About BMX Racing

About BMX Racing

www.mkbmx.com

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What is BMX racing?

BMX races are one-lap sprint bicycle races on a serpentine track around 300-400 metres long comprising a number of different types of jumps, and banked turns called “berms”. There is a steep start hill with a mechanical start gate and 8 marked lanes.

The standard BMX race format consists of up to 8 riders on the track in each race, each rider racing in 3 heats (or “moto’s”), scoring points to decide progression into elimination rounds (quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals).

Racing is organised into race classes based on age and gender, ranging from “6 and under” to “40 plus”.

Origins of BMX Racing

BMX racing originated in California in the late 1960’s. It stemmed from the rise in popularity of motocross at that time, and was pioneered by teenagers who wanted to emulate motocross racing but didn’t have the budget to race motorcycles. (BMX stands for “Bicycle Motocross” and the motocross influence is still evident today, both in the terminology of the sport and the apparel of many racers).

The sport’s popularity among adults and children increased rapidly in the

throughout the 1970’s, and a number of US sanctioning bodies were formed and subsequently merged during that decade: of these, two remain – the National Bicycle League (NBL) and the American Bicycle Association (ABA).

The sport was introduced to Australia in 1977, and to Europe in 1978. In 1981 the International BMX Federation (IBMXF) was founded, and the first World Championships were held in 1982. The remainder of the 1980’s saw BMX racing enjoy huge popularity worldwide, and BMX bikes themselves became iconic.

After a slight slump around the start of the 1990’s (probably attributable to the emergence and massive commercial success of the mountain bike), BMX racing experienced a resurgence from around 1993. In that year the IBMXF was absorbed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body for cycle sport, and BMX racing was integrated as a full cycle sport discipline. Worldwide, there are currently around 50 national organisations affiliated to the UCI which oversee BMX racing in their countries.

In the

, BMX racing has been sanctioned by the British Cycling Federation since 1997.

In 2003, it was decided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include BMX racing as a full Olympic sport – it will make its debut at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

BMX Race Bikes

BMX race bikes are simple, strong, and light. They have only one gear, and only one brake (on the rear wheel). There is no suspension (it would soak up all your speed!). Frames are usually made from aluminium, but you will also see chromium-molybdenum steel (“cromoly”), and titanium. Carbon-fibre components including forks, handlebars, cranks, and seatposts are becoming increasingly common. Frames and components come in a wide range of sizes to suit all ages and sizes of rider.

There are two “classes” of BMX race bike:

20 inch
This is the “standard” BMX bike – the 20 inch refers to the diameter of the wheels. They are agile and quick-steering, and are raced by all ages of riders – race classes for 20 inch range from “6 and under” to “30+”.

Cruiser
These have 24 inch diameter wheels. They are less agile, but more stable, than 20 inch bikes and are often favoured by physically larger riders or those from a mountain bike background (the standard mountain bike wheel is 26 inch diameter, so a cruiser feels like an agile mountain bike). Cruiser race classes range from “12 and under” to “40+”.

The two classes of bike do not usually race each other - the exceptions to this are “Open” race classes held at some of the larger race meetings, and “Formula” racing (such as that run by the East Anglia region for its winter race series) which groups riders solely into age bands regardless of bike class.

Some racers compete in both 20 inch and cruiser classes – so they take two bikes to race meetings, and they need the fitness to do twice as much racing on the day!