July 28, 2010 (Pietermaritzburg, RSA) – The 2010 UCI BMX World Championships will be held this weekend in Pietermaritzburg, Republic of South Africa, where the world’s best adrenaline junkies on two wheels will converge to compete for the ultimate honours of being crowned 2010 BMX World Champion, and improve their chances for Olympic qualifications.

Canada will have seven participants entered in the event, with all eyes turned on junior rider Tory Nyhaug, who is ranked in third on the UCI World Rankings in the junior category. Nyhaug is the defending Canadian champion.

Nyhaug has recently been selected to represent Canada at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, the only Canadian BMX rider to make the trip overseas.

In the Elite Men’s category, Canada will be represented by its top-ranked rider, James Brown, who sits in 57th place of the UCI Overall individual world ranking. Brown is ranked in 7th place of the North American rankings.

The Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg will be hosting the pinnacle of BMX racing from July 29 to August 1, 2010. The track has been designed by the UCI and all the building work has been handled by UCI track builders American Tom Ritzenthaler and Canadian Kyle Mitchell, two former BMX racers, under the watchful eye of UCI Technical Delegate John Lindstrom. The duo of builders have been building the UCI World Championships track together since 2007.

Over 1100 riders from 37 nations are expected to take part in the event, with over 5000 support staff, cycling fans and family and friends joining in to catch the best BMX action in the world this year.

The 2010 UCI BMX World Championships became a qualifying event for the 2012 Olympic Games in London after the UCI altered its Olympic qualifications process to add the World Championships as a qualifying events, amongst others.

Canada hosted twice the BMX World Championships. In 1997, the event was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and more recently in 2007, when Victoria, British-Columbia hosted the prestigious BMX event at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre.

In 2003, the International Olympic Committee made BMX a full medal Olympic sport for 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. BMX is a highly technical sport involving high levels of balance and coordination.

Canadian Entries – 2010 UCI BMX World Championships
– James Brown (Airdrie, AB) (Elite Men)
– Nicholas Benetti (Junior Men)
– Steven Creighton (Junior Men/Junior Cruiser)
– Connor McCormack (Kelowna, BC) (Junior Men)
– Tory Nyhaug (Coquitlam, BC) (Junior Men/Junior Cruiser)
– Trevor Brown (40-44 Men Cruiser Challenge)
– Alex Winter (13 Boys Challenge, 13&14 Boys Cruiser Challenge)

Schedule of Events (All times Local RSA)
Friday, July 30
16:00 – BMX World Championships – Time Trials M/W, Juniors

Saturday, July 31
10:00 – BMX World Championships – Time Trials M/W, Elite
13:30 – BMX World Championships – M/W, Junior/Elite

Sunday, August 1
15:00 – BMX World Championships Cruiser – M/W, Junior/Elite

About BMX
BMX stands for “Bicycle moto cross”. BMX races are held on dirt tracks of around 350 metres, including jumps, banked corners and other obstacles. Eight riders of the same age category and skill level compete head-to head in each heat, with the top four qualifying for the next round. Races are approximately 30-40 seconds in length and riders race three heats or motos heats per event (qualifying rounds, quarter finals, semi-finals) to qualify for the main event (finals), assuming there is more than eight riders in the corresponding class.

BMX started in the late 1960s in California, around the time that motocross became a popular sport in the USA. The motorized version of the sport was the inspiration for the human powered competition. Children and teenagers with the desire but not the means to participate in motocross sated their appetite by racing bicycles on self-built tracks. These young adventurers completed the imitation by dressing themselves up in motocross gear. The sport was given the name ‘bmx’ and the conception was complete.