Athletes ready to skate, battle and roll

It's safe to say that a BMX freestyle run offers the most action per minute at the Olympic Games — it's 60 seconds packed with wheel spins, flips, tail whips and riders flying across ramps, jumps, and more.

And it's even safer to say that the Huangpu Riverside provides one of the world's most ideal stages for competing in, and enjoying, the extreme sport, known as BMX — short for "bicycle motocross".

Built against the backdrop of an iconic cityscape and close to an urban audience, The Shanghai park provides all the jumps, ramps and rails, and the optimal conditions, to compete.

A total of 48 freestyle riders, 24 women and 24 men, will be contesting for 12 direct Olympic qualification spots — six on each side — for Paris, where the adrenaline-pumping competition will take place in front of a live audience at the Games for the first time.

Defending men's and women's Olympic champions, Australia's Logan Martin and Britain's Charlotte Worthington, as well as Tokyo 2020 men's runner-up Daniel Dhers of Venezuela, United States' five-time world champion Hannah Roberts and Tokyo 2020 women's bronze medalist Nikita Ducarroz of Switzerland, are among the glittering list of riders to descend on Shanghai.

Although having not nurtured mature enough riders to make to the Olympic qualifiers, China's emerging freestyle BMX community is stoked for an opportunity to get close-up to, and learn from, the world's best at home, said Shen Jian, an eight-time Chinese BMX national championship winner.

Format: freestyle

Total quota of available spots: 12

Number of athletes: 48