South Park cyclist to compete for title

Tri-State Sports & News Service

For 364 excruciating days, Cameron Bramer anxiously awaited the opportunity to qualify for the UCI BMX World Championships.

Having finished one spot shy a year earlier, this sophomore at South Park High School trained harder, competed with added intensity and adopted a laser-like focus.

In short, he put the pedals down.

“I was determined,” said Bramer, who races out of the South Park BMX track as a member of the Factory Black Crown team. “I was more active, I ate healthier. You name it, I did it. I wanted it. Bad.”

In a delicious twist, not only did Bramer qualify in both the 16-year-old amateur Cruiser and Class divisions, but his dad, Jim, qualified in the 46-and-over Cruiser division.

This father-son combo will proudly sport the red, white and blue as part of Team USA at the world finals July 25-30 in Rock Hill, S.C., site of their qualifying meet. This marks the first time the event, which features Olympic-style pomp and circumstance, will be held on American soil in 16 years.

“My dad has been there with me from the start, so this is pretty cool,” said Bramer, whose brothers, Nathan, 17, and Ryan, 12, also compete, the former nearly making Team USA, as well. “I still remember the first time he took us all riding. I loved it, and it became an addiction. He’s definitely my biggest influence.”

Along with the Bramers, eight other competitors from the area will be among a record 3,300 riders competing atthe world championships.

Cameron Bramer, who started racing at age 9, is the lone high school rider representing the region. Thirtytwo riders qualify in each division.

“I want to bring home a world championship,” said Bramer, ranked No. 9 nationally in the Class (20-inch wheels) division. “I at least want to make it to the final eight and compete in the main event.”

Traditional sports enthusiasts often confuse BMX, an Olympic sport since 2008, with freestyle or dirt bike racing, Bramer said. However, they typically become intrigued when learning that these riders reach speeds exceeding 30 mph, jump obstacles 30 feet apart and climb as high as 30 feet in the air. There is also the physical nature of the sport, which manifests itself when riders are jockeying for position.

Despite a laid-back demeanor (think West Coast surfer), Bramer is uber-competitive on the track. He aggressively blazes out of the starting gate, down a 5-meter hill, and fearlessly maneuvers through and around the seven other riders in a given heat. Racers must navigate through alternated bumps, banked corners and flat sections of the track en route to the finish line.

Nothing quite gets the adrenaline pumping, Bramer said, like going airborne and expertly landing a jump.

“Best feeling in your life, dude,” said Bramer, who finished 2016 ranked No. 5 in the Cruiser (24-inch wheels) division. “It’s breathtaking and nerve-wracking. When you do it right, it’s really nice. But when you fail, it’s going to hurt.”

Bramer found this out the hard way last year, a month before the Grand National Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Attempting a 30-foot jump that he had routinely landed, he flipped over the handlebars and went crashing onto the dirt surface.

At first, he went numb. Then came the pain, the result of a broken collarbone.

“I’m an adrenaline junkie, so I didn’t even know what was happening at first,” said Bramer, who, stunningly, returned in time for the Grand National Championships. “It was a tough break. But right after, I did everything I could to come back. I just love racing. I love being in the middle of it all.”

Due to the sport’s injury risks, Bramer’s mother initially wanted no part of BMX racing for her kids. It wasn’t until husband Jim — who recently returned to racing after competing in the ‘80s — ushered their sons to the track whileshe was out of town.

The Bramer boys were hooked.

“They were so thrilled and elated afterward — you could see it on their faces,” Rhonda Bramer said. “It was seven or eight years ago, and I asked them if this is what they really wanted to do. They said yes, so that was the start of it. We’ve been a racing family ever since.”

One that looks to bring home a couple of world championships in July.