US BMX team finally set for sport's Olympic debut

BEIJING (AP) Before flying to China last week, three-time world BMX champion Kyle Bennett was home, watching American swimming king Michael Phelps leave an indelible mark on Olympic history.

And when Bennett would see Phelps starring in those medal ceremonies, he couldn't help but daydream.

"I'm thankful to be part of it all, thankful to get to the Olympics, and anything from here would be a bonus," Bennett said Monday. "But just seeing that smile and imagining the feeling he had, it would be amazing to experience that."

He's about to get his chance - a chance BMX racers have never had before, and a chance that some racers decided was worth putting their long-term career plans on hold.

So architecture and art can wait. There's Olympic gold at stake.

"I never thought this could happen," American women's racer Jill Kintner said.

BMX, or bicycle motocross, makes its Olympic debut Wednesday, when qualifying begins in the men's and women's competitions. Medals will be decided Thursday and the United States expects to be in contention, with three accomplished riders in the 32-racer men's field and a former world mountain biking champion in the 16-rider women's field.

Bennett, Donny Robinson and Mike Day will represent the U.S. men; Kintner is here as the lone American woman.

"Anything can happen," said Day, the U.S. Olympic trials champion. "I know an American sweep would be awesome to see, but it's a lot easier said than done. I think everyone will just worry about their own thing, but if that happens, it would be awesome."

Beijing is halfway around the world from the U.S. BMX training center in Chula Vista, Calif., but the Americans have as close to a home-field advantage in China as possible.

Knowing that medals were for the taking at these Olympics, the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Cycling spent about $1 million to build a replica of the Beijing course in California, giving the American team a chance to train on an exact model of the track that will decide gold, silver and bronze. No other nation had that luxury, and USA Cycling even invited some rival teams to train on the course as a goodwill gesture.

"We've been setting records out there left and right on our track," Kintner said.

Now, though, comes the biggest test: Will the training in Chula Vista pay off in Beijing?

It's not a sure thing, simply because in a wacky sport like BMX, nothing is.

Racers have eight riders on the course together, all first having to navigate a 35-foot starting ramp that has such a severe slope, more than one rider has gotten to the platform overlooking it and become so gripped with fear that they burst into tears.

Those who can handle that ramp have plenty more tests awaiting. BMX racing is almost like roller derby; people jostle for position in corners, there's plenty of contact at high speed, and there'll be more than a couple of nasty falls before the winners finally emerge Thursday.

It's not for everyone - but the BMX world thinks it has appeal.

"We're going eight riders wide, going 40 mph, jumping 40-foot jumps, coming off a three-and-a-half story starting hill," said Robinson, who won the test event on the Beijing course last year. "It's something that the viewers are going to be kind of psyched about. Everyone's ridden a bike and to see what is possible on a BMX bike nowadays is just going to have them in awe of what we're doing out there."

This American BMX roster has a little of everything: Bennett is a country music fan from Texas, Robinson is a former competitive gymnast, Day thinks he'll eventually be an architect and Kintner is an art aficionado with an affinity for photography.

All of them have won before against the best in the world.

And all of them know that to be the first Olympic BMX champion would send their careers skyrocketing.

"We have a chance to show the world what BMX athletes can do," Robinson said. "I hope we put on a good show for everybody."