Gene`s BMX News

*** Duo Dominates 'A' Pros At Northwest Nationals ***

Pasco, Washington (Langley BMX) -- 03/30/2007
Teenagers Scott Erwood and Nick Goertzen owned
the 'A' Pro Class in Washington State, March 9-11.

A pair of Langley BMX riders went wheel-to-wheel at the
Great Northwest Nationals in Pasco, Wash. earlier this month.

Racing in the 'A' Pro Class, Scott Erwood and Nick Goertzen,
both 18, shared victories at the March 9-11, American Bicycle
Association-sanctioned event.

Erwood took the 'A' Pro title on the Saturday, while
Goertzen matched his Langley compatriot the next day.

The March 10 races belonged to Erwood, who rode second
behind Goertzen in the first Main Event moto before taking the
next two races to finish first overall.

After placing second behind Erwood the previous day,
Goertzen completed the Langley sweep on March 11
with fifth, second, and first-place results to take the day's
'A' Pro title.

Erwood was hamstrung on Day 2
after crashing during the first race.

Taking the outside lane, Erwood flipped his bike after two
riders went down in front of him. His bike's wheel caught
the frame of one of the downed bikes and Erwood crashed.

He regained his bearings and finished eighth. Erwood went
on to win his second moto and place third in his third moto
to finish in third spot overall behind Goertzen and second-
place rider "Gentleman" Justin McLintock of Orange County,
Calif.

"I was happy with my results overall, other than the one crash
that wasn't my fault," Erwood said.

"It was a pretty good weekend, I'd say."

Goertzen was concerned about the weekend after what he
called a "lackluster performance" on the first day of racing
on March 9, when he finished fifth overall in the 'A' Pro pre
-race event.

"I didn't do very well, and I didn't know how
the weekend was going to turn out," he said.

Successful outings at events like the Great Northwest Nationals
will go a long way to instil confidence in the two Langley riders,
as they vie for Olympic qualification.

Goertzen and Erwood hope to ride for Canada at the 2008
Summer Olympics in Beijing, where BMX will make its Olympic
debut.

"I mostly raced for fun at the beginning but when I found out
BMX was going to be an Olympic event, I started going to
more events," recalled Erwood.

Neither Erwood nor Goertzen - who finished fifth in the
ABA 2006 national boys points standings - are strangers
to zooming across the finish line first. Erwood was a competitive
motocross rider at the ages of nine and 10, before giving the
sport up on the urging of his mom.

"My mom wanted to stop because she was
worried about me getting injured," he said.

Erwood switched from two wheels to four,
racing quarter midget cars in Aldergrove.

"I was bored of going around in circles so I asked
my parents if I could try BMX out," he said.

BMX was a natural fit for Erwood, who was always riding
his bike around the quarter midget pits and around town.

Switching to BMX racing turned out to be a wise decision:
Erwood won his first 20 races, graduated to the expert class,
and hasn't looked back since.

The secret to success, Erwood said, is fitness:
it truly is survival of the fittest on the track.

"You have to have a positive attitude towards racing,
and if you are not in shape, you're not going to be able
to compete with half the guys," he said

Goertzen started racing on a second-hand bike,
and found success immediately.

"I had a friend who raced so I did too," Goertzen said.
"I started getting better and beating him. He quit and I kept going."

*****

Erwood is sponsored by Standard Bike, Fly Racing and
Cap's Proworks. Goertzen's sponsors include Fly Racing
Canada, Six six one, and Dangerboy Products.

Erwood and Goertzen got their start at
the Langley BMX Association track.

Opening day at the track, located beside the George
Preston Recreation Centre, is this Sunday, April 1.
Sign up is between 2 and 3 p.m.

Visit - http://www.langleybmx.com

ACC - http://www.genesbmx.com/Northwest-Nationals.html