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If you've been following the USA BMX Pro Series racers, you may have noticed a popular trend in their training programs. They take place under the Florida Sun. With so many hotbeds of BMX evolving through the years, Florida is taking the current charge as the place to train with the pros.
Not to take away from the incredible role California, Texas, Minnesota, or the other countless BMX melting pots have brought to the development of the sport. Florida is attracting the top of the sport in droves, and we see two main factors in this new popularity: Climate and Facilities.
With no white tundra waiting for them in the winter months, Florida is open year-round for racers to hone their skills and keep their legs fresh for November's Grands Nationals as well as January's season opener. Often times racers are staying race ready with the Sunshine State Series, which runs from November to May and draws big competition from across the Southeast region. As the largest state series in the US, the Sunshine State Series gives pro and amateur racers the competition to continue their growth with heated Points battles and the always-stacked Pro/Am Open classes. In the summer months, it's pure sweatbox training. With high temps and high humidity, the daytime training sessions give racers that race day conditioning to overcome big races with rising temps. Local tracks will often opt for the early morning track rentals and night practices/races, giving the local membership and traveling pros the ability to ride and compete anytime between the 16 tracks in the state.
From big hill supercross tracks to drag strip small hills, Florida has both and everything in between. The most prominent training grounds for the pro classes has been Tampa BMX. With current Men Pro points leader Josh Mclean, National No.1 Women Pro Felicia Stancil, and the DK Bicycles Men Pro Jeremy Smith being regulars with their training crews, the Tampa BMX fast gate and first straight is the perfect place to chase PRs and lay down the fast feet power.
It's not just Tampa bringing training sessions to our social feeds, though. Throughout the state, you can find a number of pros doing what they love at any given time. With Anderson Souza and the DL BMX crew out at Orlando BMX, Joris Daudet and the french connection out at Sarasota BMX, Rayne Lankford and the T-Bone trainers at Cape Coral BMX, or Cam Bramer and the Punta Gorda Ams at Charlotte BMX each and every track across the state has the surface and the facility to attract racers on a daily basis.
With the combination of good weather and even better tracks enticing racers to train in Florida, a third factor arises. To be fast, you have to train with fast people. The training session vibes are huge when it comes to the process of being a champion so having droves of top pros living and training in the sunshine state only attracts more to join them as preparations go on.
