2018 Race of Champions

Filed under General on November 25, 2018 | Comment(s)

It's the biggest single-day race in all of BMX - the Invitational 500-plus moto Race of Champions!  Comprised of all of the top riders from every state, with a few Foreigners thrown in to Opens, the race for the Red No.1 plate kicks off the racing action in Tulsa on Friday. It's great prep for Grands, and can give riders the advantage on knowing the track by the time the #GreatestRaceonEarth begins ...but on the flipside, the largest single-day race IS also the longest day of BMX racing, with main events wrapping up at around 10pm.  

The ROC is also a Pro Series race - thee final shot to boost Pro point standings. Coming into this Friday's BMX fiesta, Chase's Connor Fields had only nine scores to his name, after missing some Pro races due to his head-boppin' crash in Oldsmar. That meant his ROC score could put him back in the hunt with a solid tenth score to add to his standings. 

With 35 riders in Elite Men, the field was heated from the very first moto. With a surge of fast foreigners in attendance, the Americna Pros had their work cut out for them. The Chase twins were both on fire, and had brought their A-Game to Tulsa. By the time the mains had been decided, early in the afternoon, only two Americans would make the cut - Texan "T-Bone" Sebesta and Vegas' defending No.1 Pro champ, The ConMan. France (with 2), Argentina, Australia (with 2) and The Netherlands will fill the other six spots in the ROC final. 

And what a final it would be!  

MEN ELITE - ROC results:

• 1 JORIS DAUDET, CHASE BMX/ELEVN RACING, CORONA, CA via France
• 2 CONNOR FIELDS, CHASE BMX/ELEVN RACING, HENDERSON, NV - USA
• 3 ANTHONY DEAN, CHULA VISTA, CA via Australia
• 4 NIEK KIMMANN, DEDEMSVAART, Netherlands
• 5 JEREMY RENCUREL, INSPYRE BICYCLES, PERSAN, France
• 6 FEDERICO VILLEGAS, CRUPI, MENDOZA, Argentina
• 7 JOSHUA MCLEAN, FULL TILT, HIGHLAND PARK, QLD, Australia
• 8 TANNER SEBESTA, THRODWN, KYLE, TX - USA

In Elite Women, Alise Willoughby was out to keep her 2018 Win-streak alive. Never before has a racer won EVERY single Pro main they've entered, for an entire season. So far, Alise has - and by the end of the Saturday night, she'd write a new page in the BMX history books. But it wasn't a breeze; she'd have to work for it on Friday to keep the streak alive. 

After winning her first two mains (followed by the usual "two seconds by Brooke Crain"), the third main was a nail-biter for The Beast. 

WOMEN ELITE - ROC results:

• 1 ALISE WILLOUGHBY, FULL TILT, CHULA VISTA, CA, USA
• 2 BROOKE CRAIN, VISALIA, CA, USA
• 3 LAUREN REYNOLDS, ANSWER RENNEN, CHULA VISTA, CA, via Australia
• 4 FELICIA STANCIL, POWERLITE DANS COMP DFR, ANTIOCH, IL, USA
• 5 ASHLEY VERHAGEN, FULL TILT, TEMPE, AZ, USA
• 6 DANI GEORGE, THRODWN, PALMDALE, CA, USA
• 7 RACHEL JONES, BMX SHARKS, NSW, Australia
• 8 TESSA MARTINEZ, PROPHECY, MORMOIRON, France

In A-pro, JHOLMAN SIVIRA - a part-time Florida resident from Venezuela, killed it in single-A. Not only did he take the Answer Holeshot Award money (for ROC and Grands), but he would also go on to win it all, all weekend. It'd leave all 51 A-pros asking, "Where'd this guy come from?!" No doubt, we're likely to hear a LOT more from Sivira down the road.   

Of all the ROC dominators, these three guys had the most impressive day - by far. They kicked off their ROC streaks with wins in Open, and then kept the rhythm going when their class mains rolled around - about an hour later.
Washington's Evan Ensero (WiaWis), Nor.Cal'er Nic Adams (Rift-Tangent) and Minnesota's Alex Antil (Free Agent) were all ON FIRE! Double-ROC No.'1 for all three. 

14 EXPERT

• 1 EVAN ENSERRO, WIAWIS/LSG, CHICO, CA, USA
• 2 DANIEL DELVASTO, ICE/ELEMENT USA, LANTANA, FL, USA
• 3 BRANDON CRAIN, ANSWER RENNEN, RIVERSIDE, CA, USA
• 4 COLE ZUFELT, C-YAA, TRENTON, ON, Canada
• 5 PETER CHOAT, FULL TILT, BAKERSFIELD, CA, USA
• 6 BRODY COLE, THRODWN, CHULA VISTA, CA, USA
• 7 BLAISE PEREIRA, FREE AGENT BOX, MARRERO, LA, USA
• 8 CHRISTOPHER HOBBIE, C-YAA, MANAHAWKIN, NJ, USA

15 EXPERT

• 1 NICHOLAS ADAMS, RIFT/TANGENT, ORANGEVALE, CA, USA
• 2 GAVIN FREEWALT, WIAWIS/LSG, SCHAUMBURG, IL, USA
• 3 DYLAN WOOD, THRODWN, HOUSTON, TX, USA
• 4 EVAN SCHAEFER, ALLTOW WRECKING CREW/YESS, SARASOTA, FL, USA
• 5 TYLER WRIGHT, STATELINE BMX, POYNETTE, WI, USA
• 6 DREW POLK, WIAWIS/LSG, AVON, IN, USA
• 7 LEO HILE, WIAWIS/LSG, PHOENIX, AZ, USA
• 8 JOSHUA VERON, JR BICYCLES.COM/CHASE/BOX, CARMICHAEL, CA, USA

17-20 EXPERT

• 1 ALEX ANTIL, FREE AGENT BOX, SAINT MICHAEL, MN, USA
• 2 JOSEPH LETO, ALLTOW WRECKING CREW/YESS, MYAKKA CITY, FL, USA
• 3 LOUIS KAMINSKI, TNT BICYCLES, EDEN, NY, USA
• 4 CAMERON BRAMER, FACTORY WIAWIS/LSG, SOUTH PARK, PA, USA
• 5 KYLE KRUYSMAN, POWERLITE DANS COMP DFR, DALLAS, GA, USA
• 6 SULLIVAN FINCH, WIAWIS/LSG, FORT COLLINS, CO, USA
• 7 BRAYAN QUERALES, FLORIDA FACTORY ANSWER/S, KISSIMMEE, FL, USA
• 8 RACE LEE, FULL TILT, DERBY, KS, USA

With 58 riders in both 14x and 15x

55 riders in 17-20x