Lane 8 BMX Podcast

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Ruben Gommers in my opinion is the best elite racer from Belgium. Recently Worlds didn't go his way. A few technical mistakes and he was out in qualifying. But, I want you to know that his season till then was phenomenal. He's won four rounds of the Euro Cup. In fact I believe he's leading the year long series with a red plate. His next race is in Portugal. 

Gommers says he was a kid growing up who was always on his bike. It was his mom who got him into BMX by taking him to a local track. He says he got good pretty quick. How about this stat, Gommers has been Belgian national champion a staggering ten times in his career. 

This season he's been dealing with a bad knee. It's an injury that stopped his chances of defending his national title this year. He told me next year he's looking to get his sleeve back.

This interview took place a day before Gommers left for Portugal. 

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Cory Franzwa is one of the nicest guys I've met while putting out this podcast. His happiness and kindness is infectious. I really enjoyed talking to him and getting to know him as a person. Franzwa is a a fellow Minnesotan who I know I've crossed paths with while living back home. 

At the moment Franzwa is leading the 26-35 expert class in points. Now, if you know anything about the class you know it's extremely competitive. He has to race guys like Alec Bob, Tyler Smith to Austin McKan. They are all racers I've had the pleasure to interview.

At the moment Franzwa is living in Utah and racing for Northwest BMX. Before he put down roots he was living in Maryland and racing for Lethal Threat Racing. I want to send a special shout out to Dwaylon Carter for helping get this interview. 

In this episode Franzwa and I talk about his racing roots, the Minnesota State Series and the hard work he puts in to be a bad ass on the bike.  

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AT 36 years old the Wetumpka, Alabama native is enjoying life. He's got a wonderful wife and child, he's racing Vet-Pro, and he rides for truly one of the top bike company in the world, "Chase."  

Barry started riding a bike at 3 years old. His parents got on the track and he loved it. In fact his mom and dad took over the local track. By the time he was sixteen he was a world champion. 

He eventually turned pro and in 2008 he won the Florida pro title. 2010 he won the ABA pro cruiser title and 2012 Barry made it to the final four of Olympic Trials. 

Barry began to dabble in freestyle and MTB. 2013 saw him win dual slalom national champs. He's won multiple crank works medals, and a silver medal at BMX national champs. 

In 2016 he got second to Corben Sharrah in the Olympic Trials. The next year saw him hi the Harley flat track racing and a desert race, the "Mint 400." 

Barry has participated in the XGames in two different sports. 

Now, he's racing Vet-Pro with a number on tittle from 2022 and looking to repeat in 2023.   But before he can do that he's the World Champs in Glasgow, Scotland. 

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At 11 years old Ti is making a name for himself. At the recent European Championships he got 4th. Last year he won a national title. Now he's training for the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland staring August 6th.

Ti says he was 5 years old when he went to a local track with some friends and fell in love with BMX. His home track is Hackney BMX in Haggerston Park in East London. 

In his first race Ti landed on the top of the box. He says it took him two years to move up to expert. Since then the kid has been on a terror winning bike races.

If you've ever seen Ti ride you would agree with me he is one of the most skillful kids around the globe. He has a social media presence that showcases his skill on the track and it also shows he's a fun loving kid who likes to have fun with anything he's doing. 

Two years ago Tre Whyte, the former British elite pro who is now retired began coaching Ti. Tre joined the interview to speak about Ti's work ethic, skills and determination. 

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David Graf finished his illustrious career in 2021 at the Worlds right after winning a bronze medal. He says  the moment was special and he felt fulfilled. 

Graf retired and quickly turned to coaching. His first job out the gate was the Swiss National BMX Team. He was prepared to step into the role because he'd already taken coaching classes. So when he was approached in 2019 he jumped at the opportunity. The Swiss team is filled with heavy hitters like Zoe Claessens, Simon Marquart, Cedric Butti to Renaud Blanc. Graf says coaching is a lot of work but it's easier than being a racer. 

From the very beginning Graf was successful in BMX. He did his first worlds when he was seven years old. He was a later bloomer when it came to racing elite. He says he didn't really come around until he was 26 years old. He literally won his first World Cup in Verona while racing his last World Cup. 

David is enjoying being a coach. He and his wife are expecting  a new baby girl.  

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When I called Corey Willert he'd just come off a successful weekend racing the Midwest National at Rockford. He swept the entire weekend in class and cruiser. 

Willert started his national season in Georgia, then Tulsa and then to Rockford. He's got six wins so far. 

Willert likes to race locally in Minnesota. He says it gives him a chance to continue to improve. He likes doing the Northland Fire and Ice series at Rum River or any Pro-Am he can get his hands on. 

He started racing in 2001 but then stopped for over 15 years. He then got back into racing because of his oldest son at the end of 2019. 

This year he's riding for Alpha Factory. He that phone call was sweet letting him know he'd made the team. 

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37 year old Charly Gaillard is from France. He lives just outside the City of Vesoul in a small village. In his words he lives in the middle of nowhere. Charly loves it because it's quiet. He races the masters class at UCI races or 30 and over in France. 

Charly says racing in France is much different than in the U.S. He says  there isn't much racing during the week. Racing is based around big events like the French Cups and then a bit of club racing. 

Charly got on a BMX bike in 1997 but his first races was in 2000. By 2010 he was an elite pro. Charly says things didn't workout in the elites and he decided to race his age category. Since then Charly has won a lot of big races like the N.E. French Championship in 17-29, 30-plus National Champion, European Champion 30-39 in cruiser, and last year Worlds #1 in cruiser and European Champion on his 20. 

Charly says his dad is a big influence on his racing. He plans to race as long as he's having fun. 

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At the moment Adam Carey is recovering from a serious injury he suffered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His foot came out of the pedal while jumping a triple. He's got three surgeries, 21 screws and three plates for coming up short on that jump. Adam told me recovery has been slow but better than the surgeons expected. Now he's thinking about pushing himself on the bike. 

Adam says his amateur career wasn't that great. He says he didn't really blossom until he hit Junior Elite. He didn't start racing elite properly until 2009. Adam says it took him till 2013 to really thrive in the elite category.

Racing in China presented Adam with an opportunity of a lifetime. He was offered the job as head coach for the Thailand BMX National Team. After a successful stink in Thailand Dr. Carey and yes he does have a Phd went back to Australia and began working in academia. 

Currently Adam is working on getting healthy, helping with development academies, coaching through his business @20inchtraining, and producing dope frames through his brand Tempo.  

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Jonnie Vance is a level headed guy it's one of the first things I noticed about Jonnie. He's very clear on what he wants in BMX and life itself. 

Jonnie started racing BMX at at 15 years old. Since he didn't have novice riders to race against it forced him to race with experts. He says racing with the experts helped him improve quickly. He got so good he was able to go to college on a scholarship. 

In 2020 Jonnie turned pro. He's made steady progress. He was able to work and ride for Supercross by simply sending an email to the owner offering more than just racing for his support. Jonnie worked for the company behind the scenes on their social media and writing product reviews. All good things must come to an end and Jonnie is now riding for FullTilt on a special deal. 

The Baltimore, Maryland native says continuing to make progress as an elite and he's looking for a break through ride to hit the top box. 

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Mathis Ragot Richard is dealing with the results of a bad crash a few weeks ago. He knocked himself out, broke some bones in his hand, his shoulder is dislocated with torn ligaments. The cool thing about his situation is that he's philosophical about what happened. 

The sad part about this crash other than the injuries is that the crash put a halt to a great season. So far he's only missed two finals for the European season, he's made all the French Cup finals, and made one podium. To say Mathis has been consistent is an understatement. 

The World Cup in Turkey was his main objective this year. He was trying to qualify for the worlds in Glasgow, Scotland. Who doesn't want to be world champion. 

So at the moment he's trying to figure out what comes next and when can he get back on the bike.