Four BMX racers from the United States have made their way down to Mexico for the 2011 Pan American Games. The 16th edition of the quadrennial, multi-sport event kicks off this week in Guadalajara with the opening ceremonies set for Thursday. The BMX competitions in Guadalajara will offer category 5 level UCI points. These points count toward a country’s Nations Ranking, which will determine the number of start spots a nation earns for the 2012 Olympic Games.
BMX, the penultimate cycling event for the USA, will take center stage on Oct. 21 at the CODE San Nicolas. As the top-ranked woman in USA Cycling’s BMX Power Rankings,
Arielle Martin (Spanaway, Wash./Intense BMX) will lead a foursome that also includes
Amanda Carr (Punta Gorda, Fla./Paul Williams),
Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev./Chase BMX), and
Nic Long (Lakeside, Calif./ Haro-Rockstar).
The Pan American Games are second only to the Olympics in magnitude, number of participants and number of sporting events. For more information on the XVI Pan American Games, including complete competition schedules, please visit the
event’s official website.