….to the 2008 Summer Olympics games. Woo hoo!
’bout fucking time!
Shit! BMX was around before snowboarding and that got in like 10 years ago. Not that I’ve got anything against snowboarding. I just can’t do it. I did some skateboarding in my time, though. Totally goofy footing it.
Anyhoo… Bicycling mag has a cool article about it.
And apparently the track they’ll be riding is pretty wicked.
According to the Bicycling mag article:
When the start gate drops in Beijing on August 20th, the eight riders who survived the qualifying rounds will plunge down a starting ramp about 25 feet high, about the same as dropping off a third-floor balcony. They’ll hit the bottom at close to 40 mph, then rocket off a double jump and into Olympic history.
And:
BMX is the first action sport to make the Summer Games, where big air has historically meant pole–vaulting and platform diving. Ten years after snowboarding rejuvenated the Winter Games, BMX is poised to do the same to the older and more tradition-bound Summer Olympics, which sometimes seems popular mainly among shut-ins and 12-year-old -aspiring -gymnasts. “Instead of watching people run around the track in a circle,” says Bubba Harris, the 2005 BMX world champion, “they’re gonna see us bomb down a 40-foot hill, go off a jump, hit each other in midair and crash.”
Here’s some trials footage:
Here’s the schedule of events from ESPN.
BMX Schedule | |
Date/Time | Event |
Aug 19 9:00 PM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Seeding phase run 2 |
Aug 19 9:45 PM ET | BMX – Women’s BMX – Seeding run 1 |
Aug 19 11:00 PM ET | BMX – Women’s BMX – Seeding run 2 |
Aug 19 11:40 PM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Quarterfinal 1 |
Aug 20 12:05 AM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Quarterfinal 2 |
Aug 20 12:32 AM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Quarterfinal 3 |
Aug 20 9:00 PM ET | BMX – Women’s BMX – Semifinal 1 |
Aug 20 9:08 PM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Semifinal 1 |
Aug 20 9:30 PM ET | BMX – Women’s BMX – Semifinal 2 |
Aug 20 9:38 PM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Semifinal 2 |
Aug 20 10:00 PM ET | BMX – Women’s BMX – Semifinal 3 |
Aug 20 10:08 PM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Semifinal 3 |
Aug 20 10:30 PM ET | BMX – Women’s BMX – Final |
Aug 20 10:40 PM ET | BMX – Men’s BMX – Final |