BMX World Championships Media Release

 No: bmx1030

27 July 2010

Olympic qualifier status adds pressure to UCI BMX World Champs

Pietermaritzburg - As the world marked the two year countdown to start of the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the BMX community was coming to grips with the added pressure of Olympic qualification at the UCI BMX World Championships that get under way in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday 29 July.

The sports international governing body, the UCI, altered its qualification rules to include the world championships, along with the Supercross event that took place in Copenhagen, and the event that will take place in Birmingham. The world championships however carries a much higher weighting in that qualification process.

"There is no doubt the riders will be aware of the pressure because the world championships is now really important for the Olympic qualification process," said the UCI's head of gravity disciplines Johan Lindstrom.

32 men and 16 women will be qualified by nation for the 2012 showcase, and the intensity is already obvious as the major international teams arrived in South Africa with significantly better support and infrastructure than ever before.

"I see it as an indicator of the success and growth of the sport," said Lindstrom. "Just a few years ago, riders used to arrive at the world champs pretty much on their own or with a coach. Now the major teams travel with managers, physiotherapists, dieticians and mechanics. Some even have travelling mental coaches as well."

"There are also a lot of High Performance coaches supporting national teams, which is another measure of the growth of the sport," he added.

Lindstrom pointed out that the final qualification event in Birmingham may have to serve as a tiebreaker event, should there be nations deadlocked on Olympic qualification points.

"There is no doubt that the top riders are arriving here better prepared, and there is real pressure on them to do well to put their countries in a good position for Olympic qualification," said Lindstrom.

"The sport is functioning at w whole new level, which is very positive," he added.

Defending Olympic champion Maris Strombergs of Latvia will start as the favourite in the elite men's race, though the popular Australian "Slammin" Sam Willoughby has been in great form in international races in recent weeks.

South Africa's hopes rest on the local pin-up boy of the sport, Sfiso Nhlapo. The local hero has made a spectacular return to top form after a spate of serious setbacks, starting with his crash in the final of the Beijing Olympics.

The Gauteng based star broke his neck in a serious training crash last year, but has made a miraculous return to top form. he has been competing in the USA on a regular basis, where he has proved that he can match, and often beat, the likes of Willoughby and Strombergs.

Just how the combined pressure of hometown expectations and the weight of Olympic qualification will bear down on Nhlapo will be revealed before the packed stands at the Royal Showgrounds on Saturday afternoon.

The UCI BMX World Championships takes place at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg from 29 July to 1 August. More information can be found at www.bmxworldchampspmb.co.za

ENDS

Dave Macleod/
Gameplan Media

Mark Squire/
Gameplan Media