BMX Racing & BMX Freestyle get underway on day four of the Paris Olympics, with 4 gold medals to award.
The Basics
BMX racing is a much more explosive format than other, more traditional cycling disciplines which tend to reward endurance over several minutes, whereas BMX racing requires an intense burst of energy over a brief period lasting just a few seconds. Sprint races are contested by a maximum of eight riders on a track packed with jumps, banked corners and obstacles, where the rider with the quickest reactions and fastest pace wins.
Riders launch themselves from a gate atop the eight-metre high start hill onto the 400m track, reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h. Quick reactions and explosive power are essential to burst out of the gate at the front of the pack and hold on to the lead through to the finish line. The final race is often a thrilling spectacle that viewers watch with bated breath.
The BMX Freestyle competition will take place in an urban park where riders will perform as many tricks as possible in 60 seconds. They will be scored based on the difficulty of the tricks, the height of their jumps, and the creativity and style of their routines.
The Format
9 cyclists are in the men’s and women’s BMX Freestyle event. Everyone does 2 runs to determine seeding for the final. The best score in the seeding round gets to go last in the final. Then in the final they get 2 runs, with only the best score counting.
24 cyclists enter the BMX Racing events. They are divided into 4 quarterfinal races of 6. The top 4 in each race move to the semifinals. The semifinal races have 8 cyclists, with the top 4 moving to the final. Both the quarterfinal and semifinal are contested over 3 runs, with the results added together. The 8-person final is just a single race.
The schedule has a repechage round, so I believe the format has change since 2021, but the rounds should play out in a similar fashion.
What Nations Are Historically Dominant?
Here are the countries with at least 2 medals since 2008:
Colombia (2 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze)
United States (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
Great Britain (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
Latvia (2 gold)
France (1 gold, 1 silver)
Australia (1 gold, 1 silver)
Netherlands (1 gold, 2 bronze)
Venezuela (1 silver, 1 bronze)
Schedule
July 30th: Men’s & Women’s BMX Freestyle Seeding Round
July 31st: Men’s & Women’s BMX Freestyle Final
August 1st: Men’s & Women’s BMX Racing Quarterfinals & Repechage
August 2nd: Men’s & Women’s BMX Racing Semifinals & Final