Back to the Olympics Newsfeed

BMX racing grows up, blazes trail for Olympic action sports

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — BMX racing is growing up at the Summer Olympics.

It's that extreme sport where cyclists pedal on bikes over a roughly quarter mile-long course filled with bumps, hills and sharp twists.

Lots of action in a race that lasts about 40 seconds. A sport aimed at younger audiences.

It is also now filled with a generation of elite riders who have been at it since BMX became an Olympic medal event in Beijing in 2008.

"Most people in London (at the 2012 Games) were young like me, or 19, 20, so we grew up and stayed at a good level in BMX," said 25-year-old reigning world champion Joris Daudet of France.