BMX World Championships to ride into Birmingham

The UCI BMX World Championships are coming to Birmingham’s NIA in May for what organisers promise will be the biggest and best BMX show in 2012.

The fast-paced event will host over 2,000 riders from across the world, including some of the best names in the sport. Olympic GB hopefuls, Shanaze Reade and Liam Phillips will be hoping to achieve world titles in their last major competition before the London 2012 Olympics, with the event also providing the final opportunity for elite athletes to secure qualification points that will count towards the 2012 Games.

The four days of the Championships will see two different standards of rider competing, an elite racing ‘Championships’ competition alongside the amateur ‘Challenge’ class, enabling visitors to see a wide range of BMX abilities and skills. Whilst tickets can be bought across the whole Championships, the organisers have packed most of the finals into two showcase nights of racing and entertainment.

‘Challenge’ class finals and elite time trials will be the focal point of the Friday evening, whilst Saturday night will see the Elite Championship finals, where the world’s best riders will race elbow to elbow for the honour of wearing the rainbow stripes of World Champion for the next 12 months.

A BMX Racing track will be built in the NIA over the course of just one week leading up to the competition, dirt jumps and trails will be created to replicate an outdoor BMX track.

Three times winner of the UCI BMX World Championships Shanaze Reade said, “I’m looking forward to coming to Birmingham to compete in May. It’s fantastic that Birmingham is hosting the World Championships, and taking another World Championships title would be great preparation before the Olympics. I’m really excited about competing in my home country at major competitions twice next year.”

Councillor Martin Mullaney, Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture, said, “With the amazing new Birmingham BMX Track opening earlier this year, BMX is a growing sport in the city, so I’m looking forward to welcoming the top stars in the world to the NIA.

“Coming just weeks before BMX features in the Olympics, this is yet another major event to further enhance Birmingham’s reputation as a sporting city.”

Jonny Clay, Event Director for the UCI BMX World Championships said, “The 2012 BMX World Championships is the latest in a string of major events that British Cycling has successfully bid for in recent years. We can already see the legacy of the event here in Birmingham with the creation of the new International BMX facility at Perry Park. As the event draws closer we’re looking forward to giving many more people the chance to participate in and watch the sport of BMX.”

Almost 3,000 people participate in BMX in the UK, and there are around 70 BMX tracks in use across the country. BMX as a sport in Birmingham was put firmly on the map earlier this year, with a new state-of-the-art BMX track built at Perry Park, hosting the European Championships in June and is open to the public outside of club events.

Tickets for the UCI BMX World Championships 2012 are available www.theticketfactory.com or 0844 338 8000. For more information on the Championships please visit: www.bmxworldchamps.co.uk.

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