A whole new cog-game
From : The SUN , September 26th, 1981.
Most people who ride bikes are fairly grim pedallers, hunched over the handlebars, heaving and grunting
up the Punt Rd.hill.
The
BMX bike rider is a different animal,
while the professional rider is a whole new cog-game again.
Four of these depressingly fit, casually self-confident young men were in the office yesterday,
talking about the BMX
two-day spectacular in which they’ll be racing tomorrow and
Sunday at Lalor Park, off High
St., in Epping.
It will be basically America
versus Australia,
In what has grown from a fad into
a craze into a profession — all within 12
years, ‘it’s not a craze any more In America,”
said Kenny Nachman, 18, the reigning
American BMX champion.
"It’s become a highly professional
sport, with races almost every weekend and prizes of around $1000 a time.”
In Los
Angeles next month. there’ll
be a huge BMX meeting with some $40,000 in prizes,
and a top purse of $10,000.
And the average age of the estimated 6000 riders will be about 20.
Two Australians, Jamie Hales, 18,
from Melbourne, and Dean Crisp. 16, from Queensland,
will compete.
Hales is Australian BMX champion,
while Crisp is the former under-16 national champion.
“The thing about BMX is that people from 4 to 20 can take
part,” according to Brett Allen who, at 22, is
getting on
towards professlonal dotage.
A former top motor-cyclist, he took to BMX only 12 months
ago, but is already a member of the Mongoose BMX factory
team in America, and one of its top coaches.
“I used to
be a plumber. which is well-paid in America,” said Allen, “but even then
I couldn’t afford to keep
racing
motor-bikes. It is very much a wealthy
man’s game, But BMX is cheap and
much, much safer. You can
kit out your
son,
say, for about $500, bike, helmet,
gloves, gear, everything.
So it’s within the reach of
the average guy.”
BMX racing took off in America
only in about 1969, making it the youngest
professional sport
in the business.
It’s so young. In fact,
that no one knows
just how long a BMX rider can keep on going.
“You can’t win
every race, and no one expects you to,” says Jamie Hales. “I’ve never had a serious spill, but I’ve had lots
of cuts and bruises,
but you don’t knock yourself about badly.”
“Collarbones", said Brett Allen, “I think broken collarbones would
be the
injury In BMX because you land on your shoulder
when you come off. I think maybe 25 is the limit for a BMX rider.”
The money is very good for a top-notcher.
“I think $20,000
a year would be average for a good
rider,” said Kenny Nachman, “but $50,000
wouldn’t be hard to get for
the top guys.”
“There are blokes
In America getting $1200 a month just In salary,” said
Dean Crisp, “and didn’t
one get a $13,000 car as
well? I think
he did.”
That’s BMX
for you, maybe a short professional life
— but a very merry
one.
The big bash at Epping at the weekend is
free. Organised by BMX Matchrace,
it will feature races
for all ages, boys and
girls, men and women. It will also be filmed
in colour for a 60-minute TV special.
The “Mongoose” team, from left, Dean
Crisp (Aus), Kenny
Nachman (Usa), Jamie Hales (Aus) and Brett Allen (Usa).
