Date 07. 11. 2006 (5102) |

UCI BMX NEWS - november UCI BMX NEWS MAILING November 2006 UCI BMX RANKING The 2005/2006 UCI BMX Ranking came to an end with the 2006 UCI BMX World Championships in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Once again Robert De Wilde (NED) showed great consistency throughout the season snatching the top spot in Elite Men, followed by always present Randy Stumpfhauser (USA). In Elite Women, Gabriella Diaz (ARG) won the overall ranking with great results on the Latin American Continent and at the World Championships. Another Dutch rider, Martijn Scherpen came out on top in the Junior Men Ranking with his strong season in Europe followed by his 2 nd place in the World Championships. Shanaze Reade (GBR) won the overall Junior Women Ranking with merely 1 point when she finished ahead of Maria Eugenia Ruarte (ARG) in the Junior Women finals at the World Championships. UCI is pleased to announce the Nations Ranking, which begun with the 2006 UCI BMX World Championships and will continue until 2008 counting all Class 1,2,3 and 4 events. In the current Nations Ranking, USA is on top of the ranking with the strong performance of Mike Day, Randy Stumpfhauser and Donny Robinson. The Nations Ranking will function as the main qualification criteria for countries to qualify for the Olympic Games. (To view the Olympic Qualification criteria, please see Part XI of the UCI rule book UCI CALENDAR The 2006/2007 BMX Calendar is posted on the UCI website. Starting from 2007, UCI will change the calendar to match the ranking calendar year. This will mean that the next calendar will be from 1 August 2007 to 30 May 2008. Calendar inscription information has already been sent out to all National Federation, and the deadline to register events on the international calendar is 15 th December 2006. UCI INTRODUCING MASTERS CATEGORY AT THE BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The highly competitive older age categories will reach another level of recognition at the upcoming 2007 UCI BMX World Championships in Victoria, Canada. As in other cycling disciplines, UCI is pleased to announce the introduction of a new full medal status category “Masters 30 & Over” (20” Standard bicycle). The Masters 30 & Over will receive full recognition where the winner will be awarded a blue UCI Rainbow Jersey and medals to the top 3. The Masters 30 & Over will be open for anyone that has not competed in any Elite class during the current season (from 1 Aug 2006). Each country will be allowed to enter 16 riders in Masters 30 & Over. 2007 UCI BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN VICTORIA, CANADA The preparation work for next year’s biggest event has already begun, with the construction of the World’s track already on its way. A new permanent track will be build by UCI track builder Tom Ritzenthaler at the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre in the Westshore Community in Greater Victoria. With the expected participation of over 2’500 athletes from 40 countries, the World Championships will be held from 26-29 July 2006. Challenge practice will be held 24-25 July, followed by Challenge competitions on 26-27 July. Elite classes will practice on 27 July with competitions on Saturday 28 July. All Cruiser Championship and Challenge events will be held on Sunday 29 July. Detailed schedule will be released shortly. The official World Championships website has already been launched and contains all necessary information such as accommodation, travel and pretty much everything else you need to know. Please visit; www.bmxworlds2007.com UCI BMX PERMANENT CAREER NUMBERS Starting with the season 2006-2007 (from 1 August 2006), the UCI is introducing a permanent number system for Elite Men & Elite Women. With this system, riders can choose a “career number”, which they have the exclusive right to use for their entire Elite class career. This will give riders a possibility to market themselves and to give media and spectators an easy way to identify riders. A chosen number will be exclusive for the rider, and cannot be used by any other elite class rider (including Junior and Cruiser classes). The permanent numbers have been assigned for this season 2006-2007, and no additional numbers will be assigned. Riders that haven’t already been assigned a permanent number will have another chance for next season (2007-2008) to apply for available numbers. For that National Federations will receive an application form in June 2007, and individual riders shall contact their National Federation in order to apply for a permanent number. 2009 UCI BMX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS AWARDED TO ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA The UCI Management Committee has awarded the 2009 UCI BMX World Championships to Adelaide, Australia. Adelaide provided an excellent bid on all aspects with a great support from the Government of South Australia. The event will be held 23-26 July 2009 in the well-proven Royal Adelaide Showgrounds located only a few minutes from downtown Adelaide. UCI BMX SUPERCROSS WORLD CUP The 2006 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup has come to an end after two exciting events in USA and France. The 1 st round of UCI BMX Supercross World Cup made a popular return to San Jose (USA) in September and was once again a part of the Dew Action Sports Tour’s Toyota Challenge stop. With the event being held in night time, the spectacular BMX Supercross track was presented in a fantastic setting, bringing the crowd to their feet with some astounding race action. The event was broadcasted on NBC Sports the next day, where 40 million TV viewers could see Michal Prokop (CZE) win in front of a pack of strong US riders. Michal Prokop, also being the MTB World Champion, amazed many with his ability to be competitive in two different disciplines! The final round of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup was held in Fréjus, France in conjunction with the biggest MTB event in Europe – the Roc d’Azur. In front of 80’000 Roc d’Azur visitors. High winds became a safety issuen during race day and the track needed to be altered with less jumps for the finals. Nevertheless, the racing action was intense, with Donny Robinson (USA) edging out Michal Prokop (CZE) for the win. Robinson also won the overall UCI BMX Supercross World Cup title. The UCI BMX Supercross will be extended to four stops in 2007, adding a few new events and returning to both San Jose and Fréjus.