Underdog Claims Place on Olympic BMX Squad

CHULA VISTA, Calif., June 14 -- Mike Day wasn't the favorite to win the sole Olympic berth at stake Saturday when the country's top BMX riders faced off in the sport's first U.S. Olympic team trials.

His chief rival, Donny Robinson, won last summer's test event on the hair-raising BMX course in Beijing, where the sport of bicycle motocross (or BMX) will make its Olympic debut in August. Robinson also had vaulted ahead of him in the world rankings.

So for the past six months, Day, 23, did everything possible to give himself an edge in the all-or-nothing Olympic trials.

In January, he moved into the dorms here at the Olympic Training Center so he could ride every day on a replica of the Beijing course constructed by Olympic organizers. He hired a personal coach to help him visualize races and devise a strategy for every competitive scenario. He skipped the BMX World Championships in China two weeks ago, fearing it would sap too much energy on the eve of the trials. And Friday, he called every friend and relative logged in his cellphone and asked them to come cheer him on.

With a rooting section that drowned out all others', Day locked up his Olympic spot Saturday in such a rout that the final stage of the competition -- the fifth of five races that comprised the trials -- was canceled. Day crushed all comers, winning the individual time trials and two of the three races that followed (known as motos). By that point, Day had built such a commanding lead -- 32 points to Robinson's 21 -- that organizers scrapped the final. There was no need. No rider could have overtaken him.

It was a stunning display of mastery of the course and the moment -- one that brought Day's father to tears and thrilled his friends, who wore bright yellow T-shirts emblazoned with "Mike Day Fan Club" and a picture of Day flashing a double thumbs-up.

"Is that cool, or what?" said Steve Day, 54. "I'm just totally jazzed!"

As for Day himself, he was in a daze, struggling to put words to his emotions.

"There's just so much pressure," he said of the format. "Any other time, you'd be excited with second place. But today, second place meant just about nothing. That's why I called everybody in my phone book. I charged my phone twice yesterday because the battery went dead."

Robinson was left gasping for breath and disappointed by his showing, particularly in the third and decisive moto, in which he finished fourth. He still could be added to the Olympic team. USA Cycling officials will name a third member July 1. Robinson, ranked No. 1 in the world, is considered the favorite.

International Olympic officials have added BMX to the 2008 Games in hope of attracting a younger audience. If Saturday's crowd is any gauge, it should do just that.