How 10-year-old Dylan Oklopcic became one of the best BMX racers in the world

RICHMOND, Va. -- At just 10 years old, Dylan Oklopcic is already mastering the finer points of BMX Racing. Dylan has been racing for about five years and is now part of the Rocket BMX Racing team. Being around older, more experienced riders, Dylan quickly picked up on the little things that make a boy and his bike go faster.

"What I like to do is stick my elbows out and get to the inside line so no one goes under me," he said.

He noticed that other kids had made modifications to their bikes and even if he couldn't come up with the right technical terms and names he knew what he needed.

"If he knows that that part can improve his skills, then that's the part to get him," Bud Higgins, with Rocket BMX Racing, said. "He'll know you did that to improve his skills so he'll work on that skill."

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"We got him the right parts, and as soon as the right parts came in, he took off flying," Dylan's mother Victoria Taylor said.

And that may be something of an understatement.

Just this past year, Dylan has placed either first or second at the district, state, and regional levels and is ranked 10th in the country in his age group. He recently qualified to compete in the UCI World Competition in South Carolina by placing among the top eight riders at a semifinal competition in Florida.

"Worlds is big," Higgins said. "My son is on the team and has been racing for quite a long time and had not made the worlds until this year."

Dylan has won so much, he no longer accepts trophies, some of which were bigger than him.

He instead opts for a different reward.

"I like to get stamps," Dylan said. "Each one is worth 75 cents. If you have enough you can buy bike parts and buy a lot of stuff. I bought a scooter with stamps."

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If that were Dylan's sole pursuit, you'd understand.

But he also competes in swimming, triathlons, snowboarding, running, golf, and soccer.

He wins nearly as much in all of them.

"Since he started walking, he was running," Taylor said. "He skipped the walking step. I said to myself, 'Since you're running, you're going to be doing running sports. At least run for a reason.'"

"As soon as he gets into some kind of sport, he goes almost 100 percent," Taylor said. "To me, it's his motivation and his determination to go faster. And he wants to do bigger races, bigger places."

"I have running on Mondays and Fridays and swimming on Tuesdays. (when do you find time to work golf in??) Weekends," Taylor said.

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And all of his extracurriculars help with his cycling as well. Coaches love athletes who compete in more than one sport. To them, Dylan would be a godsend.

"It gives him a little time away from the bicycle but it also helps them build up different muscle skills, different competition skills so that they bring them back onto the BMX track," Higgins said.

But how much is too much? Dylan's mom is very mindful that he's still just 10 years old and worries about over-exerting himself. Dylan does not share her concerns.

"He doesn't complain, he just says Mom, what's next?" she said. "At this point, I'm the one that has to pull him back and say Dylan, I'm sorry, we just don't have enough time in a week. You're going to have to give up something, what do you want to give up? Nothing."

As nervous as she may be about Dylan's schedule, she's even more proud of what he's already accomplished and what might be in store for his future.

"I'm just the driver. I just drive, record his videos and ask him what he wants to do next," she said.

Among over 100 other riders, Dylan finished 11th at the world competition and was the fifth-highest finisher from the United States.

Next year's world championships are in Denmark and he has announced that he will be qualifying and going again.