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Veterans Cup 2016: A legend turns 50!

Sat, 17-Sep-2016: The 22nd Veterans Cup is coming up. Once again, many old-schoolers have gathered in Weiterstadt to pursue their passion: Seeing old acquaintances and friends from the past, riding around the track on beautiful bikes and reminiscing about old sporting times. What was special about this year's Veterans Cup? This much can be said: a legend turned 50; more details on this later in this report.

Compared to last year, many more team tents were set up this time to provide protection from the sun and rain. This year there was neither rain nor much sun. Nevertheless, the classy bikes look twice as beautiful under the matching tents, especially because several bikes were exhibited in each tent. There was a very commendable exhibition by Lothar K.a.s.p.r.c.z.y.k with Hutch, GT, JMC and Patterson precious metals. Jürgen W.a.g.n.e.r is totally in favour of SE Racing and had very old to newer model years of the noble US brand gathered under his tent. Thomas K.a.u.f.f.e.l.d thrilled the spectators with Mongoose bikes. Jörg S.e.e, known as a specialist for Torker, impressed with a collection of fine bikes from various years of this cult brand. Mark S.c.h.o.e.l.z.l's restoration of his bikes was as good as ever; everything about his Redline Carrera, Schauff Anaconda and CW ZX3 was perfect down to the last detail. Mark received the Schauff prize of honour from Dieter S.c.h.a.d.o.w.s.k.i on behalf of Jan S.c.h.a.u.f.f: a trophy for his pride as a collector of bikes from this well-known German bicycle brand.

This year, however, Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d had a very special feast for the eyes to present. He spoilt the admirers of his fine Hutch bikes with a shop window all in red: red tent, red carpet, mannequins in Hutch outfits and, of course, lots of CroMo of various Hutch models. As a highlight, he also used the visitor hill behind it to write "Hollywood" in white letters in the background in Hutch style. A great idea that rightly earned him the 2016 "King of Oldschool BMX" award for the overall concept. You can read more details about the winners of the individual categories of the beauty contest and the King of Oldschool below.

Even before the training session, it was clear that today was going to be something very special. And indeed, there was a starter of honour, a legend that every BMXer in Germany has known since the 1980s. The great Ivi Vidakovic turned 50 years old! And with bib number 50, he competed in both the veteran and oldie classes! Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the final in either class, but he did finish 8th in the veterans' class as a double starter. But anyone who has seen Ivi on his bike has seen for themselves that he can still do it. He didn't take the races very seriously, as he either set off in a one-pedal start, shortened the route or jumped from one bend to the next. However, he was still very fast (when he stayed on the track). In the evening, Ivi invited us to his own team tent to celebrate his milestone birthday together. Once again, all the best for Ivi! Here's to the next 50 years of BMX with him!

Before the race, it was time for training. The weather was good and the track was in very good condition, so the veterans were able to steer their stainless steel wire donkeys over the slightly different track compared to last year without any problems. This time, a total of 10 starters had registered for the veterans' class and 19 for the oldies' class, making it a well-attended Veterans' Cup 2016 with a total of 28 active riders (including Ivi as a double starter). After the training session, it was off to the food counter for refreshments and to study the running lists to see who they were up against. After a short break, it was off to the starting hill to start the race.

Unfortunately, there was something else this year that also affected this Veterans' Cup: a well-known and very popular BMX rider sadly passed away far too early in March 2016. Massimo V.a.l.l.o from Lake Constance is sadly no longer with us. He passed away suddenly and completely unexpectedly in spring. Unbelievable, but unfortunately true! Massimo only took part in the Veterans' Cup twice, but as an old-schooler he was always part of the veteran community and a frequent visitor to this event. The BMX world has lost a very endearing person in him. As a sign of sympathy, the veterans held a minute's silence before the first race to pay their last respects to him. Dear Massimo, we will not forget you; you will always be in our thoughts! Our thoughts are also with his family and loved ones.

After this very sad moment, we moved on to the sporting part of the Veterans' Cup. This year, the heats were once again held in groups of 6. Despite the reduced number of starters, the sporting action was good, but fortunately there were no bad crashes or serious injuries this year. The veterans had a real final run after the three preliminary heats, while the riders in the oldies class had to qualify for the final via a semi-final after their 4 preliminary groups.

In the first semi-final of the oldies class, there was a showdown between Guido H.a.n.n.i.c.h, Stephan P.r.a.n.t.l, Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d, Kevin K.u.h.n, Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z and Mark B.a.l.t.r.u.s.c.h. After a super holeshot by Guido, he entered the first corner on his 24'' SE Racing with a 2 wheel-length lead, behind him in 2nd place Kevin just ahead of Mark, Stephan behind him, followed by the "Follow Me" Jörg and Ralf. On the 2nd straight, Stephan elegantly jumped over the table and briefly moved into 2nd position, but by the next bend Mark was able to hang on to the chase from Guido, just ahead of Stephan and Kevin, with Ralf and Jörg still chasing in 5th and 6th place. Kevin had to let go on the 3rd straight, which meant that the order was Guido, Mark, Stephan for the final straight, with Ralf now behind them ahead of Kevin and Jörg. On the last straight, the men with the second air were able to sprint to the finish, which shook up the classification once again and in the end Guido, Ralf and Stephan were the first three finalists in the 2016 Oldie class. In the second semi-final, Olaf K.l.e.i.n, Jordi M.i.r.a.n.d.a and Michael B.a.l.i.n.t qualified for the final thanks to an equally exciting race.

The two final races were eagerly awaited. As usual, the drivers in the veteran class went to the gate first. The starting grid was as follows (in alphabetical order): Alexander B.a.r.t.h.e.l.m.e.s, Jan G.o.r.b.a.c.h, Kevin K.a.r.l, Thomas K.o.l.l.e.r, Nino N.a.g.e.l and Humberto P.e.r.e.z. As was to be expected, Nino N.a.g.e.l had a brilliant holeshot and was able to pull away from the field by a bike length by the time he reached the first obstacle. He did not relinquish this lead until the finish, meaning that his start-finish victory was never in danger. Behind him, there was a lively battle for positions: Jan was first in 2nd, Thomas in 3rd and Kevin in 4th. Kevin tried everything to get past Thomas on straight 2, but was unable to overtake him until the 2nd corner. In turn 2, however, he took the tighter inside line and passed Thomas. Over the rhythm section of the 3rd straight, the two went into the last corner on almost equal terms. Thomas, this time on the inside, was able to pass Kevin and turned onto the home straight in third place behind Nino and Jan. The finish was exciting after all, as Thomas and Kevin battled for 3rd place and got closer and closer to Jan in 2nd place. They crossed the finish line in the following order: Nino N.a.g.e.l ahead of Jan G.o.r.b.a.c.h, Thomas K.o.l.l.e.r, Kevin K.a.r.l, Alexander B.a.r.t.h.e.l.m.e.s and Humberto P.e.r.e.z. A great final!

Award ceremony veteran class

The final of the oldies class had a strong field at the gate this time with the following riders (in alphabetical order): Michael B.a.l.i.n.t, Guido H.a.n.n.i.c.h, Olaf K.l.e.i.n, Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z, Jordi M.i.r.a.n.d.a, Stephan P.r.a.n.t.l. After the start, Guido and Olaf, as well-known fast starters, were able to pull away slightly until the 2nd hill, closely followed by Jordi and Michael, with Stephan and Ralf behind them. On the 2nd straight, the field cleared up and Olaf took the lead into the 2nd bend ahead of Guido, Jordi, Michael, Stephan and Ralf. Over the rhythm section of the 3rd straight, Jordi was able to make up a few metres on Guido and overtake him by the 3rd bend, so that he entered the home straight in 2nd position, just behind Olaf. Guido in 3rd place, followed shortly behind by Ralf ahead of Stephan and Michael. This order had not changed by the time they crossed the finish line, which is why the final ranking of the 2016 Oldie class was as follows: Olaf K.l.e.i.n, Jordi M.i.r.a.n.d.a, Guido H.a.n.n.i.c.h, Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z, Stephan P.r.a.n.t.l, Michael B.a.l.i.n.t.

Oldie class award ceremony

Three teams were honoured in the team competition: 3rd place went to the team "Z'Spät am Gate" in the line-up Robert H.o.c.h, Dirk H.a.y.n.b.e.r.g and Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z. 2nd place went to the team "Vollgas, Leberkas" in the grouping Guido H.a.n.n.i.c.h, Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d, Thomas K.o.l.l.e.r and Reynaldo W.e.n.d.t. In first place this year was the team "Oldie-Express" in the combination Nino N.a.g.e.l, Olaf K.l.e.i.n and Jordi M.i.r.a.n.d.a. Congratulations to all teams!

Team award ceremony

In addition to the race, another highlight of every Veterans' Cup is the beauty contest. Over 70 bikes were entered in this year's competition, 24 of which were honoured. The three-member jury headed by Dieter S.c.h.a.d.o.w.s.k.i, Christian H.i.m.o.l.i.k and Christian N.y.m.c.y.k had their work cut out selecting the winners from all the precious metal.

3 pink and white ribbons for "Roots of BMX" went to Stephan P.r.a.n.t.l (Cologne) for his Schwinn Sting Ray, to Frank K.o.l.b.e (Neustadt) for a Fully Schauff 1976 and to Jörg S.e.e (Offenbach) with his Torker MX 1979.

5 ribbons green-white = bronze medal went to the "Pro Class" category: Jürgen W.a.g.n.e.r (Rodgau) with SE Quadangle 24", Thorsten M.u.e.l.l.e.r (Dorsten) with GT Performer yellow, Christian K.r.e.s.s. (Ingolstadt) with Diamond Back II, Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d (Munich) with Hutch Lil Hole Shot and Nino N.a.g.e.l. with Schauff Anaconda.

The following bikes were honoured with a total of 10 ribbons in blue and white = silver medal in the "A Pro Class": Torker Pro X by Patrick V.o.e.l.k.e.l (Heusenstamm), GT Mach One by Lothar K.a.s.p.r.c.z.y.k (Linsengericht), Mongoose Grand Prix 1984 by Thomas K.a.u.f.f.e.l.d, SE Quadangle 1979 by Jürgen W.a.g.n.e.r (Rodgau), Hutch 24" by Jörg A.r.n.o.l.d (Munich), Schauff Rattle Snake by Thorsten Z.i.l.c.h (Groß-Zimmern), Revcore 24" by Michael B.a.l.i.n.t (Mörfelden), Torker 280 X by Jörg S.e.e (Offenbach), Powerlite 24" by Nino N.a.g.e.l and Schauff Anaconda by Dirk E.n.g.e.l.h.a.r.d.t (Bensheim).

In the "AA Pro Class" category, 5 ribbons in red and white = gold medal were awarded to the drivers: RL 20 II to Seba B.a.a.b.a.o.g.l.u (Herborn), CW Phase I to Robert I.w.a.n.o.w.s.k.i (Berlin), CW Racing ZX 3 to Mark S.c.h.o.e.l.z.l (Rodgau), JMC Andy Patterson from Lothar K.a.s.p.r.z.c.y.k (Linsengericht) and Redline PL 20 from Andreas E.d.e.l.

As a special highlight, a ribbon in black-red-gold for "Best of Show" went to Robert I.w.a.n.o.w.s.k.i from Berlin with his CW Phase 1 chrome-red in luxury condition.

Last but not least, the "King of Old School BMX" honoured three riders for the perfect combination of bike and outfit (jersey, trousers, helmet, etc.). This year, this special honour went to the following three veterans: 3rd place to Christian K.r.e.s.s from Ingolstadt with Diamond Back, 2nd place to Michael B.a.l.i.n.t from Mörfelden with Redline and 1st place to Joerg "Follow Me" A.r.n.o.l.d from Munich with Hutch.

In addition to the starters, there were once again many old-schoolers at the track who, although they didn't drive around the track, cheered on the other veterans as they raced. I can't name them all here, but I would like to single out three. Patrick V.o.e.l.k.e.l was back in the exhibitor camp after some time and showed off his Torker bikes, including the clothes he wore back then. I probably don't need to introduce Patrick any longer, after all he was one of the best riders in the 80s and was on Team Hajo's for a long time. He's also a very nice guy who has made a lot of friends with his likeable manner. Unfortunately, he always made it very difficult for me to overtake him, just like another old acquaintance who was also back in Weiterstadt this year. We are talking about Uwe S.t.u.r.m! Yes, THE Uwe S.t.u.r.m visited the Veterans' Cup this year, which made me particularly happy. Alongside Ivi, Uwe is a legend of German BMX sport and one of the most successful BMX athletes in Germany, having won the vice world championship and countless German championship titles. It's a shame that he didn't have his bike with him, I would have loved to see how he can still move on the track today. Maybe he'll be back at the start in the next few years. Last but not least, Dieter S.c.h.a.d.o.w.s.k.i was there once again. Dieter is the good soul of the Veterans' Cup, he has been supporting the event for two decades now and is the main judge and prize donor of the beauty contest. I found a great caricature of Dieter from the 80s while tidying up the attic, which I framed and presented to him as a special gift. Maybe some of you will find the picture in Dieter's BMX museum.

Finally, I would once again like to thank my club TSV Braunshardt and especially Tino S.e.i.d.e.l for organising the event so well. As in 2015, they organised it very well again in 2016, so that I only had to contribute a little to the success of this year's Veterans' Cup, such as moderating the award ceremony with Oliver R.a.p.p.. I'm already looking forward to seeing you again in 2017 and hope to see you all then. Redline legend Ivi will certainly be there again. I wish Ivi and all of you a pleasant winter, work on your bikes, train a few starts and come back to Weiterstadt in 2017 for the 23rd Veterans' Cup!

Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z.

P.S.: The photos in this report were taken by Ralf M.a.u.r.i.t.z and Dieter S.c.h.a.d.o.w.s.k.i.