Riders hopeful for Olympic wild cards

Competitors get air during the Beijing stage of UCI BMX Supercross World Cup Series at the Laoshan bicycle motocross venue. The tournament is also a test event for next year's Beijing Olympics. Yang Shizhong

She preferred to spend the whole night at a karaoke disco and occasionally, just occasionally, went out to ride her BMX bike with friends.

But one day, Ma found herself in a dormitory a member of the national cycling team in Beijing, where she was left scratching her head trying to reconcile the national flag on her T-shirt.

"It is awesome," said the 17-year-old from Guangdong who represented China at this week's Beijing stage of BMX Supercross World Cup Series at the Laoshan Olympic track.

"I could not believe I am a national team athlete, everybody knows they are all elite sportsmen like Liu Xiang or Yao Ming.

"I cannot believe I have some fans at the tournament - it's like a joke for me."

While her status as a national representative is no joke, it also seemed so to many of her incredulous teammates.

China didn't boast a single professional BMX athlete until after 2003 when the International Olympic Committee admitted the sport for the first time to the 2008 Olympics.

And after getting a taste of how rugged international competition is at the two-day tournament earlier this week, Ma accepts that a wild card entry is all she can expect in Beijing.

"My only target is to get a wild card and become the first Chinese rider to compete at the Olympics," she said at the Snickers press conference after the competition where neither she nor any of the 38-strong Chinese team qualified for the finals against the world's best.

Ma placed best for the locals with 19th in the women's qualifiers, while her male compatriots all finished outside the top 50.

The Olympic track is rippled with jumps, a huge berm down the stretch from the start followed by three smaller berms.

The starting point is 7m high, twice as high as at the Chinese nationals.

"I know the track is not designed for me," Ma said.

"It is incredibly hard.

"I think to finish the race without a crash and major fall is already a big challenge for Chinese riders.

"I admit that it is not realistic to set any goal to achieve at the Olympics - to finish No 4 or No 10 - you have to understand the fact that we are newcomers in this sport."

Ma and her teammates were in fact the newest faces to grace the track after China's sports authority established its first BMX national team in 2004, just months after the IOC drafted the sport to the Olympics.

The team recruited athletes from several sports - from junior track and field, mountain biking and Ma's chosen recration of social cycling.

Despite lacking professional experience, Ma has quickly improved since joining the team in late 2004.

She won last year's national championships before stepping up to pocket gold at the Asian Championships.

She was named China's top talent at the Games and joined a three-month training camp at the International Cycling Union (UCI) in Switzerland, where she was exposed to a brand-new approach to what is a "very American sport".

"It (UCI) changed my idea about BMX," Ma said.

"It is about challenging your limit, and you've got to enjoy the process, not suffering from it.

"Through those international tournaments and camps, I've learned a lot from top athletes - the way they enjoy BMX and their experience during the race.

"The gap is clear, but I am coming closer this year."

Ma is now emulating the behavior of foreign athletes both on and off the track.

"I started to love hip-hop music," she said. "I know they (American riders) are crazy for it, so I just take a try, then I found it is pretty good. I can even sing some right now."

Ma's quick fire development can be attributed in part to strong backing from the country's sporting authority.

The Chinese Cycling Association (CCA) has thrown its weight behind the fledgling sport and its competitors.

"The team is on top of the agenda," CCA president Cai Jiadong said.

"Though we are not able to win a medal at the Olympics, I think our effort has paid off.

"We came from nowhere and now we are already a force in Asia. We will try to join as many international tournaments as possible in the future.

"We started it late but develop very fast."

Chinese riders have already won the respect from their more-experienced peers.

"They have done a great job," said the tournament's men's champion and 2006 World Championships winner Donny Robinson.

"I didn't know any Chinese rider a couple of years ago but there are plenty of them competing at different tournaments.

"I know they just started BMX and it is obviously a great achievement for their riders.

"I think it's about your track time, just to ride as much as you can - I am sure China will be a force on the pro tour."

(China Daily 08/23/2007 page22)