The Pro Title Chase through the eyes of CF11

It is almost time to crown the champions of the 2023 USABMX Pro Series. A year filled with USABMX races and Olympic Qualification comes to a close in Tulsa. There is one more available score at the R.O.C. which could have some impact on the title chase. The other important thing to remember is the Grand National Pro main is the old school best of 3 mains format, which means consistency is key and gate pick is not quite as important. Let’s get right into it.

Points Table

This year was the first year with a new and simplified points table for the Pro class. With only 9 Pro events per year, they all end up having similar rider counts and USABMX wanted to make the points battles easier for the riders and fans to follow. Heading into the Grand National, the math is more simple than it has ever been. Here is a refresher on how the points table works:

A Main:

1st – 100

2nd – 90

3rd – 80

4th – 70

5th – 60

6th – 50

7th – 40

8th – 30

B Main:

1st – 20

2nd – 15

3rd – 10

4th – 5

There are two main differences here. First, the difference in position is 10 points rather than 40, and second there are no rider count points included. Just like in the past and in the Amateur classes, the points are doubled at the Grand National.

Grands Points Table:

1st – 200

2nd – 180

3rd – 160

4th – 140

5th – 120

6th – 100

7th – 80

8th – 60

B Main:

1st – 40

2nd – 30

3rd – 20

4th – 10

With 20 point differences at the Grands, we will know exactly what each rider needs to get to win the title. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker is the Grand National result.

Let’s break down the title chases

WOMEN PRO

There are 4 women within the 200 point spread to mathematically have a shot at the title. Let’s break down what needs to happen for them to win. Remember, there is one more opportunity for a score at the R.O.C.

1st – Alise Willoughby – 800 points: As it currently stands, Alise has a perfect score of 800 points as well as a 100 point buffer. A top 5 finish in Tulsa guarantees title number 11 for number 11. The number 11 has 10 wins this year, and 1 second place, for 11 top 2 finishes, so the odds are very good she will be able to defend her title. The R.O.C. does nothing for her other than she can block the other women from advancing their scores.

2nd – Felicia Stancil – 700 points: Felicia VAULTED up the leaderboards with a strong weekend in Rock Hill at the Fall nationals. Double wins put her back in position to have an outside chance at the title. Felicia has been heating up lately with multiple wins and a couple of World Cup podiums lately. She is the only Women Pro other than Alise currently racing who has hoisted a cup.

Felicia can advance her score with a top 3 finish at the R.O.C. as her current lowest held score is a 4th place. A win vaults her up 30 points, a second 20, a third 10. With a win or a second she cuts Alise’s buffer by 1 position, meaning Alise would then need a top 4 to hold on to her lead rather than a top 5. A third for Felicia at the R.O.C. does nothing to cut into Alise’s lead.

Felicia is currently 100 points out, so as it stands, she would need to win and have Alise get 6th or worse at the Grands to win the title.

3rd – Payton Ridenour – 680 points: The Tulsa local will wake up at home on Grands morning with an outside shot at the title. Payton has 7 podiums and a 4th place currently as her scores, so a top 3 at the R.O.C. will advance her score. A win at the R.O.C. would bump her to 710 points, putting her in the same position Felicia is in now where she needs to win and have Alise finish 6th or worse.

Payton and Felicia both have 7 podiums and a 4th as their scores this year, so they are in almost identical positions. There will be a battle within the battle between the two of them.

4th Daleny Vaughn – 650 points: As it stands, Daleny is just a few points behind Felicia and Payton. She currently needs to win, have Alise miss the main, have Payton finish 3rd or worse and Felicia finish 4th or worse to clinch the title.

Daleny has 6 podiums, but no wins this year. If she grabs her first win of 2023 at the R.O.C. she vaults up 30 points, putting her in a tie with Peyton.

There will of course be other amazing athletes racing in Tulsa, but the title will come out of one of these 4.

If I was to put a percent pie on this championship here is what I would do:

Alise has won 10 titles for a reason. She may have more title experience than anyone in the history of BMX racing. If Alise makes the main, she has to get top 5 in a best of three series. We line them up for a reason and anything can happen, but if I had to make a bet I would be very confident in betting on Alise. Realistically the battle here is between the 2-4 range and who will end up in those positions.

MEN PRO

There are 6 men with a mathematical shot at the title. However, math is one thing, race day is another. Realistically, there are 2 men this will be between.

6th place – Corben Sharrah – 540 points: Corben currently sits outside of the 200 point window, however if he is able to win his first race of the year in Tulsa, he will replace a currently held 6th place and bump up to 590 points. This puts him exactly 200 points behind Joris, then if Corben wins the Grands, he would need Joris to miss the main AND get 5th or worse in the "B" final. In addition to this unlikely Joris scenario, he also needs Wood NOT to make the A main. If Corben does not win the R.O.C. he is eliminated from title contention.

5th place – Kamren Larsen – 570 points: The newly crowned Pan American Champion has a similar situation to Corben. He currently sits outside the 200 point window but with a podium at the R.O.C. could keep his title chances alive. Like Corben, if Kam wins the R.O.C. he can move up 50 points to 610. This means if he wins the Grands and Joris misses the main AND gets 4th or worse in the B main AND Wood does not make the A main, Larsen could get the title. Unlikely that Kam takes the title, but he could definitely play spoiler. Kam is one of the fastest riders out of the gate in the world and not someone you want to line up next to.

4th place – Joseph Leto – 610 points: The most improved rider of 2023 has earned an outside shot at a title. As it stands he is 180 points back of Joris, meaning he is in the same position as Kam would be if Kam wins the R.O.C. A win at the R.O.C. would be Joey’s first pro win but it would also bump him up to 650 points. If Joey wins the R.O.C. and the Grands he would need Joris to finish 8th or worse at the Grands and Wood to finish 7th or worse.

3rd place – Izaac Kennedy – 620 points: Chase’s future hope to keep the legendary title streak (8 straight) alive is currently back home in Australia rehabbing from injury. Izaac has shifted focus to being back at 100% for the opening rounds of the 2024 UCI BMX World Cups in New Zealand and Australia. We’ll see you next year Izaac!

There will likely be a lot of shuffling in the 3-6 range in Tulsa. Top 5 overall get paid, so there is certainly something to fight for between these men.

The title? That will realistically be between these 2.

2nd place – Cameron Wood – 760 points:

1st place – Joris Daudet – 790 points:

As it stands, Joris has a 1 position buffer on Cameron. Esentially, Cameron needs to win and have someone else get second to pass Joris. With one more score available at the R.O.C. that could possibly change. While it may not seem like a big deal, odds are those 2 go 1-2 at the Grands and the R.O.C. could literally be the reason why one of them wins the title. Thursday afternoon becomes VERY important. Here is where the math gets a little tricky. I will break down the scenarios here.

IF neither Joris or Cameron get top 2 at the R.O.C. nothing changes. However, the 2 of them have 12 of the 18 wins the year, so that is unlikely.

IF Joris wins the R.O.C. and Cam gets second, they will both advance their scores by 10 points. Joris replaces a 2nd with a 1st and Cameron replaces a 3rd with a 2nd. Essentially cancelling each other out, and nothing changes headed into the Grands. Joris holds his 1 position buffer.

IF Joris wins the R.O.C. and Cameron gets third or worse, Joris has a 40 point lead, but that is still only a 1 position buffer. Even if Joris has a 40 point lead, if Cameron wins the Grands and Joris gets 3rd they would be tied and the Grands is the tiebreaker.

IF Cameron wins the R.O.C. regardless of how Joris does, it is a heads up race going into the Grands.

IF Cameron gets second at the R.O.C. and anyone other than Joris wins, he advances his score by 10 points, bringing him within 20 and meaning a heads up race at the Grands.

This becomes EXTREMELY important, and let me show you why.

Joris’s last 8 Grands finishes?

2015 – 1st - Title

2016 – 2nd - Title

2017 – 8th

2018 – 1st - - Title

2019 – DNS

2020 – 2nd

2021 – 1st - Title

2022 – 2nd. – Title

Cameron really needs win at the R.O.C. to control his destiny. Only 1 time in the past 8 years when Joris has raced the grands has he finished worse than 2nd. That one position buffer could mean everything.

Who beat Joris at the Grands last year? Cameron. This is not a new situation or opponent for either of them.

Of course, other riders could get in the mix, but the odds are that Cameron and Joris will be top 2 come Friday night. With many riders around the world focusing on Olympic prep, there will not be as much depth as in years past at the Grands. Riders like Niek Kimmann, Sylvain Andre, Izaac Kennedy, Romain Mahieu, and others who raced the Grands last year will not be in attendance in 2023 to potentially play spoiler.

Joris is the winningest USABMX Champion of all time, with 5 cups to his name. The experience is on Joris’s side. 2013 was the first main event at the Grands Joris raced as a pro. He moved to the U.S. full time in 2013 after racing his first 3 years as a pro in Europe. Do you know how Cameron did in 2013?

He got 6th in 12 expert.

The youth is on Cameron’s side. Cameron had an outside shot at the title last year, but this will be his first true “heads up” opportunity. From experience, sure, you can tell yourself it’s “just another race” but it isn’t. There is legacy, $$$, and lifetime goals on the line.

Joris is as automatic as they come, he makes almost no errors and seems to always be in the right place at the right time. If he gets out in front he is almost impossible to pass. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I was able to do it.

Cameron has one of the most picture perfect gate starts that I have ever seen. Combine that with a ridiculous amount of explosiveness, and you have an absolute weapon to the 30 foot line. This is his 4th grands as a pro, so he is starting to have some experience to pull from as well.

In a best of 3 main event, they will have to race each other from different positions in the gate so fighting for that all important first gate pick and inside line won’t actually be as important as usual. In my experience at the Grands, I actually preferred second gate pick, so you could see where your competition went and no matter where they go pick inside of them twice.

I could sit here and make an argument for why both of them will win. So instead of that, I will sit back, enjoy, and watch it unfold! The changing of the guard has to come at some point. Will it be this year? Can Joris keep the youth at bay for another year? Or will Wood establish himself as the man to beat of the future? I truly don’t know!

See you in Tulsa!