Mike Day's Olympic Trials victory has made the June 23rd Issue of Sports Illustrated! He is featured in the Olympic Round-up section and a photo is included. The piece mentions how Mike made a final run unnecessary and gives a shout out to GT's Jill Kintner as well.

After his dramatic victory at the Olympic Trials in Chula Vista, California this Saturday, GT BMX Race Team Rider Mike Day has qualified for a spot on the US Olympic Team and will be headed to Beijing to compete in the Olympic Games this August.

Mike’s win at the Olympic Training Center means he will join his GT teammate, Jill Kintner, who qualified just two weeks ago with her performance at the UCI National Championships. The win was made particularly poignant because the Olympic Trials were Mike’s last possible chance to qualify and a first place finish was required to ensure his spot on the Beijing-bound BMX squad.

“I almost can’t believe it,” said Mike. “I’ve been living at the Olympic Training Center and riding this track for months so I wasn’t really worried about performing here but the fact that it all came down to this one race was definitely nerve-racking. I am just so stoked it went my way. Now I can really put all my effort towards winning gold in Beijing.”

Mike will be competing in Beijing on a GT Power Series Ultra Box. Be sure to watch Mike and Jill on their quest for gold during the televised Olympic BMX Race events on NBC, August 20th and 21st.

Jill Kintner thought her Olympic dream ended four weeks ago, when she was writhing in the dirt, screaming in agony after re-injuring her chronically right knee in a training crash.

She felt no pain Saturday.

By finishing sixth at the BMX world championships in Taiyuan, China, the 26-year-old from Seattle earned enough points to barely edge Arielle Martin of Pleasant Grove, Utah, in USA Cycling's yearlong battle for the lone automatic women's BMX berth into this summer's Beijing Olympics.

“I didn't even know it was possible,” Kintner said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Saturday from Taiyuan. “For it to come down like this, I don't know what to think. There had to be some higher forces working for me.”

However, the day will likely be remembered as bittersweet for the American women, most of whom struggled Saturday. Although the official rankings have not yet been confirmed by the International Cycling Union, calculations by USA Cycling show they will have only one women's start position in the Beijing Games – meaning while Kintner races for Olympic gold, her close friend Martin will be watching.

“I was crying because of that more than because I made it,” said Kintner, who was with Martin when USA Cycling's BMX director Mike King came into their hotel room Saturday evening and broke the news. “Today, it's a lot more bitter than sweet. Tomorrow, it might be a different story.”

The U.S. could have secured a second Olympic spot with some strong finishes Saturday. But other than Kintner, no American woman advanced out of the quarterfinals. Martin crashed in her quarterfinal race, ending her day, and probably her Olympic hopes as well.

Kintner entered Saturday 13 points behind Martin in the USA Cycling standings. Martin was eliminated in the quarterfinals, meaning she did not add any points to her yearlong total. And by finishing sixth – an outcome that was all but assured when two French women in the eight-racer final stumbled – Kintner earned 14 points, giving her a 129-128 victory after the 17-race competition.

Kintner and Martin were roommates both on the trip to China and for the last several months at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

“You take the good with the bad,” King said. “You're happy for one and you're hurting for the other.”

Kintner was a four-time national champion and three-time world champion in the event known as mountain-cross, where racers on mountain bikes head downhill while dodging obstacles. But because BMX was added to the Olympic program, she returned to the smaller bike this year with eyes of making the team headed to Beijing.

She was a junior BMX world champion as a teenager – and now as an adult, will have the chance of adding a gold medal to her resume.

“After all I've gone through to get here, I guess it was worth it,” Kintner said.

Lake Forrest, CA – May 29, 2008 – With the Olympic Games in Beijing only two months away, the excitement for the debut of BMX Race is mounting daily. Among a strong group of contenders from both the men’s and women’s sides, two riders have emerged as the ones to watch as the US Team chases its dreams of Olympic Gold.

For the men, the rider to watch is Mike Day. With a string of successes over the last three years including the 2005 NBL #1 Pro, 2005 UCI Worlds 2nd Place, 2006 UCI Worlds 3rd Place, and the 2007 UCI Supercross 1st Place, Mike has been on a tear leading up to Olympic qualification. The fastest rider on Olympic style tracks, Mike has won every time trial on the UCI Supercross circuit for the last year and a half. Crediting his monster speed to his longer than average legs, Mike also clocked the fastest time of any athlete on the Beijing Supercross track during last year's test races. To say he has an advantage there would be an understatement. GT BMX Race Team Manager Eric Rupe had this to say about Mike, "Hands down, Mike Day is the best rider in BMX racing today. He makes it look so easy and effortless, as if he's just play riding. Nobody can match his skill... NOBODY."

On the women’s side, the clear favorite is Jill Kintner. Beginning at the age of 14, Jill dominated race after race until she presided over an empire that included more than 70 race wins, the NBL National Series pro title and the 2002 ABA World Championship crown. She then gave up BMX to switch to Mountain Bikes. After an amazing stint as the best female Mountaincross rider in the world, Jill returned to BMX upon learning that it would be included in the Olympics. "The most impressive thing about Jill is her fearlessness and willingness to be aggressive on the track. If she's not out front, it’s only a matter of time before she makes the moves to get there," says Rupe.

For more information on BMX history and the GT Olympic hopeful team, please visit http://olympics.gtbicycles.com.

GT is part of the Cannondale Sports Group Division of Dorel Industries (TSX: DII.B, DII.A).

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — When Jill Kintner left BMX racing six years ago, she never planned to come back. She finished the 2002 season with typical dominance, adding a national pro title and a world championship to a racing résumé filled with more than 70 career wins.

Read the complete article online, "Lure of Olympics Prompts Return of BMX Star"

Download PDf

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Mike King started racing BMX bikes in 1975, 30 years before anyone envisioned the sport’s becoming part of the Olympics.

Read the article online, "At Center, BMXers Are Part of a Team"

Download PDf

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 22, 2008)—USA Cycling and the United States Olympic Committee announced today the schedule of events for next month’s 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the sport of BMX.

> 2008 Schedule for Olympic BMX Team Trials (pdf)

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 21, 2008)—USA Cycling and the United States Olympic Committee today released a detailed description of the event format that will be utilized at next month’s 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the sport of BMX.

> 2008 Olympic Race Format (pdf)

Colorado Springs, Colo. (May 21, 2008)—USA Cycling and the United States Olympic Committee today released a detailed description of the event format that will be utilized at next month’s 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the sport of BMX.

Scheduled for Saturday, June 14 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., the U.S. Olympic Team Trials will feature eight competitors with the overall winner earning an automatic nomination to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.

Following the completion of the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships in Taiyuan, China on June 1, USA Cycling will announce the eight-man roster of invitees for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

At the Trials, participants will compete in a series of five races and accumulate points throughout the day in order to determine an overall winner. The following guidelines illustrate the format that will be used at the Olympic Trials to determine one men’s automatic nomination to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team:

The Field: Eight (8) riders selected to the U.S. Olympic Long Team for BMX will be competing for an automatic position to the final U.S. Olympic Team. These riders will be announced on June 8.

Basics: The riders will compete in a total of five races – one Time Trial, three Motos and a Final. Points will be awarded to the top 3 finishers in the Time Trial, the top 4 finishers in each Moto and the top 5 finishers in the Final. The rider with the greatest number of points at the end of the event will be declared the winner and will be named to the U.S. Olympic Team.

Time Trial (Seeding): Riders will be seeded in the Time Trial event based upon the final standings of the 2008 USA Cycling BMX Rankings. The rider with the lowest ranking among the starters will ride first, followed by the next highest and so on. The top-ranked rider among the starters will ride last in the Time Trial.

Time Trial (Placing): The top 3 riders in the Time Trial will be awarded 5, 3, and 1 point (s) respectively. In the case of a tie in the top 3 riders, the riders tied will both be awarded points for that placing, although it may preclude other riders from scoring. (Example: if two riders tie for second place, they will both receive 3 points, but the next rider would be fourth and receive no points.) If there is a tie for riders outside of the top 3, the riders who tie will draw lots (or flip a coin) to determine placing.

Motos (Lane Choice): There will be 3 Motos. Lane choice for start positions for the first Moto will be determined by the time trial, with the rider finishing first getting lane choice, followed by the second rider in the time trial and so on. In the case of a tie in the time trial, the riders who tie will draw lots (or flip a coin) to determine position for lane choice. Choice for start position in the subsequent Motos will be determined by the current points standings. In the case of a tie in the points standings, the placing in the previous Moto will be used as a tiebreaker.

Motos (Placing): There will be two photo-finish cameras to determine order of finish. The top 4 riders in each Moto will be awarded 10, 7, 5 and 3 points respectively. In the case of a dead heat (tie) for a position among the top 4 riders, the riders tied will both be awarded points for that placing, although it may preclude other riders from scoring. (Example: if two riders tie for third place, they will both receive 5 points, but the next rider would be fifth and receive no points.) If there is a tie for riders outside the top 4, the riders who tie will draw lots (or flip a coin) to determine placing.

Final (Lane Choice): Lane choice for start position in the Final will be determined by current points standings. In the case of a tie, the placing of the previous Moto will be used as a tiebreaker. Only riders who are in contention for the win will be allowed to start the final.

Final (Placing): The top 5 riders in the Final will be awarded points: 15, 12, 10, 7, and 5 respectively. In the case of a dead heat (tie) for a position among the top 5 riders, the riders tied will both be awarded points for that placing.

Final Points Standings: The rider who finishes the event with the greatest number of points will be determined the winner. If there is a tie for first place overall, the tiebreakers will be utilized in the following order:

a. Most Victories. If still tied:

b. Most Top 3 Finishes. If still tied:

c. Order of Finish in Final. If still tied:

d. 2007-08 order of USA Cycling BMX Rankings

Final Team Announcement: The final 2008 U.S. Olympic BMX Team will be announced with all USA Cycling Olympic Teams on July 1, 2008.

Complete Selection Information: Complete information on the selection procedures for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for BMX can be found on the USA Cycling website at the following link: http://www.usacycling.org/forms/selection/08-SOGBMX.pdf

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — To a casual weekend pedaler, one word describes the view from the top of a three-story-high ramp that marks the start of an Olympic training course devoted to the Summer Games' newest sport.

Terrifying.

But not to pro athlete Mike Day, 23, perched at the pinnacle on a lightweight, 20-inch bike and wedged handlebar to handlebar with seven other riders. To Day, this wickedly steep launchpad — more like a roller coaster than a bicycle track — helps explain the adrenaline-laced, rough-and-tumble appeal of BMX racing.

> Read USAToday.com Article

Jill Kintner (GT BMX Race athlete) was featured on an interstitial (short video in place of a commercial) on ESPN's television show “E60”! 

View Jill Kintner Video

USAC Race - Elite Women: 1st

What more can I say, Jill was simply awesome at this race. She looked really good in practice on Friday and that carried over to Saturday. She won all of her heat races and was poised for the win come main time. She drew the unlucky lane eight, but she didn't care. That just meant that she was gonna have to bring the heat even more. Bring the heat SHE DID! She got an amazingly good start and had mad pull down the first straight. Coming out of the first turn, she had a several bike length lead and never let it go. USAC National Champ, JILL KINTNER!!

AA Pro: 7th
USAC Race - Elite Men: 6th (semi)
AA Pro: Did Not Enter

Mike was feeling really good on the De Soto track and was seriously feelin' a WIN!! He blazed through the heat races and made the main on Friday. A bit of misfortune in all three mains landed him a really disappointing 7th place overall. At the USAC National Championship race, he was once again rippin' it up in the motos. Come semi time, all he had to do was finish in the top four and he would have a real chance at the National Championship. He got squeezed out going into the first turn and fell to the back of the pack. With the technical yet very tight track, it was nearly impossible, even with all his MAD SKILL, for Mikey to make up enough ground to move up to the transfer spot. He'd end up watching the main from the side lines.

AA Pro: 5th(semi)
USAC Race - Elite Men: 5th
AA Pro: 6th (semi)

Joey did pretty darn well this weekend. He struggled on Friday as he had a hard time on most every lap. Saturday, at the USAC National Championship race, he really stepped it up. He smoked 'em in his first two motos, chilled in the third moto and was ready for the main. Going into the first turn of the main event, Joey was in a clean second place behind eventual winner Kyle Bennett (Free Agent). About half way through the first turn, Joey had the move put on him by another rider as he was pushed to very edge of the track. He would end up falling back to 5th before lap's end, but all in all, he had a great day. He kept the flow going on Sunday as he won all his motos again and was ready for the semi final. Coming out of the gate with a really good start, he came unclipped from his right pedal and instantly fell to the back of the pack. Like I said before, with the really tight track, it was hard for anyone to make up much ground after falling behind. He couldn't make it up and would end up out of the main event line up.

New for the 2008 Olympics, BMX Race has been added as an event, and GT has four Olympic hopefuls on the team including Jill Kintner, Mike Day, Randy Stumpfhauser, and Joey Bradford. In order to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity this situation provides for GT Bicycles' athletes and its brand, GT hired MFA, LTD (http://www.mfaltd.com/home.html) a PR agency that also helped Burton introduce their athletes during the inaugural year of Snowboarding in the Winter Olympics (Sean White, etc.)

MFA organized a media tour in New York City for Mike Day and Jill Kintner this past week. Needless to say it was a whirlwind trip where Jill and Mike worked very hard but managed to have a ton of fun while they were at it.

The pair jetted off to Washington DC this past Monday, March 17th to meet with the team at USA Today. Photo shoots and video interviews were done giving Mike and Jill their first real taste of being in the media spotlight. From DC they traveled to NYC where on Tuesday they were whisked from magazine office to magazine office including Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated Kids, Complex, Cosmo Girl (Jill) and YRB. All of this was topped off with a much needed dinner on the Lower East Side with the Nike Skate team! Wednesday was the last day of the tour but still just as busy. The pair met with the New York Times for breakfast and then Men's Fitness (Mike). After that we walked a few blocks to MFA's office to meet the staff. They then met with ESPN the magazine and EXPN.com for an interview for upcoming issues and an update on the EXPN site. (See the story here.)

The response the pair received was amazing and we can only hope and expect greater media attention in the future. The Olympic team has not been picked yet but if the attention and buzz Mike and Jill created while in NYC is a sign, we can all hope for medals in GT's future!

UCI Race #9 Elite Men: 8th
UCI Race #10 Elite Men: 4th
NBL National Sunday Elite Men: 7th(semi)

Mike Day was made for tough, technical tracks like this one. He was getting good starts all weekend, which put him at or near the front of the pack. If he wasn't leading, it wouldn't take him long to get there. He pulled many a rider down the last straight and won nearly every moto he was in. In the main of UCI #9, he made a sweet, carving dive move in the first turn and took the lead from Donny Robinson. As they hit the triple step before the second turn, Donny's elbow came under Mike's and it put Mike on the ground. That's a tough way to end up 8th for the day. Event #10 would be a bit better as he once again made the final and had a great chance to win it. He got a great start from lane one and looked again to have a shot at the win. If he gets to the front in most ANY BMX race, he's almost NEVER gonna lose. Unfortunately, he got pinched off down low in turn one and came out of turn one a bit off the back. He worked his way up nicely and finished a solid 4th. Sunday didn't go as well as his day ended with a 7th in the Elite Men's semi final.

UCI Race #9 Elite Men: DNQ
UCI Race #10 Elite Men: DNQ
NBL National Sunday Elite Men: 6th(semi)

Joey is on a mission to work his way up the Elite Men's rankings. Being one of the youngest riders in the class, he has really done quite well. He's a fast, smooth and smart rider. When he learns to be a bit more aggressive and to keep the throttle on a bit longer, he'll surely be a threat to win many events. This weekend was rough one for him as he found himself having to watch all the main events from the side lines.

UCI Race #9 Elite Women: 1st
UCI Race #10 Elite Women: 3rd

It looks like living and training full time at the OTC in San Diego is doing Jill some good. She was faster than ever and was easily the fastest woman in the field. She took a wire to wire win in Friday's main and a solid third in the main on Saturday. She decided to sit out on Sunday and let the other women battle it out for the "NBL only" points race. With the win on Friday, she took over the lead in the UCI Olympic points battle. The Elite Women's class battle is gonna be good as we get closer to the Olympic Games in August.