Inside the 2015 Zolder Elite Men’s Worlds Final
1 Race, 2 Hills, 3 Leaders … Willoughby, Graf, Kimmann
Follow Sam Willoughby on Instagram
Follow David Graf on Facebook | Instagram
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Photos Jerry Landrum | Lou Designs & Photography
Inside the 2015 Zolder Elite Men’s Worlds Final
1 Race, 2 Hills, 3 Leaders … Willoughby, Graf, Kimmann
Follow Sam Willoughby on Instagram
Follow David Graf on Facebook | Instagram
Follow Niek Kimmann on Facebook | Instagram
Photos Jerry Landrum | Lou Designs & Photography
The UCI World Championships are about to return to BMX Zolder in Belgium, the track (albeit a little modified) that in 2015, gave us one of the most memorable Elite Men’s finals in recent history. A thrilling 33 seconds with 3 different leaders that became steeped in rumour and controversy … both on and off the track … and it all started with the weather …
‘Anthony Dean and I had a plan set, we were going to wake up at around 9am and have an easy morning, but at 7am someone is banging at the hotel room door and our phones are blowing up. We answer the door and it’s Wade, he says racings moved forward you’re going off the 5m hill and we are leaving in 45minutes’, the World No. 1, Sam Willoughby remembers. The UCI were worried about the worsening conditions at the venue, it was already wet and vey windy out there.
Around the same time, the Jr. World Champion, Niek Kimmann, who hadn’t slept well for three days, was already up but contemplating going back to bed after breakfast. But back in his room, Niek’s roommate, Twan van Gendt, gets the news from coach Bas … they have to pack up and head to the track immediately, ‘I remember waiting for practice and hearing rumours about riding from the 5m hill. Five minutes before practice it was confirmed that we weren’t going to ride from the big hill. I wasn’t happy with that at all! I had been to Zolder a few times before, to train on the track, but obviously we always trained from the big hill, and never from the small hill.’
It was only a couple of months previous that both Kimmann and the third lynch pin in this Elite threesome, Switzerland’s David Graf, had made their first Elite mains, on this very track during a UEC Euro Cup round. But it was at this World Championships that Graf would dive into the BMX spotlight, his recognition value was about to sky rocket. Surprisingly he took the news he received that wet morning in his stride, ‘it was just a smooth day for me really. I was not happy with the decision to move from the big to the small hill but I got over it really quickly and then I saw a lot of the top guys struggle to adapt to the new timing of the gate in warmup, and I had two perfect starts right from the beginning.’
Kimmann also had reason to be cheerful early in the day, ‘They changed the racing system. Normally I would’ve had to ride 3 motos (because I wasn’t in the top-16 who were pre-qualified). They changed that to only 1 moto. I liked this because that meant less laps for me’. Willoughby, on the other hand, wasn’t having the day he had meticulously planned ‘I had this voice in my head saying this is the most ridiculous decision I have ever heard of, there has to be an alternative. How can we just get two practice laps on a different gate and start hill on the day of the world championships? Any plans I had or thoughts on how the day was going to run I quickly had to throw them out the window’. Sam scrapped his way through the qualifiers ‘with some close calls’ … ‘The day had been a roller coaster, I remember that between the semi and the final I gave my bike to the mechanic to get the tires dried and I just sat in the dirt with my thoughts for 20 minutes, no warm up no cool down, oblivious to the world’.
Over at the Swiss encampment, Graf was feeling confident, ‘lap after lap I was feeling strong on the first straight and even better on the track. It felt like I was racing most laps against the Australians and I was able to pass Anthony and Sam during some early laps on the last straight. The whole day was going so smooth. Even when I almost crashed out of the gate in my 1/4 and was dead last, I came back to a second place … I just felt like nothing could go wrong’. Kimmann was also getting into the groove, slowly ‘I won the first round, and got 2nd in the 1/8th final, both from lane 1. Finishing 1-2 doesn’t sound bad, but I just wasn’t feeling very good on the small hill. I got a later pick for the quarter, and I had a stacked one. I chose 8 …’. Eight would soon become an ominous calling card for the Dutchman! ‘I had a really good start and first straight. I felt like my body was finally waking up and I finally got the first straight dialled. It was just the quarter, but my confidence was really high after that lap. After that I decided to stick to gate 8 … I won the semi. I remember crossing the line, and my physio congratulated me. I thought it was a joke or something, it was my first World Champs in Elite and I made it to the final relatively easily. I didn’t believe it was real’
The UCI World Championships are about to return to BMX Zolder in Belgium, the track (albeit a little modified) that in 2015, gave us one of the most memorable Elite Men’s finals in recent history. A thrilling 33 seconds with 3 different leaders that became steeped in rumour and controversy … both on and off the track … and it all started with the weather …
‘Anthony Dean and I had a plan set, we were going to wake up at around 9am and have an easy morning, but at 7am someone is banging at the hotel room door and our phones are blowing up. We answer the door and it’s Wade, he says racings moved forward you’re going off the 5m hill and we are leaving in 45minutes’, the World No. 1, Sam Willoughby remembers. The UCI were worried about the worsening conditions at the venue, it was already wet and vey windy out there.
Around the same time, the Jr. World Champion, Niek Kimmann, who hadn’t slept well for three days, was already up but contemplating going back to bed after breakfast. But back in his room, Niek’s roommate, Twan van Gendt, gets the news from coach Bas … they have to pack up and head to the track immediately, ‘I remember waiting for practice and hearing rumours about riding from the 5m hill. Five minutes before practice it was confirmed that we weren’t going to ride from the big hill. I wasn’t happy with that at all! I had been to Zolder a few times before, to train on the track, but obviously we always trained from the big hill, and never from the small hill.’
It was only a couple of months previous that both Kimmann and the third lynch pin in this Elite threesome, Switzerland’s David Graf, had made their first Elite mains, on this very track during a UEC Euro Cup round. But it was at this World Championships that Graf would dive into the BMX spotlight, his recognition value was about to sky rocket. Surprisingly he took the news he received that wet morning in his stride, ‘it was just a smooth day for me really. I was not happy with the decision to move from the big to the small hill but I got over it really quickly and then I saw a lot of the top guys struggle to adapt to the new timing of the gate in warmup, and I had two perfect starts right from the beginning.’
Kimmann also had reason to be cheerful early in the day, ‘They changed the racing system. Normally I would’ve had to ride 3 motos (because I wasn’t in the top-16 who were pre-qualified). They changed that to only 1 moto. I liked this because that meant less laps for me’. Willoughby, on the other hand, wasn’t having the day he had meticulously planned ‘I had this voice in my head saying this is the most ridiculous decision I have ever heard of, there has to be an alternative. How can we just get two practice laps on a different gate and start hill on the day of the world championships? Any plans I had or thoughts on how the day was going to run I quickly had to throw them out the window’. Sam scrapped his way through the qualifiers ‘with some close calls’ … ‘The day had been a roller coaster, I remember that between the semi and the final I gave my bike to the mechanic to get the tires dried and I just sat in the dirt with my thoughts for 20 minutes, no warm up no cool down, oblivious to the world’.
Over at the Swiss encampment, Graf was feeling confident, ‘lap after lap I was feeling strong on the first straight and even better on the track. It felt like I was racing most laps against the Australians and I was able to pass Anthony and Sam during some early laps on the last straight. The whole day was going so smooth. Even when I almost crashed out of the gate in my 1/4 and was dead last, I came back to a second place … I just felt like nothing could go wrong’. Kimmann was also getting into the groove, slowly ‘I won the first round, and got 2nd in the 1/8th final, both from lane 1. Finishing 1-2 doesn’t sound bad, but I just wasn’t feeling very good on the small hill. I got a later pick for the quarter, and I had a stacked one. I chose 8 …’. Eight would soon become an ominous calling card for the Dutchman! ‘I had a really good start and first straight. I felt like my body was finally waking up and I finally got the first straight dialled. It was just the quarter, but my confidence was really high after that lap. After that I decided to stick to gate 8 … I won the semi. I remember crossing the line, and my physio congratulated me. I thought it was a joke or something, it was my first World Champs in Elite and I made it to the final relatively easily. I didn’t believe it was real’
A sea of umbrellas looked on as the Elite men gathered for the last race of the event, the weather was not getting any better. The Jr. World Champion had the first pick … Eight! ‘I remember picking 8, and thinking this is weird! I could also hear the atmosphere in the crowd change when I did that. It was weird to experience, but it felt like the crowd was surprised’. Willoughby, with the second pick, racked up in a familiar gate 1 … ‘Rolling into the gate for the final I remember the starter just rushing us and the UCI officials rushing to run the race, no build up like a normal worlds final. I was thinking, what’s the rush, the rains here, the tracks soaked, it’s the last race of the day’ … ‘I thought, I just have to go, if I spin I spin, as I knew Liam was only a few lanes over and had been getting out good’.
Graf slotted in beside Willoughby with nothing to lose. ‘I was in lane 2 and I knew the heat is coming from both sides with Sam in 1 and Niek in 8’. With all eyes on the final eight, the gate dropped, Willoughby had the advantage, ‘when we hit the first jump I couldn’t see Liam as he had spun his wheel, I could see Niek was right by me but out in 8, at that point I knew I had the holeshot … out of turn one I felt Niek on my hip to the right’. Kimmann’s gate from out in 8 was not quite as consistent as it is today but it was the Worlds final and he still found himself in second in the first turn just behind the Number 1 plate … but he had other plans, ‘I remember thinking, nice, Sam is a guy I always looked up to and I’m in 2nd in the World Champs main. I would’ve been happy with 2nd, but I knew I was really good on the 3rd straight’. At this point Graf was sitting in third after ‘probably the best start I ever had to that point in my career and found myself sandwiched between the two after the first jump. I was still in third when Dean jumped on my back into turn one and went down. At that moment I was thinking, just hold that third place. The two in front are gone. I remember how I was pissed at myself for not staying closer to them in front of the step -up-step-down’.
Then came the second straight, and nobody saw Graf coming …
‘I went to Sam’s right, because I wanted to make sure I would be able to ride a good second turn and have exit speed for the third straight’ Kimmann remembers, ‘I felt like Sam saw me coming and went to the outside to hold me off. I saw a shadow of another rider on my left. In laps like this you’re so focused, everything feels like it’s going in slow-motion. I thought: Sam is on the outside trying to hold me off and someone else is close to us. It’s the World Champs main, everyone wants to win, I’m sure the guy on my left is gonna try to make a move because Sam is leaving the door wide open. I set up a high-low and realized it was Graf. Nothing against David, but out of all the guys in the main, I wasn’t expecting him back then. Until then I think he never made a World Cup main, so I was a little surprised’. Sam was fully focused on Kimmann at this stage ‘I was thinking I just need to hold him there and roll through turn two ready to charge down the third straight. I over shot the step up slightly and felt someone sniffing the inside but I couldn’t fully adjust before the next lip to get all the way to the white line to cover it’.
With Niek and Sam focused on each other, Graf in third was making up ground … fast! ‘After the first jump I came closer, after the second jump I saw Sam focussing on pushing Niek wide. So, I set up for diving in, everything felt perfect’. That was the dive that would spark a thousand social media arguments … pick a side! ‘I was not worrying about throwing away a medal I was just racing’ Graf recalls.
Turn two did not go well for the World Champion, ‘Next thing I knew I was lying face down in a puddle, on a car tire’.
Graf was in first, leading the Worlds final … briefly. He was tired. ‘The whole day was tiring and then the acceleration out of my move on Sam, killed me. Two seconds later, Niek flew by me and I was just holding on. Hoping to bring her home and get on the podium. The fact I lost my second place to Jelle after the last jump, because I was no longer able to pedal, shows how empty I was’. Niek capitalised on the turn two situation and held his speed as he came out, passing Graf, ‘I came out of the last turn, knowing no one is gonna pass me anymore. I screamed before I crossed the line. I couldn’t believe what just happened!’.
It was only at this point that the fallen Sam Willoughby gathered himself and looked up ‘I see a Dutch 1, 2 and Graf in 3rd and I’m thinking that sucks, he took me out from third to get third. Little did I know he went into the lead momentarily. I understood it’s the worlds final and understood you go for it, no matter what’.
Graf was also upset he couldn’t hold onto first … ‘This was my first ever worlds final, and I medalled, I should have been over the moon. But that day I felt like I should have been able to hold on to the lead, I was sitting in the finish line for 2 to 3 minutes, gutted on “losing” the title. These were the 3 minutes I was still in race mode, but as soon as I saw Roger Rinderknecht and the joy on his face … (he never shows emotions) I realized, how big this still was’.
Kimmann, was now on the last straight with the Dutch Flag in his hand, after pulling off the almost impossible in his first year in Elite and seemingly oblivious to the blossoming rumour mill … ‘All the stress and emotions from that day and the tiredness I had going in to the race, came out. It’s weird, but at that moment I didn’t even feel like celebrating. I just wanted to go back to bed’.
But the rumour mill was moving full steam ahead, despite the amazing race we had just witnessed … helmets thrown, fists thrown, worlds exchanged? What really happened after the live stream ended? ‘After the emotion of the day and to come so close to winning two in a row I was gutted.’ Sam told us, ‘So, as I walked past David, I gave him a bump, like you do in footy when you’re unhappy with someone, to say “I owe you one”. But, like everything in BMX, it gets blown out of proportion. A UCI official came to our pit 20 minutes later and asked if I had punched David in the face, which obviously did not happen’. Graf was less forthcoming … ‘it’s been discussed many times, no need to “dive” into it again’, … he told us, with a cheeky grin …
