Stephen James Veltman (born August 4, 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;Expn.com site. later raised in Conroe, Texas U.S.) is a former American "Old School/Mid School" professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980–1985 and 1987 to 1998. His nickname during the time he first achieved fame as a 12- and 13-year-old was "Spider-Man" due to the posture he had as he speed jumped his bicycle over moguls. He would be tucked all the way back over and just above the rear wheel. His right elbow would be down while his left up as opposed to having them near perfectly level. This along with his red and white Hutch uniform and helmet with mirrored lensed goggles gave an impression of the comic book superhero Spider-Man swinging on his web.Go July 1991 Vol.2 Iss.9 pg.19 His later moniker "V"-Dog" came into being concurrently with him joining the Vans Racing Team in April 1991.BMX Plus! August 1991 Vol.14 No.8 pg.4 Note: BMX Plus! counts the covers as pages. He was also known as "Primetime". __TOC__
Racing career
Note: Professional firsts are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.
Milestone Event details Started racing: At age 10 in early 1980 at the Armadillo Downs track in Conroe, Texas. His friends were racing so he saved up by mowing lawns and washed cars to get his first BMX bicycle, a Raleigh Rampar.ABA Action October 1982 Vol. 5 No. 10 pg. 39 "Best of the Best". Previously he played soccer from to 10 years old but felt that being on a team sport didn't let him shine to his maximum potential. After racing his first race he switched sports permanently.Snap BMX Magazine May/June 1997 Vol. 4 No. 3 Issue 16 pg. 30 Later in his career he took a hiatus from the sport. Similar to what Brian Patterson did during the 1979 and part of the 1980 season, Veltman took a year off from BMX after the 1985 season. He resumed local racing in early 1987. His first national back was the ABA Big "T" Nationals in Fort Worth, Texas, winning 17 & Over Open on May 9, 1987 and 17 & over Expert on May 10, 1987.Super BMX & Freestyle September 1987 Vol. 14 No. 9 pgs. 42&44 (race results) Sanctioning body: First race bike: Raleigh Rampar.First race result: Third place in 10 novice.Home sanctioning body district(s): National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "T" (Texas) 1980-1981;American Bicycle Association (ABA) Texas 3 (TX-3) 1980–1989First win (local): First sponsor: World of Wheels in 1980First national race result: Did not make main in the 1980 American Bicycle Association (ABA) Gnarler (Fall) Nationals in Anaheim, California.ABA Action March 1982 Vol. 6 No. 3 pg. 16First national win: In 12 Expert at the ABA Ohio State Fair National on June 28, 1981.Super BMX January 1982 Vol. 9 No. 1 pg. 37 (results)Turned professional: January 1990 at 20 years of age.First professional race result: Eighth place (last) in "A" pro at the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals (Day 1) on January 13, 1990 in Reno, Nevada. He won $60,BMX Plus! May 1990 Vol. 13 No. 5 pg. 20 race results. the equivalent of US$94.43 in 2007 (Cost of Living Calculator).First professional win: In Pro Open at the 1990 ABA Silver Dollar Nationals (Day 1) on January 13, 1990. He won US$460. or USD 723.96 in 2007.First Junior Men/Pro* race result: See First professional race result.First Junior Men/Pro win: In "A" Pro at the 1990 ABA Silver Dollar Nationals (Day 2) on January 14, 1990. He won USD 525. or USD 826.26 in 2007.First Senior Pro** race result: First place in "A" Pro at the National Bicycle League (NBL) "Round 4: Duel in the Desert" national in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 10, 1990.BMX Plus! June 1990 Vol. 13 No. 6 pg. 22First Senior Pro win: See above.Height and weight at height of his career: Ht: 6'0" Wt: 208 lbs.BMX Plus! May 1995 Vol. 18 No. 5 pg. 56Retired: 2004. However, after a two-year layoff he raced Vet pro at the ABA Grand National in the Race of Champions pre-race On November 25, 2006, and came in third.
*In the NBL "B" Pro/Super Class/"A" pro (depending on the era); in the ABA "A" pro. **In the NBL "A" Pro/All Pros/Pro Class/"AA" Pro/"Elite Men"; in the ABA "AA" pro.
Career factory and major bike shop sponsors
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time, a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsors' advertisements at the time in question. When possible, exact dates are given.
Amateur World of Wheels (bike shop): 1980 Mongoose (BMX Products) (co-factory): 1980 Bassett: Early 1981 – November 1981 Hutch Hi-Performance BMX/Products: November 27, 1981 – mid-1986. Richard Hutchins, the owner of Hutch Hi-Performance, first saw Steve (after Steve's father Jim Veltman pointed him out) at a 1981 ABA National in Ohio. He won his class.Bicycle and Dirt March 1983 Vol. 1 No. 7 pg. 42 Hutchins next saw him at the 1981 ABA Grand National pre-race. He showed enough talent to give him a uniform to wear at the Grand Nationals proper the next two days. After Steve placed fourth in 12 Expert,Super BMX March 1982 Vol. 9 No. 3 pg. 54 (results) he gave him a formal and full sponsorship immediately afterward.Super BMX May 1983 Vol. 10 No. 5 pg. 56 Veltman's first race for Hutch was the ABA Winter Shootout Triple pointer in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 13, 1981.BMX Plus! April 1982 Vol. 5 No. 4 pg. 89 Veltman took a year hiatus from the National BMX racing circuit starting in mid-1986 (sometime after the Murray World Cup) due to burnout, lacking the will to win and craving the desire to do other things. He returned in mid-1987 after that desire to complete returned.Go July 1991 Vol. 2 Issue 9 pg. 22 McDonald's: Mid-1987 – late October 1988. McDonald's, like its competitor Hardee's, fielded a BMX team but the McDonald's team lasted two years compared to the one the Hardee's team lasted. McDonald's shut down its BMX effort in October 1988.American BMXer December 1988 Vol. 10 No. 11 pg. 61 U.S. Boss Racing Products: Late October 1988 – December 1989. Veltman turned pro with this sponsor.
Professional U.S. Boss Racing Products: Late October 1988 – December 1989. Shortly after McDonald's discontinued its BMX effort, Veltman joined U.S. Boss. The ABA Fall Nationals on October 29 in Orlando, Florida, was the first race with his new sponsor. L&S (Lucia & Son) Racing: January 1990 – April 1991. L&S was started by the same person who previously owned U.S. Boss Racing Products, Carlo Lucia.Freestylin'/BMX Action December 1989 Vol.1 Iss.2 pg.17 Vans (Van Doran Rubber Company): April 1991-March 1992. Veltman started a brief retirement to concentrate on school.American BMXer January/February 1993 Vo.15 No.1 pg.36 (photo caption) ODI (Ornate Design, Inc*): November 26, 1992 – November 29, 1992. He showed up at the 1992 ABA Grandnationals in an ODI jersey. It was his first race since his approximately eight-month hiatus to concentrate on school.American BMXer January/February 1993 Vo.15 No.1 pg.50 (photo caption) This sponsorship lasted the duration of the 1992 ABA Grandnationals. U.S. Boss Racing Products: November 29, 1992 – December 1995. Veltman during the 1995 season went into a brief retirement. He returned to the racing circuit at the beginning of 1996.Snap BMX Magazine March/April 1996 Vol. 3 Issue 2 No. 9 pg. 11 Torker: January 1996-January 1998 Next: Late August 1998 – late November 1999
Magna: Late November 1999 – 2001 ODI: 2003 This company started out making Christmas ornaments but switched to making bicycle grips and later grips for power tools as well as BMX and skateboarding accessories.BMX Plus! November 1986 Vol. 9 No. 11 pg. 15 Answer Products: 2003 GT (Gary Turner) Bicycles: 2004
Career bicycle motocross titles
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, regional, national, and international titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his or her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.
Amateur National Bicycle Association (NBA) None National Bicycle League (NBL) None American Bicycle Association (ABA) 1980 Texas State Champion 1981 Texas District 3 (TX-3) No.1 1982 12 Expert North Central Gold Cup Champion 1982 13 Expert Grandnational Champion 1982 National No. 1 Amateur 1982 National No. 1 Cruiser 1982 13 Expert Jag World Champion (ABA sanctioned) 1983 14 Expert and 13-13 Cruiser International Super Bowl of BMX Champion.*Bicycles and Dirt April 1984 Vol.2 No.7 pg.20 1985 15 Expert and 15 Cruiser Winter Season TX-3 District Age Group (DAG) No.1**
*The ABA International of BMX was a series of 33 qualifying races around the country culminating in a Championship race in Toledo, Ohio. To qualify, a racer had to participate in one of the 33 races in the series.ABA Action July 1983 Vol. 6 No. 7 pg. 5 Then the qualifiers participate in three double-point races in Ohio a day before the finals. The main event qualifiers will then be trimmed down to the sixteen riders with the most points via tabulation. Those 16 will make up the semis for the triple-point race event itself with the qualifiers from those semis racing for the title in the main.ABA Action July 1983 Vol.6 No.7 pg. 49 (event advertisement) Each main amateur or pro was run three times to determine the champion in his or her class.ABA Action March 1984 Vol.7 No.2 pg. 37
**DAG District Age Group, NAG-National Age Group In 1985 the ABA experimented with dividing the district points season from one year lasting from January 1 to December 31 to three four-month-long periods at which a racer could earn a plate number for that time period and/or their age group and could race the rest of the year with it. The experiment lasted only for a year before the ABA reverted to a single year long points gathering season in 1986. United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA) 1985 16 Cruiser Grandnational Champion International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) 1982 12 Expert World Champion 1982 13 & Under Cruiser World Champion 1989 18 to 24 Cruiser World Champion.
Other titles 1981 12 Expert Jag World Champion (USCF sanctioned)
Professional National Bicycle Association (NBA) None National Bicycle League (NBL) 1991 20" Pro Grandnational Champion American Bicycle Association (ABA) 1990 Pro U.S Gold Cup West Champion 1990 Pro Super Cup Champion 1993 National No.1 Pro. He won a black 1993 Ford RangerAmerican BMXer December 1994 Vol. 16 Issue 11 pg. 71
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA) None International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF) None Pro Series Championships
Notable accolades He was the first ABA racer, amateur or professional, to take two ABA No. 1 national titles in the same year: 1982 in Amateur 20" and Amateur Cruiser Class. He displayed something of an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age (13 years old at the time) by manufacturing and marketing "Rad Kaps", dice cubes converted into bicycle tire valve caps which sold briskly.BMX Plus! May 1984 Vol.7 No.5 pg. 71 Mini interview. He also displayed innovation as the inventor of the Posi-Stop brake cable guide. The Posi-Stop was a combination seat clamp and caliper brake cable guide that was supposed to improve the performance of such brakes.Go July 1991 Vol.2 Iss.9 pg.11 It was later manufactured and sold by Oddessey under the "Pozi-Stop" (note adjusted spelling) name.Go October 1991 Vol.2 Iss. 12 pg. 21 (manufacturer's advertisement)