Daniel Dhers aka 'The Boss': an inspiration for BMX freestylers
The silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, Venezuela's Daniel Dhers is a reference for many riders on the international circuit, such as Nikita Ducarroz and Marin Rantes. Find out how Dhers embraces the #StrongerTogether spirit of the Olympics.
Cycling BMX Freestyle
Venezuela's Daniel Dhers is considered to be the 'Godfather of BMX' for many reasons.
One of them is his age (37) and his experience. As a BMX freestyle rider, he has won almost everything there is to win, including a silver medal when the sport made its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
But Dhers is also considered to be a ‘godfather’ by many of the riders. He understands that the sport can bring people together and, in his opinion, professionalism extends to more than just performing well on a bike or mastering tricks. For Dhers, being a professional also means being a good person and helping other riders, contributing positively to society and representing your country (in this case Venezuela) in the best way.
These qualities of dhers are an inspiration for many riders who, despite being rivals in competition, only speak about the admiration and gratitude they feel for him. Many of the world’s best BMX freestylers have trained for long or short amounts of times on his track and become better riders because of it.
Get to know some of the ways in which Daniel Dhers embraces the #StrongerTogether spirit.
Nikita Ducarroz and Hannah Roberts on Daniel Dhers
In a way, Dhers played a role in both the men’s and women’s podium of Tokyo 2020.
During the COVID-19 lockdown at a time when riders were waiting to hear from the UCI about the status of Olympic qualifying events in their sport, Dhers took riders such as Ducarroz and Roberts into his home to train at his private ‘Daniel Dhers Complex’ in North Carolina.
It played a large role in the two female riders being able to train for Tokyo 2020, at which they won bronze and silver respectively.
“There's a small group of riders here, we have the same goals and are all working towards the Olympics,” Ducarroz said at the time. “Nobody has any contact with anyone outside of the group. We're just kind of doing our best to keep training however we can"
Since then both Roberts and Ducarroz, who calls Daniel Dhers 'The Boss', train frequently at his complex.
Kenneth Tencio and friendship through sport
"At the end of the day, we are friends and we are simply people sharing the same passion."
"Hopefully that will continue because it gives the sport that spirit of joy and everything it is not just about competition," Costa Rica’s Kenneth Tencio told Olympics.com before Tokyo 2020, when speaking about training in the United States with Daniel Dhers and the camaraderie that exists in this sport. The Costa Rican ended the Olympics in fourth place, just outside the medals.
That camaraderie among the riders is still palpable.
"Although BMX freestyle is now an Olympic sport, the ridersare still a family," Tencio said more recently to Olympics.com.
Daniel Dhers a BMX father figure for Marin Rantes
"BMX is amazing. We are like a family, not competitors. Last year in a competition none of my stuff showed up, so everybody got together - they gave me the bike, shoes, all the clothing so I was able to compete. We are always here for each other, so there's no better sport than BMX," Marin Rantes explained to Olympic.com during the Madrid Urban Sports event last June.
Rantes credits Dhers with one of the greatest achievements of his career: winning the 2018 World Cup overall.
"I always dreamed about being world champion and it came really fast. In 2018 I moved to Daniel Dhers' place. Just by riding every day with Daniel, with his experience, and in that amazing place... he helped me to do it [win the World Cup] in pretty much one year," recalled Rantes.
"When I started riding BMX, obviously the guy I was always looking up to was Daniel. Then he invited me to come to his place because I didn't have a place to ride and anyone to ride with. It was amazing - I remember the first few months, we were driving to the park and I looked at him and I was like 'Oh, that's actually him. That's insane.'"
After that, Dhers went from being his idol to being a father figure in BMX freestyle.
"He has helped me so much. During the first year, I didn't have any money, so he helped me to stay and ride for free..."
"He is not just a friend, he pretty much adopted me so he is like my dad in BMX. I don't know if someday I'll be able to bring him back what he gave to me."
Rantes is well aware that Dhers is not only that helpful to him - it is his personality to be that way with everyone. Dhers is more than just an athlete on a BMX bike.
"He is like that. He is always helping everyone as much as he can. That's why he is who he is and that's why people love Daniel."