June 27/12 10:32 am - Cycling BC Awarded 2012 BMX Supercross World Cup

Posted by Editoress on 06/27/12
 

Cycling British Columbia is pleased to announce that the Union Cycliste Internationale has awarded our organization the rights to the penultimate round of the 2013 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup Series. This exciting race series will see the return of the world's best BMX riders to the City of Abbotsford on September 6th-7th, 2013.  Abbotsford and Canada will host its first BMX Supercross World Cup this year on September 14th-15th.

The 2013 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Abbotsford will feature the best female and male BMX riders from over 30 different countries; many of who will have recently competed in the BMX World Championships in New Zealand.  The World Cup offers a total prize purse of $150,000.

Supercross BMX garnered significant television ratings when the sport made debut as an Olympic event at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing and is one of the most anticipated events at the 2012 Games.  Keith Ryan, Chief Executive Officer for Cycling BC, commented, "Securing the rights to host this great event for a second year was made possible because of the amazing support received from the City of Abbotsford and the Provincial Government".

Honourable Ida Chong, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development commented "It is truly an honour to host the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup event in Abbotsford in both 2012 and 2013.  This world-class event will place B.C. in the international spotlight and is a huge draw for visitors, benefiting both the sport and the people of British Columbia."

The announcement was made at the official opening of Abbotsford Supercross Track on Tuesday, which has recently undergone a full renovation and rebuild. Michelle Landers, Vice President BMX for Cycling BC, commented on the importance of the facility. "Cycling BC and the Abbotsford BMX Club shared a vision to build an Olympic standard facility that could meet the needs of local BMX riders as well as support the development of current and future Olympians. Importantly, the City of Abbotsford has a great passion for sport and has been very supportive of BMX in our community, so we also had a great location for an Olympic track."

Steve Baxter, President of the Abbotsford BMX Club, commented on this year's World Cup and the 2012 National BMX Championships. "The first two weeks of September will offer the best BMX racing ever seen in Canada. We host the National Championships commencing August 31st and then just two weeks later we host Canada's first ever Supercross World Cup. It's a very exciting time for the Abbotsford BMX community."

"This successful World Cup bid could not have been achieved without the support of the Provincial Government and we remain very appreciative of their ongoing commitment to the sport of cycling." said Wayne Pomario, President of Cycling BC. "This event will help promote participation in BMX racing in Abbotsford as well as at our other affiliated tracks in Surrey, Maple Ridge, North Vancouver and Kamloops."

"We are certainly very excited to bring the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup finals to Canada and Abbotsford will be a great host" says Johan Lindstrom, CEO of Global SX Events Inc (GSX) who oversees the general management of the UCI (International Cycling Union) BMX Supercross World Cup. "With the Abbotsford BMX Supercross being the first major BMX event after the Olympic Games, we expect a fantastic showdown between the very best as well as great interest from media and fans around the world" continued Lindstrom.