Team USA has arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 2018 UCI BMX World Championships. Twelve U.S. athletes will race for a chance to take home the rainbow jersey in both Junior and Elite divisions, including reigning UCI World Champions Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz.) and Alise Willoughby (Chula Vista, Calif.), along with 2016 Olympic gold medalist Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev.). More than 2,000 athletes representing over 50 countries are expected to ride in the five-day event from June 5-9, with the finals scheduled for Saturday, June 9.
“The team is excited as we head into the World Championships in Baku,” said Jamie Staff, USA Cycling's Performance Director, BMX & Sprint Track. “Obviously we had much success last year in Rock Hill, but we realize we have our work cut out for us to repeat that again. We have finished off preparations with some training in Paris at the French BMX facility to get the riders in the right mindset for the race. I know our top athletes are now ready, and they will give it their best shot.”
The U.S. elite lineup also features: Jared Garcia (Victorville, Calif.), silver medalist at the 2017 USA Cycling BMX National Championships; two-time Olympian Nic Long (Lakeside, Calif.), who is racing in his 10th World Championships; two-time Olympian (2012, 2016) Brooke Crain (Visalia, Calif.); 2018 USA Cycling BMX National Championships silver medalist Dani George (Palmdale, Calif.); and Mika Shaw (Bailey, Colo.), who has three top 20 finishes in this year’s UCI World Cup circuit.
ELITE MEN UCI BMX Racing Nations Ranking 2017 (as of 9 May 2017)
1 (1) UNITED STATES USA 2600
2 (4) NETHERLANDS NED 2577
3 (5) FRANCE FRA 2328
4 (2) LATVIA LAT 1930
5 (7) COLOMBIA COL 1923
6 (3) AUSTRALIA AUS 1750
7 (6) SWITZERLAND SUI 1685
8 (8) ARGENTINA ARG 1642
9 (9) CANADA CAN 1561
10 (10) GREAT BRITAIN GBR 1104
11 (11) NEW ZEALAND NZL 802
12 (18) JAPAN JPN 642
13 (12) GERMANY GER 638
14 (13) RUSSIA RUS 593
15 (21) INDONESIA INA 537
16 (15) ECUADOR ECU 453
17 (16) BRAZIL BRA 438
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.