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THE DISCIPLINES OF BMX FREESTYLE

  • PARK

In BMX park competitions, riders execute a sequence of tricks on different obstacles contained within a park designed for BMX riders. Such obstacles include spines, walls, and box jumps et cetera. This is the Olympic discipline of BMX Freestyle.

  • VERT (abbreviation of vertical)

This consists of performing tricks on a U-shaped ramp that is around four metres high. The sides of the ramp are vertical at the top. The best riders jump up to 4.5m higher than the ramp. Vert is a very demanding specialty, requiring years of practice.

  • FLAT

Here the rider produces a series of tricks exclusively on flat ground, often balancing on one wheel. This artistic discipline can be compared with break dancing.

  • STREET

As its name indicates, this takes place on the street. Riders use urban obstacles (walls, ledges, banks and railings etc) to carry out their tricks. The principle of street is to explore, searching for new terrain that can be ridden.

  • DIRT

Riders perform tricks on mounds of earth that are shaped to catch air. With several metres separating the take off and landing, the jumps are extremely spectacular. Riders are judged on the successful execution of several tricks during the jumps, coupled with their degree of difficulty.

* All information as per the UCI website uci.org/bmx-racing

ROAD CYCLING

Four types of events:

  • Road Race

Road race is part of the Olympic programme.

The riders start together in a bunch. The courses are of varying distances (approx. 260 km for Elite Men in the UCI World Championships). Road races have several different formats: one-day races from one point to another (eg Paris-Roubaix or Tour of Flanders) or on a circuit, such as the UCI World Championships or stage races (eg Tour de France, Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a España).

  • Individual time trial

Individual time trial is part of the Olympic programme.

The individual time trial is raced over 40-50 km (at the UCI World Championships and Olympic Games). The riders set off individually at regular intervals (1-2 minutes). The competitor completing the course in the fastest time is the winner.

  • Team time trial

The principle is the same as for the individual time trial but this event is raced by teams of a minimum of 2 riders and a maximum of 10 riders.

  • Mixed relay national team time trial

From 2019, the team time trial at the UCI Road World Championships will be raced in a mixed relay format reserved for national teams composed of three men and three women from the Elite and Under-23 categories. The event will get under way with the three men, who will then hand over the relay to the three women. The team’s final placing will be calculated based on the time elapsed when the second woman crosses the finish line. Both the men and women will complete one lap of an identical circuit.