SAM WILLOUGHBY: ATHLETE DIARIES

March has been a busy, busy month. After 4 weeks of great training since the last race in Florida, I headed out East to Snyder, Texas on March 13th for a fun week at mine and my girlfriend Alise’s friend’s house. We both had a race in Desoto, Texas that week so it worked out well to go and have a fun few days with the Weaver family and experience some true West Texas Livin Y’all!!!!

We spent 3 action packed days out in Snyder on the Weaver’s Property. We rode motocross, drove razors (dune buggy type things), went shooting, saw some West Texan Long Horns, ate some true beef jerky with Larry the Cowboy and of course rode a little BMX- but mainly rode motor bikes :)

It was great to freshen up and have a fun few days leading into the race in Dallas. We drove down to Dallas in the motorhome on Friday morning ready for a practice session, after the first practice I knew the fun few days and freshen up was exactly what I needed after 4 great weeks of training.

ABA Pro Series

Saturday and Sunday marked rounds 4 and 5 of the ABA Pro Series in the US. After a second and a first in rounds 1 and 2, I was looking to gather another two good scores and build some confidence leading into the first World Cup two weeks later in Chula Vista, CA.

Saturday started off a little shaky for me with a bad first heat, but from there I re-gathered composure and put together two great days of racing where I didn't drop a lap and took two more wins in the ABA Series.

The week after the Desoto race, I went and spent a night and day up at Brett Metcalfe’s and watched him do some testing before his motocross race on the weekend in Toronto, Canada.

BMX World Cup

I then took off to Phoenix to do a little testing of my own at the super cross track out there ready for the Chula Vista super cross on the March 31st which would be round one of the BMX World Cup Series and the first big qualifying race for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Sunday before the race in Chula Vista my long time friend and racing buddy from Adelaide Anthony Dean rolled into town to spend the week at my place and do the first World Cup in Chula Vista, which was very conveniently located 2 minutes from my new house. Also during this week I did some filming with Jason Bennett and ESPN TV Show “Aussies Abroad”.

Friday eventually rolled around. We did qualifying where we run time trials and the top 64 out of 120 competitors are seeded into their heats for head-to-head racing the following day. I qualified in 6th place which was not too bad. The time trials at this track are always owned by the Americans as it is on their home Olympic Training Centre track which they have rode everyday for the past 4 years.

In racing on Saturday I started off the day not feeling quite like my normal self. I felt a little flat and felt as if I had caught a bit of the flu overnight. However, nonetheless the show was going to go on so I had to put it behind me and go on also. As the day progressed I felt better and better. I transferred out of my heats with 3 wins and went through the quarter finals and semi finals and onto the Main Event.

BMX World Cup Final

As always in BMX it was 1 lap, no crap! I was in lane two with Olympic gold medallist Maris Strombergs in lane 1 and local track hero Connor Fields in Lane 3. I was confident I could get a good start and win the race from lane 2. I got out good but came together in the air over the first jump with Connor which lost me a lot of my momentum. I went into turn 1 in 3rd or 4th. I made up some ground down the second straight and got myself up and into 3rd, I then went to work on 2nd place down the third straight which I managed to peg back. By this time Connor was long gone I came across the line with a second. I was happy with the finish and it was a great way to start the SX season.

I am now in Holland preparing for round 2 of the World Cup series in Oslo Norway, were it will be on a once off built track so a level playing field all the way around and it should make for a great race.

For more updates while I am away follow me on twitter @SW91

Cheers
SAM

This weekend was the first race of the year for me in the US. After arriving home to my place in the San Diego on just Friday afternoon I spent the weekend getting over jet lag by heading out to the Super Cross Motorbike race in Anaheim California - to cheer on my fellow Adelaidian buddy Brett Metcalfe.
 
Monday and Tuesday were just a couple of light sessions to wake myself up again before jumping on a plane again and heading east to Tampa Florida were I would meet up with my good buddies and teammates on my team Redline. After being apart since November it was great to see the boys again!

We would start the weekend off with a sleep-in Thursday, due to the 3 hour time difference it made it tough to wake up the first few days. Especially after just returning from Australia my body had no idea where I was in the world.

I did some practice on the Thursday and Friday and I was having a lot of fun on the track the guys at the Oldsmar BMX track in Florida put in a lot of work over the winter and put together a truly awesome track! They soaked the track with some stuff called Soil Tack which is like glue but when it dries the track is smooth and fast like concrete and also like sand paper to crash on so you try and avoid that.

The racing kicked off Saturday morning. By this time after two days practice I was feeling really comfortable on my bike and the track. I felt like I had prepared right and I was excited to get the season opener under way. In true ABA (American Bicycle Association) fashion the day was long. We were there from 9am to 9pm by the time we did practice the heats and all the in-between stuff, so it was a long exhausting day.

I was really happy with the way I rode winning all my heats the Quarter final, the Semi Final and then Qualifying first for the main event. I had my preferred gate pick and was in lane one, I was feeling confident that I could get a win in the season opener. After feeling solid and mistake free all day long I guess it was bound to come sooner or later being the first race and all.

I am still not sure exactly what I did but a little bit of a brain laps came in the main event and I collapsed out the start causing me to smash into the start gate and be in 7th (2nd to last) position at the bottom of the hill.

I was furious to say the least inside my helmet. I put my head down and gave it everything I had to make the night not a total disaster, I came out of the first turn in 2nd and from their put my head down and went after the leader Maris Strombergs (2008 Olympic gold medallist from Latvia) who was in the lead. I made a good run and caught up to have a shot at the win down the last straight but came up just short. Finishing up 2nd was disappointing for how I felt all day and night but for what happened in the final I would call it damage control I guess.

Sunday morning as always was bright and early for the 8am start. Surprisingly for Florida it was freezing in the morning. I wore two jackets a beanie, two pair of socks and skins up to the start for my first heat. As the day went on the weather warmed up a little and I started feeling better and better, I was definitely on a mission on day 2 to make up for the mistake on day 1. I qualified through my heats, Quarter final and semi final with all wins again and was top qualifier. I was determined in the gate to just do what I can do and do what I had been doing all day and finish this weekend of on a good note, and with the result I felt I deserved. I got a good start in the final and put together a great lap to finish the weekend of with a 1st and 2nd. A great way to start the year off and also very reassuring to know my preparations are on the right track.

That’s all I got for now be sure to follow me on twitter @SW91 for more updates in preparations for my next race in 5 weeks time in Dallas Texas.

Cheers
Sam

Well, once again a lot has happened since my last blog. I have travelled back to Australia for Christmas and to see in the New Year, and I bought my first house in America. I have had a few weeks of downtime and now I am back into the swing of things training and preparing for this exciting year ahead.

Following on from my last entry, the week after the ABA Grands I returned with my dad to San Diego, California where I would buy my house. It was handy to have my dad- who is a builder- around to hang some bike racks, mount some TV’s to the wall and do all that handyman stuff that a 20-year-old BMX’er just would not know where to start. With my brother and dad both in the building industry I definitely missed the handyman gene.

I no sooner moved into my new place and was all excited to live in it than it was time to fly back to Australia to spend Christmas and the New Year with family and friends and begin my 2012 prep in the scorching South Aussie sun which has been nothing short of amazing. The weather has been awesome in Adelaide which has made the beginnings of my 2012 preparations perfect. I am returning to the US next week ready for my first big race of the year in Tampa, Florida.

In my time at home I have really just enjoyed eating my mum’s home cooking and spending a lot of time with my brother- as we are very close it’s been great to be able to hang out with him on a daily basis. In my downtime at home I have been trying to get out a bit and get amongst the Aussie summer atmosphere. With Adelaide being a big country town you tend to see more people by just going out and running into them whilst you are out... Well, that has been my strategy anyway.

When I return to the US next week I am looking forward to attending my first AMA super cross race of the year which I am a huge fan of and have still been following closely whilst I have been back in Australia. I am looking forward to getting back there and cheering on fellow South Aussie Brett Metcalfe. Most of all though, I am looking forward to getting into my new house and using all of my new stuff.

I will have more to update about in the coming weeks with all that excitement.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for more updates daily @SW91


Peace!!!!!!
 

Well it’s been a little while since my last update. A lot has been happening over here since then. I had my mum and my brother over from Australia for two weeks which was a lot of fun, but very busy at the same time. In that time I had the final race of the World Cup season just 20 minutes down the road from me in Chula Vista, San Diego.

It was good to have the support of my family and I was feeling really good going into the race after I had a great 4 weeks of training after the NBL Grands in Louisville. I started off the races on the right note, winning all of my heats and the quarterfinal. I was feeling confident going into the semifinal and the main event. Unfortunately a bad start in the semi would cost me as a rider next to me came out a little sideways and we got hooked up. So I found myself back in 7th going into the first corner (not where I wanted to be). I managed to make a good run down the second straight and get myself up in 4th (a qualifying position). I was sitting good in 4th behind my fellow Aussie Khalen Young down the 3rd straight. I thought I was safe going into the last corner, until all of a sudden a French rider (Joris Daudet) made a very “sketchy” move- to say the least- and tried to go from 5th to 3rd taking down HIMSELF, Khalen and myself. Khalen and I were less than impressed with his dirty riding that cost us all a position in the final. However let’s hope it’s a learning lesson and we won’t see the French rider try and pull something like that again.

After everything cooled off and the race was over I was very disappointed in how the race finished up, but that pretty much summed up how the World Cups have been for me this year- I just have not quite had the luck. However I have learnt so much and look forward to next year. I think this year’s World Cups taught me a lot of lessons that are only going to make me better next year and leading into London.

The week following the race I chose to take a little downtime with the family and we went and did some touristy things. We checked out a few different spots in San Diego that I had never been to in the two years I have lived here. We started off with Sea World on the Sunday after the race. It was not somewhere I probably would have gone by myself but I actually really enjoyed it so I am glad we all went.

Once Monday rolled around my brother wanted to do the one thing all 21-year-olds want to when they come to America: GO TO VEGAS! So we piled in the car and took the four and a half hour drive over to “Sin City”. We stayed there for two nights. No matter how many times I go to Vegas I think I love it more and more every time. We started off the trip with a couple of shows. The first one was the Criss Angel Mind Freak show which was really cool and left us all wondering and confused of how he could do everything! After the show we walked the strip and eventually it was time for some sleep. In true Vegas fashion we didn’t pay attention to time- we woke up and had a nice big breakfast at around 12.30 or 1pm, then took off on the strip again doing all the rides and checking out all the different attractions. 

After three days of walking and not much sleeping it was time to get home and get back to reality because I had to head back to Vegas the following weekend. This time was more for business though as we had two rounds of the ABA series in Boulder City, Las Vegas. It just happened that my fellow South Aussie Brett Metcalfe had a motor cross race in Vegas on Saturday night. It was a pretty cool one as well: The Monster Energy MILLION DOLLAR CUP! Thanks to Metty for getting myself and the Redline team some VIP tickets! After our race on Saturday we headed over to watch Metty put on a great show and come away with a 3rd overall. I love going to the super cross and motor cross so it was good to be back watching and being a huge fan again.

As for my racing in Vegas, I started off the weekend not too bad. After a shaky start on Saturday I managed to recover and come back for a 2nd in the main event which I was happy with and it provided me with some good points to maintain my points lead. Sunday was the opposite. It started well and I was feeling good qualifying first for the final, but due to a bad start I got caught on the inside in the first turn and didn’t have enough momentum coming out, causing me to get passed and finish up 5th.

However, BMX is one of those sports where there is always next week. That’s what I am looking forward to now as I make my way over to the other side of the country to Orlando, Florida for the three day event called the Disney Cup. So there will be plenty of chances to try and get some more wins and extend the points lead heading into the ABA Grands in Tulsa at the end of November.

For now I need to get ready to for the Disney Cup so be sure to follow me on Twitter @SW91 for more updates
Sam

Since London I have had a week to kind of kick back and have some fun. I enjoyed a mountain bike ride with one of my friends here in San Diego and a few days of just doing not a whole lot! Soon enough though it was time to get back into the swing of things and before I knew it I was on another plane headed to Kentucky.

It is always exciting to go to a new place and a new track. This weekend however was a first and a last for me. I had never been to the famous Louisville Kentucky NBL Grands race before. Now with the two biggest BMX sanctions in the world combining to create one sanction "USABMX", this would be the last NBL Grands in Louisville. With over 400 moto's it was a huge race with a great atmosphere.
 
The races kicked off for the Pro's on Friday night which was nice to skip some of the Kentucky heat and humidity. I felt really good on the track and I enjoyed riding the fast downhill track they have in Kentucky. With 41 riders in the elite class it added an extra race to our schedule with quarter finals. I managed to transfer out of all my heats, quarters and semi finals with 5 wins which gave me the inside lane and a great shot at another win to help my charge towards another ABA title. I got a good start in the final and led the lap from start to finish which gave me my 6th win of the year in the ABA series.

Here is a link to day 1 final: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_1tpF9Znqw
 
Friday night finished late and Saturday morning started early. So after about 4 hours sleep we were back on course to go again in the Kentucky Heat. I was feeling good to go again and transferred through my heats, quarters and semi finals with 5 wins again. I was actually feeling better than Friday I thought.

The Main event came around and I had the preferred inside lane again after being the top qualifier. Unfortunately I collapsed out the start and got my worse start of the weekend. I came out of turn 1 in 3rd and I had some ground to make up if I wanted to get my 7th win and take the points lead in the ABA series.

I came out of turn 2 with a charge at the two front runners. I aimed myself for the inside line into the last turn and charged as hard as I could through the big Pro section jumps I managed to draw level with the leaders and make the pass in the last turn to take my 2nd win for the weekend and my 7th win for the season in the ABA series. This now gives me the points lead and puts me in a great position for the Grand Nationals at the end of the year again.

Check out the race footage from day 2 above- enjoy the race commentary!

Cheers
Sam

Hello All,

This past weekend was the London Olympic test event on the Olympic track for next year. Since the world championships in Copenhagen, Denmark at the end of July I have been spending my time in Europe at the Dutch Olympic training centre preparing for the London test event. After a disappointing 4th place in many ways at the World Championships in Copenhagen, my coach Wade Bootes and I sat down and made a few adjustments to our training to get back on track and back to winning world cups again.

I went into the London test event feeling confident and like my old self again on the super cross track. All throughout practice I felt great, I had the very technical London track dialled in and was feeling confident and ready for qualifying.

The new format this year for qualifying at world cups is you do one time trial and if you make the top 16 in that time trial you go into what is called a “superfinal” where the top 16 run another time trial for points and the top qualifying spots.

My first lap was a little sketchy down the first straight- I overshot a few jumps and lost some time. However I was surprised to see myself in 2nd at the end of it and only .004 off the lead. I knew I could take a good second off my time with a clean run in the superfinal, so that’s what I aimed for. I rode a great superfinal lap, knocking almost a second off my time and winning the time trial with a time of 42.625seconds.

After qualifying in first place on Friday I was feeling confident and more ready than I have all year come race day on Saturday.

During the warm up on Saturday London showed us its true colors and it down poured rain for a good 2-3 hours. This caused a huge delay to the program. Eventually the sun came out and the track dried up and we ran a modified program. This meant we would run 1x eight-man final. The top 4 riders from the heats would transfer into quarterfinals, the top four from each quarter make semi’s, and then you get the top four from each semi in the eight-man main event.

I won all my rounds and advanced to the main event as the top qualifier.

I didn't get my best start in the final- I came out of the 1st turn in 2nd. I then made a move in turn 2 and over the box jump to put myself into the lead for a moment until a French rider from 3rd then came under me, and made a good move to push me almost off the track causing me to lose all my momentum and unfortunately go across the line in 6th- which was really disappointing for how good I was feeling.

On the bright side though, it was a great race and really exciting to be a part of. So we will just call this one “Fuel for the Fire” and move onto the next one. Knowing I can do the fastest lap on the Olympic track is great to know for next year.

My next race is an ABA pro race in Kentucky then it’s on to the World Cup finals 20 minutes from my house in Chula Vista, San Diego.

So now it’s time to move on to the next one and make it a successful one!

Cheers

Sam Willoughby

Last weekend was the BMX World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a huge event with over 140 Elite men entering. That would be cut down to 64 riders who would get to race after Time Trials.  

I had some good qualifying laps setting the fastest time in the first Time Trial which advanced me on to what is called the Super Final where the top 16 race another Time Trial lap to decide the positions of the top 16. This counts for UCI points and was a medal sport at the World Champs this year.

After the first lap I felt I was in good stead to win a Time Trial World Championship and be the top qualifier. However, a mistake in turn 2 would cost me and see me miss the top spot by 0.07- which was really close. I was happy with the way I rode however and felt ready for the main show on Saturday- the Olympic race event. I drew quite a hard heat and hard group of the draw. In my heat I had my main rival- world number 2 Marc Willers and then met 2008 Olympic gold medallist and 2010 World Champ Maris Strombergs in the semi. I thought this would be good to see where I was at and it would make the finals later in the day feel no harder than my heats really.

I got 2nd all throughout the day and transferred to the final. I wasn't feeling the sharpest I have ever felt which is not how you want to feel at the World Championships. But I was in the big show nonetheless and was ready to have a go for the one thing I have had my sights set on this whole year (the world title).

I had to start from the outside which was really tough at this track. I got a good start in the final and went into the first turn pretty level but was stuck on the outside which opened the door for a lot of people to come through. I came out of turn 1 in 4th. From there I was trying to chase down the leaders which kept changing but I just ran out of room and time. I think for how I was feeling on the day 4th was a respectable result but definitely not what I was after. It was quite frustrating to put all the work in and just not feel at 100%.

On the bright side though, I am learning a lot about myself. I’m finding things that do and don’t work in my preparations as far as training is concerned which is only going to make me better come London 2012.

After Copenhagen I travelled with the Australian team to Holland where we are staying for 2 weeks before heading to London for the London Olympic test event and BMX world Cup round #3- which is also a big race. So I am looking forward to getting some good training in here in Holland where they have a great training centre with everything you could ever need as well as a replica of the London Olympic track. We have our first session on the track tomorrow so it will make for a great couple of weeks to freshen up and go get some revenge in London.

After the World Championships we have just been taking some relaxation time. Myself and my teammate/roommate for the month Khalen Young have done some golfing, watched some videos of the X Games back in America, and we also had a little fun day on Monday where we did  the “BMX games”, which consisted of all the fun things we use to do on our bikes as kids. Like longest wheelie, longest jump off the curb, longest skid and backwards race.

It was really fun to go back and do the things that got our love and passion for the sport started.

So stay tuned for more updates on my stays here in Europe.

Here are some pics from the races thanks to www.bmxmania.com

You can also check out videos from the race at http://www.bmx-videos.com/raceflv.php?show_cat=275

Til next time, catch ya lata.

Dont forget to check me out on twitter for more updates @SW91

Sam

Welcome to my first blog friends, fans, athletes and fellow Australians. I guess I’ll start things off by introducing myself a bit. I am currently 19 years of age and race BMX professionally in the USA living in San Diego, California, pursuing a BMX career and working towards the London Olympic Games. It has already been an amazing journey for me, so now I want to take you on the ride with me…

I started racing BMX in Adelaide, Australia at the young age of 3 years old. However my 3 year old BMX career was short lived. I did two of the five races on the day, and in the second race- much to my disgust- I was in 2nd coming into the last corner so I threw the bike down and decided to throw a tantrum on the track. That was it for me. My parents said I was not allowed to race again until I could learn to accept loosing as well as winning. So at three years of age I made the mature decision to step away from the sport and gather my thoughts.

I also enjoyed playing football (AFL) so I continued to play football and rode my bike for fun around the neighborhood and anywhere I could get some air. Until one morning at Primary school I received a “Come and try BMX” flyer. My parents decided I was ready to have another go at BMX. So I went out to Happy Valley BMX track on a cold and rainy Friday night in my yellow and green parachute material track suit on my 16 inch garage sale special bike. Thankfully, I managed to win my first try at BMX again and from there fell in love with the sport.

I continued to play football and race BMX. The two mixed quite well together in my younger years and I was able to be quite successful in both- winning state and national titles in BMX and playing on premiership teams, being selected in state squads and SANFL development squads in Footy.

However there came a point around when I was 16 where I needed to make a decision if I wanted to pursue a football career or have a go at racing BMX professionally and making a run at the 2012 Olympic games. My decision was made in 2008 after winning my first Junior World Title in Taiyuan China. I decided that I liked the individual aspect of BMX. Being a very motivated individual with a strong desire for success I enjoy what BMX racing brought for me. I like the fact that the responsibility to train, eat right, recover and reach my desired goals was all up to me- I didn't need to rely on a team.

Although I love that my sport is an individual’s sport, I have had a team of people behind me the whole way and that little support crew continues to grow…

Like most athletes my journey would not have been possible without my parents. My parents have been one hundred percent behind me right from day one. From taking me all over the countryside since I was 7 years old to letting me go at 17 to chase my dream and race professionally in the US. My Coach, Wade Bootes has now been with me for 6 years and together we have travelled the world and been through many highs and lows. But we have established a great relationship and together have achieved so much.

My sponsors over the years started with a small team in Adelaide run by two generous people who loved the sport and ran a very successful team that won many state and national titles, and taught me some great skills I still use today. I now have a team of managers and agents in the US who support me on a much larger scale.

Then there is of course your friends the ones that are always there for you. Sport really helps you find who your true friends are and true support crew are, because they are the ones that were there before you were successful or before you had things, and continue to treat you for who you are not what you have. Friends can be the best help when they don't even realise it. They cannot know anything about what you do but whatever they say still seems to be pretty good advice most of the time.

My accomplishments to date consist of being the current ABA (American Bicycle Association) National number 1 Pro, current Australian National Champion, Winner of the 2010 World Rankings, 2x Junior World Champion (2008 & 2009), 2009 Elite World Cup overall Winner, 5x National Champion. I am currently sitting 2nd in the World Rankings and hoping to make that one position better in a few weeks at the World Championships.

So there is a little insight into how I got to where I am today. Right now I am currently resting up and preparing for the two biggest races of my season with the World Championships coming up in 2 weeks in Copenhagen Denmark. I will then be staying in Europe based at the Dutch Olympic training centre preparing for the London Olympic test event on August 20th on the actual Olympic track. So stay tuned for some exciting news and updates over the next month or two. You can also follow me on twitter @SW91 for quick up to date news on what I am doing day to day.

See ya soon  
Sam