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Daniel Dhers performs at Game of BIKE in Zeliszow, Poland on November 20th, 2018.
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
BMX
BMX legend Daniel Dhers is an old dog with plenty of new tricks
Daniel Dhers has been at the top of BMX for 20 years thanks to a unique ability to strategise and adapt, and a selfless desire to help those around him.
Written by Laura Urrutia
4 min readPublished on
Daniel Dhers used to play up to a reputation as an intimidating presence in the world of BMX. Now aged 36, he is, in his own words, an old dog who barks lying down, but he can still teach the younger generation of riders a few new tricks.
The Venezuelan's remarkable ability to adapt as the sport grows and find new winning strategies are qualities that have kept him at the top of freestyle BMX for more than 20 years – and they were once again to the fore as he clinched a silver medal on the biggest sporting stage of all in Tokyo.
"I think the best thing about my age is the experience and being able to understand how to set up a strategy," he says. "It's something that's always attracted me. I think that's why I've always liked chess, because there are loads of things you can do to try to win.
"Coming from Venezuela, where everything is chaotic and difficult, you'd go out in the streets with an attitude. I think that helped me in terms of competition in the first half of my career.
Dhers has been in the game a long time is passing his knowledge on© Teddy Morellec/Red Bull Content Pool
"I used to be intimidating, but now I'm the oldest on the circuit, competing against 18-year-olds. In Venezuela, we say: 'old dogs bark lying down'. That's what I do now – I train calm and then on the day of the competition, I go out there like the devil is chasing me."
Over the years, it's not just Dhers's riding that has progressed, but his motivation. And while he still burns with a desire for victory, he also wants to see the riders around him grow and improve in order for the sport to reach new levels.
"In my first years, my motivation was to gain recognition," he explains. "In my first five or six years, I wanted to win. Then, I wanted to prove that I could do it again. Time goes by and I'm not the same guy as I was early on, I've become a guide for the new generation. It's another aspect of being a professional.
"I have a lot of information. I went down a path and what I can give new generations is the information about how to get there and how to achieve things that I achieved, because I also got advice and also because I found the way accidentally. I think this is the minimum I could do for the new generation. At the end of the day, this is what makes the sport improve.
Daniel Dhers loves the camaraderie of BMX© Leo Rosas/Red Bull Content Pool
The most flexible person wins – not the strongest, but the one who best adapts to change
"In BMX there's a lot of camaraderie," says Dhers, who has a bike park in North Carolina where several athletes competing in Tokyo trained, including bronze medallist Nikita Ducarroz. "I want to continue supporting new generations, because it'd be selfish to keep all that information to myself. I want the rest of the riders to grow.
"I help train a lot of people, indirectly. For example, with the girls who train in my park, I'm always pushing them to improve their technique, to learn new tricks, to answer and solve questions. For me, it was beautiful to see them reach the show, to see them at the final exam."
That's in keeping with his philosophy that being at the top end of the sport is about being much more than a good athlete.
"To be professional doesn't just mean that you're good on the bike," he says. "It means being a good person, knowing how to communicate and thinking about the impact you could have. You could become a hero and you have to think about society, and be an ambassador for your country. It's a whole package."
There's still plenty of life in the old dog and he could make a Paris run© Eisa Bakos/Red Bull Content Pool
Could Dhers still be competing when all eyes turn to Paris? He hasn't ruled it out.
"I have three years and I think I could get there," he says, but he knows he will have to adapt once again. To win once is easy. The difficult thing is to keep being successful over the years. This requires staying focused for a long time.
"The most flexible person wins – not the strongest, but the one who adapts best to change. That's what this is about. Your rivals change, the competition changes and you need to adapt."
Part of this story

Daniel Dhers

A true legend of the BMX Park scene, Venezuelan Daniel Dhers continues to collect titles while also working with the next generation of talent.

VenezuelaVenezuela

Nikita Ducarroz

An Olympic medalist and one of the top women in Freestyle BMX, Nikita Ducarroz is blazing a trail and driving progression in her sport.

United StatesUnited States
BMX
Bike

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