Riders vow to take mainstream debut to the extreme

Hold onto your popcorn - BMX's underground culture of baggy pants and $3 XXL trucker caps is about to go mainstream.

The two-day BMX Motocross World Cup rocked Beijing when the planet's top riders burned around the Laoshan Olympic track.

Many riders believe the image of their sport will sky rocket when it debuts at the Beijing Olympics next year.

"This is a historical step for BMX," world No 3 Mike Day of the United States said. "This is the best idea I can come up with. The Olympics has what it takes to raise the sport's awareness around the world.

"I think in terms of enlarging the size and reach of our sport, it is highly important.

"I am sure BMX is on the doorstep of something very, very exciting. Not just Beijing, but beyond.

"The fact that little boys and girls at tracks around the world can now dream of being BMX Olympians is really pretty amazing."

Inclusion of the sport in the Beijing Olympics was announced in 2003 when International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge shows he and his colleagues are capable of moving with the times.

"The IOC must adapt to changing attitudes of young people if it wants to stay relevant," he said.

"With youngsters turning fast to other sports competitions like the X Games, the IOC has to change."

BMX is the non-motorized version of motocross and also features freestyle and jumping - in other words, any extreme kind of move that can be made on a bike.

It has been part of the X Games since the extreme format took off in the late 1960s in California, around the same time motocross became a popular US sport.

Although, by virtue of its alternative nature, it has struggled to make the spotlight outside the US, admission to the Olympics has provided it a major new marketing platform.

The World Cup series event was the first meet ever held in China's capital city.

The track's 4,000-seat grandstand was sold out a week before, driving up the 30 yuan ($4) ticket to 120 ($16) on the black market.

"I am overwhelmed to take this chance and showcase my sport," women's world No 1 Sarah Walker said.

"If it wasn't for the Olympics we won't have this chance to travel thousands of miles and tell Chinese fans what BMX is all about.

"I think Olympic has got us in a very high stage and I certainly believe we will be joining the sports like basketball and swimming to have great appeal to young people in the world," the New Zealander added.

But history has shown it's a bitter-sweet transition to Olympic formats for Xgames-style sports.

The face of snowboarding changed dramatically after it was admitted to the Nagano Winter Games in 1998.

Many competitors were forced to abandon their freestyle repertoires in order to keep up with opponents in the snowboardcross at the Turino Olympic Games last year.

Former US world champion Bode Miller complained publicly that "measuring success with a medal count is pretty stupid".

But BMX riders are adamant that they'll maintain the creativity and acrobatics.

"We will be judged by speed but I don't think we will get rid of style at the Beijing Olympics," Walker said. "We will continue to do what we've been doing over years. Style still matters a big deal in this sport.

"And that's why Laoshan BMX track is a pretty much hopping venue. It is easy to see why the sport was an instant hit here in Beijing."

(China Daily 08/23/2007 page22)