. Bennett also won in 2002 and 2003.

“It’s a year off from the Olympics, so there is a lot more on the line this year,” Bennett explained. “This is the first race in which points count toward Olympic qualifying and everyone who has the potential to compete in Beijing was here and peaking specifically for this race.”

Behind Young, Stumpfhauser crossed the line in third to add a bronze medal to the silver he captured last year in Brazil. Cisar placed fourth, while Caluag and Kolich finished sixth and eighth respectively.

“It was huge to get a podium today with everyone here,” Stumpfhauser added. “I physically didn’t have it today, so I had to rely on riding smart. Having five riders in the main was great.”

Noticeably missing from the main were three of the United States’ top Olympic hopefuls, number-one ranked Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.), second-ranked Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and Bubba Harris (Goodyear, Ariz.). All three rode strongly throughout their qualifying motos but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Competing in the same quarterfinal heat, Day and Harris tangled in turn two and both crashed, while Robinson got a slow start out of the gate in his heat and was unable to make up enough spots to advance.

“We both should have been in the main and everyone knows it,” Harris said after he and Day crashed out.

With arguably its three strongest riders on the sidelines before the semifinals, placing five riders in the main at the world championships illustrates the depth of the men’s BMX program in the U.S. Of the 21 elite men that entered, nine advanced to the quarterfinals. The semifinals featured six as Matt Pohlkamp (Cincinnati, Ohio) joined the five finalists in the penultimate round.

In the elite women’s competition, the U.S. suffered a blow to its medal chances as a result of two significant crashes. Krystal Hime (San Antonio, Texas) crashed in one of her three qualifying heats and did not advance to the quarterfinals. Kim Hayashi (Chandler, Ariz.) qualified for the quarterfinals, but an earlier crash in the qualifying round left her with a hand injury that hindered her performance and kept her from advancing further.

Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash.) was the only American to advance to the semifinals but was eliminated from contention with a fifth-place effort in her semifinal round. The defeat resulted in no American representation in the elite women’s main.

The future of world-class BMX racing also competed on Saturday as Joey Bradford (Monterey, Calif.) took the silver medal in the junior men’s event by a matter of inches behind world champion Yvan Lapraz (SUI) despite racing with a broken hand he suffered a week ago. Bradford entered the final turn with a slight advantage over the remainder of the field but couldn’t hold off a surging Lapraz for the rainbow jersey.

As in the elite men’s race, the U.S. was well represented in the main of the junior event with Logan Collins (Mount Juliet, Tenn.), Nicholas Long (Lakeside, Calif.) and Kristopher Fox (Phelan, Calif.) all advancing to the final heat along with Jasper Verkuijl (NED), Vincent Pelluard (FRA) and Tom Skujins (LAT).

Joining Bradford on the podium was Collins, who captured the bronze.

In the junior women’s contest, pre-race favorite Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.) was leading the main midway through the race before a crash derailed her world championship hopes. As the only American to advance to the eight-woman final, Geving was clearly the girl to beat and had a world title in her sights before crashing on the final jump entering turn two.

The 2007 UCI BMX World Championships conclude on Sunday with the non-Olympic “Cruiser Class” division. Competing on bikes with 26” wheels, both Championship and Challenge Class athletes will have a second chance at winning medals.

2007 UCI BMX World Championships
Victoria, B.C., Canada
July 27-29

Elite Men
1. Kyle Bennett (Conroe, Texas)
2. Khalen Young (AUS)
3. Randy Stumpfhauser (Sager, Calif.)
4. Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.)
6. Danny Caluag (Chino, Calif.)
8. Jarrett Kolich (Santa Barbara, Calif.)

Elite Women
1. Shanaze Reade (GBR)
2. Sarah Walker (NZL)
3. Jana Horakova (CZE)

Junior Men
1. Yvan Lapraz (SUI)
2. Joey Bradford (Monterey, Calif.)
3. Logan Collins (Mount Juliet, Tenn.)
5. Nicholas Long (Lakeside, Calif.)
8. Kristopher Fox (Phelan, Calif.)

Junior Women
1. Magalie Pottier (FRA)
2. Maria Eugenia Ruarte (ARG)
3. Lieke Klaus (NED)
DNF. Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.)

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 www.usacycling.org or contact USA Cycling Director of Communications, Andy Lee at 719-866-4867.