BMX Olympic Selection Trials

News Posted: 19 June 2008

The male rider to represent Great Britain at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing will be selected via a series of trials, to be run at the supercross BMX Track in Aigle, Switzerland, in early July.

Since the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, the GB Cycling Team has used trials on several occasions to settle selection issues where several riders of equal ability have been competing for a limited number of team places.

The Aigle trials will involve the GB Team's Olympic Podium Programme riders Marcus Bloomfield and Kelvin Batey and Olympic Academy rider Liam Phillips.

They will be joined at the trials by a fourth rider, who will be selected following the Hartlepool National BMX Series event, which is being held on June 29th. The fourth rider will be the highest placed competitor in the Elite men's category, excluding the three riders named above.

The four riders will then travel to Aigle, Switzerland on the 3rd July for two days practice on the supercross track, before competing in a five-race programme of a time trial, three motos, and a final.

The final selection will be based on be a points system. This will be designed to reward riders for their performances in all five "races" during the trial.

The points formula and "race day" schedule will be available to the riders after the Hartlepool National Series event.