Under the Roof in ABQ

Take a trip into the Duke City, where the USA BMX National tour heads under the roof of Duke City BMX for the 2026 Spring Nationals. Returning to a good’ole dirt track for another weekend of racing, the BMX family was met with fast battles down the first straight and all-out moves in each of the Duke City turns. With fans packing the fence line and factory row sitting proudly behind them, racers and fans alike were ready to bring the action to Albuquerque.

With any National stop, there are some big goals on the minds of racers as they load into the gate. However big or small, those goals can add to the pressure when the lights flash and the gate drops for our intermediate classes. Those goals were to get that final move up win, and Friday brought a string of them right away into the weekend. From Owen Pruznak in 6 Intermediate, Ethan Hanson in 7 Intermediate, Carson Kaess in 8 Intermediate, and Austin Montoya in 11 Intermediate, a giant congratulations came with silly string showers and celebration down the finish line.

With silly string covering their race day kits and the winner’s circle, they joined the Expert ranks and the battles that were to come throughout the weekend. Those battles were on full display in 17-20x Women with Izzy Sargent and Danica Anderson battling through the track. Sargent showed off her powerful speed down the first straight, but it was the Lil Avalanche, Danica Anderson, who showed off the track speed that got the job done on Friday and Saturday. Sargent didn’t leave empty-handed, picking up the Sunday win with another electric first straight. 

Their male counterparts in 17-20x brought the battles, as did Cutter Godaire, Ian Westerman, and Nick Quintana, who showcased their raw dirt-track speed. Godaire led each and every lap out of the first turn, but with a mistake in turn two during Friday’s main event, Ian Westerman was able to capitalize and claim a big win with 24 riders in the class. Godaire bounced back and got his win on Saturday, and it looked like he was headed for another on Sunday, but the local boy Nick Quintana showcased his fast last straight lines. Staying low over all three jumps and grabbing the win by centimeters, with a lunge at the line, the teammates raced hard and celebrated harder with a hug at the finish line after an electric weekend of 17-20x racing.

https://youtu.be/djfAnwgcUt0

Back down to the 15-16x Girls, another local was putting her hat in the ring for the Duke City BMX track vs track standings. Danica Appenzeller and teammate Landon Burian took the top two spots in the class all weekend long, and while Landon started the weekend off with a win, Appenzeller was not going down without a fight. Finding her chance to make a move in turn two during Saturday’s main, Duke City’s local girl got underneath her teammate and shut the door, ready to charge through the back half of the track. With plenty of experience racing each other, Landon seemed to know the script and quickly recovered to lay down a fast last straight, ultimately reclaiming the lead, going on to sweep the weekend in 15-16x Girls.

Even further down in the 8x ranks, Sunday’s main event brought a little charge with Bio-Lab Syndyt’s Binx Hill, grabbing the holeshot and fighting hard to maintain his lead. While he did everything right, covering his inside and grabbing every pedal he could around the track, the Icee/Anderson 209 ride, Camilo Fernandez, showcased his track speed, making the charge down the third straight and overtaking the lead to grab two wins on the weekend. Mr. Hill wasn’t done, however, as he bounced back and was determined to grab a win of his own on Sunday. It wasn’t just the teenagers or little rippers getting in on the action; the 46-50x group made sure they got their time and their cheers from the fans during Saturday’s racing. Brian Randolph got out to an early lead, but Daniel Coriz was determined to hunt him down, pulling up alongside him down third straight. Daniel kept it smooth and kept his fast lines charging to gain momentum and a pass at the line, taking the win in 46 to 50 expert.

https://youtu.be/r3bqGrizTEU