BMX
will be added to the 2008 Olympics
UCI Press Release -- 07/01/2003
The IOC Executive Committee decided on 29th June 2003, during their
meeting in Prague, to include BMX (Bicycle Motocross) in the
XXIX Olympics in Beijing, will be held from 8 to 24 August 2008.
IOC President Rogge was pleased to inform UCI President Verbruggen
about this decision. President Rogge further stated that "we
believe that this introduction will definitely enhance the Olympic
program".
One Elite Men (19 Years and older) and one Elite Women (19 Years
and older) event will be included in the Olympic program.
The UCI BMX World Ranking will determine the nations ranking and
the number of athletes for each country, although the total number
of BMX athletes has not yet been decided.
CC - Official UCI Press Release -- 07/01/2003
http://www.uci.ch/modello2.asp?1stlevelid=C&level1=5&level2=7&idnews=1309
Olympic BMX Start Positions in Beijing 2008
USA Cycling News -- 05/09/2006
Shortly, USA Cycling will release detailed information on the US
Olympic BMX Team Selection Process including the how, when and what
it will take to make the US Olympic BMX Team in 2008. In the meantime,
what should be clarified now is how Olympic start positions are earned.
In Beijing, there are a total of forty-eight (48) BMX start positions:
thirty-two (32) for men and sixteen (16) for women. Olympic start
positions are not guaranteed - they must be earned.
The process described below was established by the UCI and is the
same for every country.
It is important to understand that the Olympic Games represent a
global ideal based on the world coming together once every four years
to watch the best from every country compete.
Every country in the world gets a chance to compete in every sport,
however because there are approximately 175 (give or take) countries
on earth and only a finite amount of space for each sport,
the process of whittling things down begins 2-3 years out.
This same process also limits the number of start positions any one
country can have in order to keep the event the global ideal it is
designed to be. It is the same for every sport.
For BMX in 2008, there are a maximum of three (3) men and two (2)
women start positions available for any one country, including the
US. Positions are earned through a worldwide formula that the UCI
has established in their role as cycling’s global governing
body. In broad form it is simple, but it does have some complexities
and caveats.
UCI points earned by US riders between Jan 1, 2006 and May 31,
2008 all go into a US points “bucket” called UCI Nations Ranking.
They still belong to the individual that earned them, but for the
sake of determining start positions, they live in this “bucket”.
Riders from other countries are doing the same with their points. On
May 31, 2008, Olympic start positions will be awarded based on
countries total points in the UCI Nations Ranking.
Only points from the top three (3) riders in UCI points are used
when it comes time to tally for Olympic start positions. This keeps
it fair for all countries, especially those that do not have great
depth.
Currently, the top five (5) countries in men’s UCI Nations
Ranking will earn the maximum of three (3) Olympic men’s start
positions. The top four (4) countries in women’s UCI Nations
Ranking will earn the maximum of two (2) Olympic women’s
start positions. The process tapers from there to also include
both World Championship results and invitational places. However,
for the US to earn the maximum available start positions, UCI points
and Nations Ranking are all that matter.
The complete detailed document, and all related information, is available
from the UCI website:
http://www.uci.ch/imgarchive/Bmx/Olympics/2008OlympicBMXqualificationcriterias.pdf
For the latest news click
below for the Usa Cycling BMX homepage...
http://www.usacycling.org/bmx/ |