Event of the Day -- BMX Turns Heads on Olympic Debut

Anne-Caroline Chausson leads the pack on the way to gold. (Getty Images)(ATR) Crashing and burning in Olympic sport has never been so much fun as in BMX racing, if the screaming crowds at the Laoshan dirt track in west Beijing are anything to go by.

BMX racing skidded into the Beijing Olympics with a blast of speed, skill and some heart-stopping wipeouts, providing a shot in the arm for the IOC as it seeks to widen the appeal of the Olympics to a younger generation.

Pat McQuaid, president of the International Cycling Federation, was delighted with the organization and presentation of BMX at the conclusion of the competition Friday.

“It has got a great future,” he told ATR. “The atmosphere is incredible, the athletes are superb.

“It’s very, very international and serves the purpose of universality which is very important within the Olympic Charter and the cycling movement also. I have no doubt this is going to get better and better.

The UCI had to lose two track cycling disciplines to get BMX racing into the Beijing Olympics, sacrificing the 1km for men and 500m for women. While the decision caused controversy in the cycling community post-Athens, he insisted it was the right one.

“It was unfortunate we had to lose two medals. But we are bringing in a completely new culture and a new group of athletes into the sport,” he explained.

“It’s very attractive to the young kids, so from that point of view for the UCI it’s very important. It’s not just the Olympic Movement that needs to attract youth, cycling as a body does as well.”

Competition on Thursday was postponed due to heavy rain, but the track dried quickly in the searing heat Friday and conditions were perfect for the semi-finals beginning at 9 a.m. and the finals that followed.

McQuaid says the timetable of BMX events in Beijing was scheduled in conjunction with NBC for a primetime slot in the U.S: “That’s extremely important for the IOC.”

The stands were full and the announcer appeared to have consumed a few cans of high-energy drink such was his breathless enthusiasm for BMX.

“It’s going to be fast and furious,” the venue commentator declared. He told the crowds that BMX had been nominated for the Olympic Games in 2003. “The big day is finally here. We need your passion and energy for all the riders. Let’s pump it up.”

The helmeted riders started down a 7-meter high ramp before careening around the banked turns and soaring off jumps in races that lasted less than 40 seconds. The action played out to a backdrop of thumping dance music and noisy crowds.

There were plenty of entertaining wipeouts, enjoyed a second time - along with other race highlights – in slow-motion replays on the giant Panasonic screen at one end of the track. The first corner, close to the spectator stands, claimed many victims. Pictures from an aerial cable-cam added to the spectacle.

Under blazing sunshine, Anne-Caroline Chausson of France won the first BMX gold medal. Her compatriot, Laetitia le Corguille, avoided three pile-ups in the eight-woman final to clinch silver. U.S. rider Jill Kintner grabbed bronze.

Chausson, a former mountain bike downhill world champion, had dominated the semi-final runs and proved a deserving winner. She came out of retirement from mountain biking in 2006 once BMX had "Those who were watching it on television tell me it was absolutely spectacular," UCI president Pat McQuaid said of the BMX competition. (ATR)earned its status as an Olympic sport.

“My friends told me you don’t turn your back on the Olympics. Only the Games, their magic and the potential gold drove me over the last few years, which was a lot of sacrifice as well,” she told reporters.

In the men’s BMX racing, Latvia’s Maris Strombergs stormed to gold – his country’s first of the Games - with a stylish display of riding in an incident-packed final. U.S. riders Mike Day and Donny Robinson claimed silver and bronze in a race which saw three riders crash out.

Tong Di, 18, an enthusiastic fan of BMX racing, told ATR: “It’s very cool, very mad,” adding that it was a good sport to attract people of his age.

Dave Brailsford, British Cycling’s performance director, is another big fan and said it had been a great event, despite Team GB’s Shanaze Reade missing out on a medal.

“It’s such as nailbiting event. You really don’t win this until you have crossed the line. The excitement is brilliant,” he told ATR.

Dutch Olympic BMX rider Raymon van der Biezen was pleased with the event Dutch rider Raymon van der Biezen in a crash during the quarterfinals. (Getty Images)organization and the track’s width and good jumps. “It is just perfect,” he said. At 21, he’s hungry to do better than his fifth semifinal placing at London 2012. “I have had a taste of how the Olympics are and I think anybody who tastes it once wants more.”

BMX Developments for 2012

Following the doping scandals in recent years which have blighted cycling, McQuaid says the BMX event in Beijing is “a bright spot” and “positive promotion for the UCI with the correct image.”

“We are not talking about doping or scandals here, but kids going out there and giving it a blast and enjoying themselves and winning gold medals at the end too,” he said.

He added that the UCI would sit down with the IOC to develop BMX as an Olympic sport for 2012. It was restricted to a quota of 32 men and 16 women for Beijing, meaning the event program had to be spread out with seeding and qualifying runs.

McQuaid confirmed that discussions are taking place with the IOC to bring BMX freestyle to London 2012. “It’s quite possible that might happen,” he stated, indicating that the discipline targets a youth audience and fits in with the IOC’s objectives.

“We need to come up with a qualification system and event structure for London,” he commented, although it would not be at the expense of other Olympic cycling disciplines.

“We have said we cannot afford to drop any more disciplines in the track.”

Positive IOC Feedback

IOC President Jacques Rogge intended to visit the Laoshan track to see some BMX action Thursday, but the postponement of action ended that plan; scheduling conflicts meant he could not attend Friday.

But McQuaid said there were plenty of IOC members and VIPs keen to experience BMX for the first time at the Olympics.

IOC members from Britain Princess Anne, Philip Craven and Craig Reedie, along with Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, were among guests Friday. The IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli also attended.

“The feedback was excellent. They have really enjoyed it,” McQuaid remarked.

Written by Mark Bisson in BeijingFor general comments or questions, click here