Daniel Dhers and Hannah Roberts at the Daniel Dhers Action Sports Complex in Holly Springs, NC
In 2014, Daniel Dhers moved to Holly Springs, and opened the Daniel Dhers Action Sports Complex in the Holly Springs Industrial Park. The park is a combination of ramps and tracks that suit all levels of riders for both BMX and scooters. The park is open to the public to skateboarders, BMX, scooters and inline skaters. There is a fee to ride. Rates and hours can be found at www.ddasc.com. They also rent equipment at the facility if you don’t have your own, or don’t want to bring your own. The facility offers track-out and summer camps, private instruction, and an array of different events, including birthday parties, seasonal events and lock-ins.
The unusual thing about the park, is that it is open to all skill levels. It’s not uncommon to see a brand-new rider getting tips from a more seasoned rider, and that more experienced rider could very well be an X-Games Gold medal winner.
The Complex has been a quiet training-ground for the top athletes in the sport, pulling in competitors from all over the world. These athletes are not just coming to train, but they’re moving here, too. The number 1 rider in Australia moved to Holly Springs about a year ago. The number 1 rider in Croatia has also moved to Holly Springs, and lives here part-time. The most recent addition is Hannah Roberts, one of the top female riders in the world, and a favorite to take the Gold in Tokyo in the 2020 Olympics at the inaugural launch of their sport in the Games. I sat down with Daniel and Hannah to talk about the path that got them to where they are today, and the road to the 2020 Olympic Games.
How old were you when you started riding?
Daniel: I started riding when I was 12. I was just riding to hang out with my friends. I met some guys that did tricks, then met some guys that did street riding, and the day I got to the skate park I knew what it was that I wanted to do.
Hannah: I started riding when I was 8, using those little ramps from Walmart, then I started jumping curbs on mountain bikes. When I turned 12, I was in my first competition. I did a few local contests, then I went to my first international pro-girls contest and took second that year.
You have to train a lot to compete at your level. How many hours a week do you train? Do you have regrets about that?
Daniel: I ride 2-3 hours a day. Even if I’m tired or sore, I get the time in. I also go to the gym, and I’ve been doing a lot of jumping rope. I’ve had some sessions of 45 minutes to an hour straight of jump rope lately.
Hannah: I don’t ride every day, but I ride six days a week. I ride 2-3 hours in the morning with Daniel, then I come back at night and ride for another 2 hours.
Hannah, you just finished high school. How did you balance school and all the traveling you have to do with this sport?
Hannah: My teachers worked with me. They were very forgiving. This past year I missed almost an entire semester. There were 18 or 19 weeks when I wasn’t at school. When I would get to class, I’d be really far behind, but they were good about working with me.
Any regrets about taking that time to train?
Hannah: No. I love school and I love learning, but I love BMX more. It’s more interesting to me.
Are you going to continue with school?
Hannah: I plan to go to school in the spring of 2021 after the Olympics.
You guys do a lot of traveling to compete. Any idea how many countries you’ve competed in?
Daniel: I have visited 62 countries, and I’ve competed in about 50.
Hannah: I’ve been to 15 or 16 different countries, and I’ve competed in 14.
Hannah, at 17 years old, do you travel alone, or do your parents travel with you?
Hannah: For the first year, my dad traveled with me, because I was terrified about doing it on my own. Now I try to travel with friends; I’ll text them to get their flight information so that we can go together.
How often do you leave the country to compete?
Daniel: I travel at least once a month to compete. There was a point where I was traveling to a different part of the world every week. I would come home and be here for 1-2 days and leave again. It’s been picking up this year because it’s an Olympic qualification year. Even through the winter, which is usually our off-season, it was constant. I expect it’s going to be busy up until the [2019 UCI BMX Freestyle World Championships] in November, because that will determine the countries that will be going to the Olympics for 2020. At that point, the men’s teams from Australia and USA will be battling for the number one slot, because the top country gets to compete two athletes at the Olympics. The remaining 8 countries can only have one athlete compete. For the women, the USA is so far ahead, that we already know there will be two women competing from the USA.
So, there are only 9 athletes competing in the Olympics?
Daniel: That’s it. There are 9 athletes from 8 countries. Japan is already in
as the host country, which leaves 7 countries. The top 5 countries in the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) ranking all get one quota for the Olympics with the exception of the number 1 ranked country – they will get two quotas. I’ll be competing for Venezuela, and right now we’re ranked 5th in the world, so if the decision was made today, I’d be going. The other way to get into the Olympics is at the Worlds – the top two
countries that aren’t in the top 5 in the UCI ranking will get one quota each at Worlds, and that is up in the air who those countries will be.
Many of us have experienced jet-lag. How often do you have to compete with the effects of jet-lag, and how do you combat it?
Hannah: Your body definitely feels it. We have this thing that no matter what time zone you’re in, once you land, you stay up until 10pm. I try to follow that. In China for example, I always wake up at 4am. It’s hard to adjust. Coffee really helps. [laughs]
We usually get to the location where the contest is 2-3 days before we have to compete.
Daniel: If it’s in Asia, I go the weekend before. With a 12-hour time difference, I really feel it. At [34 years old], you feel it a lot more than when you’re 17.
What have you found to be the most interesting culture in your travels?
Daniel: I think China is the most shocking and interesting. It’s the furthest from Western culture. I always tell people that they should go at least once.
Hannah: I agree. I went to China last year. It seems like the complete opposite of here. After my first trip to China, I came back and started researching [their culture] to understand it better.
Do you struggle to find food that you’ll eat there?
Hannah: I don’t eat in China. I brought a whole suitcase of food last time I went. I did that in Japan as well since I can’t eat seafood. I struggle in Asia.
Daniel: I stick to rice and chicken. The hardest part is trying to find a restaurant that’s open late. It’s not like it is here in the States. We’re very spoiled here.
Tell me how it was decided to add your sport to the Olympics.
Daniel: I wasn’t in the high-level meetings, but my understanding is that the Olympics were struggling to connect with the younger generation. We’re basically a subculture of mainstream sports. It wasn’t until we made it on ESPN that we were taken seriously.
The Olympic committee came to an event in Montpellier, France, and they really liked the atmosphere, and saw that the riders are real athletes, not a bunch of thugs. I wish they would have decided to include more than just nine competitors, but it’s a good start. I think after Tokyo, we’ll be more widely accepted.
What do you think your chances are on being in the Olympics?
Daniel: I feel pretty good. I’m trying to get in through the accumulation of
points. If they decided today, I’d be in, but the qualification period ends in May 2020. The top five countries at the moment are the US, Australia, Russia, UK and Venezuela. The hardest part is that you need two riders from each country to gather points – the top four countries all have at least two very strong athletes while I’m pretty much by myself. Luckily, I’m ranked fifth. I think after China we’ll have a better idea. I can get in through points or from my performance at the World Championships in November.
Hannah: If I get hurt, I wouldn’t make it. Aside from that, the USA is doing very well. They know who’s going, but they can’t make it official. The US will send two girls, and it’s expected to be me and one other rider.
How do you think having your sport in the Olympics will change your sport moving forward?
Daniel: I think interest for the girls’ side will go up, but I’m worried that there will be added bureaucracy to the sport. It’s not cycling, it’s BMX. We have our own way of running things. There is so much bureaucracy in cycling, I worry they will try to do that to BMX. I do think it will solidify BMX as a real sport though.
Is there one trick that you’re working on that you think could help you clench a podium spot in 2020?
Daniel: I don’t think you can rely on just one trick. We don’t know what the course will look like yet. That won’t be released until a few months before the Olympics at a test event. Once we see that, then I’ll be working on more specific tricks.
Hannah: There’s a lot that I haven’t shown yet. I keep some of my tricks quiet. If I make it and I’m riding well, I will definitely do something that hasn’t been seen on the women’s side yet.
Will you prepare differently for the Olympics than you do for a typical contest now?
Daniel: The only difference for me is that I won’t travel as much for the month before the Games. I’ll keep the same routine.
Hannah: You don’t want to start making changes.
What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment to date?
Daniel: Each victory has a different feel. I’m happy to be able to compete at such a high level after so long. I won my first professional competition in 2005. Here we are in 2019, and I just took Silver at the Baltic Games in Poland last week. Winning one event is not difficult. Doing it over 14 years is my greatest accomplishment. The Olympics is the only event I haven’t competed in. We’ll see if I’m able to qualify.
Hannah: For me, 2017 was my big year. 2019 has had a great start, and hopefully I can end it the same way, but in 2017 I won a local pro-guys class, riding with the guys. That set me up, and then I won almost every event I went to, then ended up winning the first World Championships that year. It was the first World Championship BMX Freestyle event for women.
What advice would you give to someone looking to get into your sport?
Daniel: Take it easy and enjoy it. You need to find the fun of it.
Hannah, has Daniel given you any advice? What was the most important thing he’s shared with you?
Hannah: He tells me to stop going so slow. I’ve had a huge boost in my confidence since I’ve been riding with him here. He always tells me to go faster, and he’s right. It works a lot better that way.
What’s one thing that you think our readers would be surprised to know about you?
Daniel: I think there are many things. I can solve the Rubik’s Cube in under a minute, I speak three languages fluently (English, Spanish and Portuguese), and I’m really good at jumping rope [laughs].
Hannah: I graduated high school this year with a 3.95 G.P.A. I don’t think people realize that.
