Like father, like sons: BMX family competes in state championship

The cyclists line up, pressing their bikes' front wheels against the starting gate. They firmly grip their handlebars waiting for the start of the race.

Only inches away from their competitors, they breathe in tune with their thoughts – quick and nervous. 

Finally, after seconds that feel like minutes, the air horns blast, and the gate retracts into ground. With about only 45 seconds per race, the BMX riders need intense focus and explosive power to win. 

Those 45 seconds of speed — as they navigate turns and jumps to get to the finish line — are responsible for some great memories for Gregg Frederick and two of his sons.

Frederick, of Windermere, has been riding BMX since 1982, when he got his first taste of the thrill during a drag race in New Jersey. Two of his sons, Lucas, 12, and Marcus, 11, have also been bitten by the BMX bug and savor the adrenaline that comes from competing in races. Both boys started riding at age 2 and have been doing it ever since. 

On Aug. 21, the trio placed impressively for their age groups in the 2016 Florida State BMX Championship held at West Palm Beach. It was the first time they had all committed to participating in a state series. Gregg Frederick won first place in the 41- 45 age group, Lucas won first for the 12-year-olds age group, and Marcus came in fourth for the 11-year-olds age group.

The two boys, who attend Montverde Academy, and their father, who owns a business consulting firm named G3 Development Group, practice every week for four to six hours and also train at a local crossfit gym. Marcus and Lucas each have competed in about 25 races so far, but that hasn’t stopped their father from watching each of their races with unblinking eyes.

“It’s an interesting dynamic, because I love doing it, and I’m comfortable in my riding, but when I watch them I understand how nervous my parents were watching me,” Gregg Frederick said. “In all the racing I’ve done over the years, I’ve never been as nervous as I am watching them race.” 

The boys’ mother, Daniela Frederick, feels the same, recognizing the danger inherent in BMX races because of the inevitable crashes. 
“It's very nerve-wrecking,” Daniela said. “Because it’s not if you’re going to have a crash, it’s when. … I don’t think people realize the incredible risks these cyclists take. It’s crazy how fast they go down those starting hills and how close they are."

As is typical for boys their age, both Lucas and Marcus thrive on speed — a trait they get from their father — but they haven’t escaped without some scrapes and bruises.

Marcus once had a handlebar jammed into his rib area and had a bike pedal gash his shin open. Lucas once landed on his face. 
With 35 years of riding, Gregg Frederick has had more injuries then he can count, but he said the worst were all the times he knocked a couple of his teeth out, broke an arm, some fingers and his nose.

He describes the worst one as the time he broke his heel. It happened during practice at a skate park. He had jumped off his bike in mid air to avoid colliding with a kid coming from the opposite side of a half-pipe ramp. The impact of his foot on the concrete when he landed broke his heel because his achilles pulled his heel so hard and fast, that it pulled his heel out the back of his foot. It took 3 surgeries to fix, he said.

Regardless of past injuries, Lucas and Marcus have no trouble entertaining occupational ideas that would undoubtedly also require speed: jet pilot and astronaut. 

Of course, this is only after they’ve competed in the Olympics.

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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].