September 7, 2006 “” World-class BMX racing hits the United States today with the finals of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in San Jose, Calif. as part of the Dew Action Sports Tour. The San Jose stop is one of just two UCI Supercross World Cup events on the calendar this year and has implications of Olympic proportions.

Along with the Roc d’Azur Fréjus event in France October 6-7, the San Jose event gives competitors the opportunity to compete in what will be the Olympic format at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Outside of the UCI World Championships, the UCI Supercross World Cup series offers up the most UCI points to athletes making it a significant factor in Olympic qualification for both nations and individuals.

Recognized by the UCI as a “˜category 2’ event, the two Supercross World Cups fall in between the World Championships (category 1) and the Continental Calendars (category 3) in terms of offering the most international ranking points.

As one of the most prestigious international BMX events on the calendar, the field includes a deep start list of riders who are expected to be key players in 2008.

Of the 56 Americans entered, some of the notable riders representing the United States are UCI World Championship silver medalist Randy Stumpfhauser (Sanger, Calif.), bronze medalist Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.), sixth-place finisher Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.), and Bubba Harris (Palmdale, Calif.). Recent cruiser class world champion Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.) and silver medalist Danny Caluag (Chino, Calif.) are also on the men’s roster for the U.S.

International competitors that will challenge for the win include world champion Javier Luciano Colombo of Argentina, recent 4-cross mountain bike world champion Michal Prokop of the Czech Republic and Florent Boutte of France.

“This could conceivably be a preview to the Olympic Games,” commented Pat McDonough, USA Cycling director of athletics. “All of the top talent from across the globe is here and will be competing in the Olympic format against a strong field of Americans. This particular event is significant for several reasons and will give the United States a clear picture on where it stands heading into Beijing.”

As part of Mountain Dew’s Dew Action Sports Tour, BMX will he highlighted amongst other action sports including skateboarding and freestyle motocross.

The San Jose BMX Supercross World Cup will also air on NBC. For more information, check local listings or visit www.dewactionsportstour.com