•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Sweat runs freely down his tattooed arms as Dominik Nekolny powerfully pulls the handlebars upwards, resulting in his BMX bike dancing on its back wheel. After twice turning around his own axis, the man in the white Tank Top shirt casually jumps off the bike — one could easily be forgiven for mistaking him for a rapper — were it not for his ride.

Nekolny is a four-time Czech champion in flatland cycling and one of the show-cyclists entertaining the crowds at the “Passion Sports Convention,” an exhibition around fun and extreme sports organized in Bremen, Germany. For Nekolny and his fellow cyclists the brief is clear and simple: make BMX riding more popular.

I make a huge mistake as I try to overcome the noise booming out of loudspeakers by saying to one of the organizers that Nekolny’s performance looks like trick cycling.

Matti Rose becomes irritated. “Those are two completely different types of sport,” says the 28-year-old, whose company, Deep BMX, organizes spectacular BMX shows throughout Germany.

Rose is tired of having his sport compared to others. BMX fans are eager to be separated from the mass of fun sports, but in many ways the sport itself seems to still be in a searching phase.

Freestyle BMX consists of six different disciplines: street, park, miniramp, vert, trails or dirt jumping, as well as Flatland. And each wants to be different from the other.

BMX — the three letters stand not only for Bicycle Moto Cross, they also stand for individuality. “There is no coach and there are no restrictions and no guidelines,” says Rose, who is a flatland disciple.

The man in the lumberjack shirt knows what he is talking about. For 13 years the German rode professionally and once participated in the X Games in the United States, considered the highlight for any participant in extreme sports.

Speaking of BMX as a sport is important for Rose, who does not like it when BMX is described as a lifestyle. “Often people want to push you into this corner, but if you want to compete at the highest level, you have to be a sportsperson. There is nothing like a beer each evening,” he says.

Rose’s sho w riders — all of them professionals — are on the bicycle each day and keep in shape going to the gym. But even if they spend so much time cycling and preparing for events, they will hardly become rich in Germany. At best there are a few thousand dollars to be made in prize money at local competitions and you can never plan ahead.

To make real money, BMX riders have to compete in the US. “If you want to make big bucks, you need to go over to the US,” Rose says, adding that while this might be easy for Australians and English riders, it is more difficult for Germans because of the language barrier.

“Without doubt, we have the talent to succeed in the US, but because of the language barrier many cyclists are reluctant to try,” he adds.

Rose believes English cyclists have a huge advantage in terms of language but also because of their mentality.

“We Germans are more conservative, we do not like to place all our bets on one card. Only very seldom would you have a 16-year-old saying he will become a professional and then actually carry it through,” he says.

BMX is a growing sport. Rose believes that it is becoming a real alternative for sports such as football and handball.

“We are no longer considered some exotic sport,” he says

Much more racy is the miniramp discipline that consists of cyclists riding up small ramps on a course. With a lot of drive, the miniramp competitors turn around while in flight among other breathtaking stunts.

“Careful,” somebody shouts as I walk across the stage, just missing a cyclist whose airflow nearly knocks my notebook out of my hands.

Former German BMX champion Soren Jacobs calls out to a small boy, who seems to be scared on his bike. “You need to be faster to get up the ramp.”

Jacobs, who is from Hamburg, has been conducting workshops for youngsters. Like Rose, Jacobs used to be a professional. “We can compete internationally, even if English cyclists are a bit stronger than we are,” the 36-year-old says.

As a professional Jacobs often competed in international events and soon noticed another difference between German and English cyclists.

“The German scene is not as ‘punky’ as the English scene,” he says, smiling. “The English riders are more crazy then we are. They are seriously relaxed and drive rickety cycles.” 

DPA