Team USA begins back-to-back weekends of World Cup racing as they count down to the 2018 UCI BMX Supercross World Championships. The second UCI BMX Supercross World Cup of the year runs May 5-6 in Papendal, Arnhem, The Netherlands, followed by the next rounds in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, from May 12-13. Reigning World and U.S. National Champions Alise (Post) Willoughby (Chula Vista, Calif.) and Corben Sharrah (Tucson, Ariz.) will be in the start gate on Saturday, and an elite lineup of U.S. National Team and development program riders will also challenge for podium positions at the two events.
UCI BMX Supercross World Cup Rounds 3 and 4 are set for this weekend in Papendal. Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev.), the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, joins Sharrah on the U.S. men’s roster. The races will be Fields’ first World Cup events of the year, while Sharrah and several other members of the U.S. team competed in France last month.
“Racing your competition is always a wise move leading up to worlds. It enables you to benchmark yourself against those that you’ll be chasing for the title as well as add a bit of competitive pressure, hopefully making you dig deep on those hard training sessions," said Jamie Staff, Performance Director for USA Cycling. "All our top riders, including Alise (Post) Willoughby, Corben Sharrah and Connor Fields, will be battling it out in one of our favorite World Cups of the season, Papendal. The Dutch do a great job of putting on this event, and thankfully the weather looks to be playing its part in creating a great weekend for BMX.”
Papendal is the longest running event on the UCI World Cup calendar. The track, set at the High Performance Centre in the woods of Arnhem, is known for jumps, sharp curves, and an 8 meter-high start ramp.
Next week, the riders travel to Belgium for Rounds 5 and 6 on the World Cup schedule, with races running May 12-13. Sophia Foresta (South Jordan, Utah), who finished fourth among juniors at last year’s World Championships, enters the U.S. lineup in her first year on the elite circuit.
Racing will be fast on the BMX Track at Circuit Zolder. The race course features three corners and each corner bears the name one of the world’s fastest female BMXers. Before hitting the last line, the riders round the third corner, the Post Corner, named after Team USA’s Alise Post Willoughby.
The two World Cups help set the stage for the 2018 UCI BMX Supercross World Championships one month later. The World Championships will be held June 5-9 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Post, Sharrah and Fields have pre-qualified for Worlds based on their 2017 UCI final ranking.
TEAM USA WORLD CUP ROSTERS
MEN
Alec Bob (Plano, Texas)
Connor Fields (Henderson, Nev.)
Sean Gaian (Santee, Calif.)
Jared Garcia (Victorville, Calif.)
Kamren Larsen (Bakersfield, Calif.)
Elliot McGrath (New Hope, Minn.)
Justin Posey (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
Corben Sarrah (Tucson, Ariz.)*
Tanner Sebesta (Buda, Texas)
Jeremy Smith (Dayton, Ohio)
Cole Tesar (Huntersville, N.C.)
Zach Van Kammen (Lake Elsinore, Calif.)
WOMEN
Sophia Foresta (South Jordan, Utah)**
Dani George (Palmdale, Calif.)
Shealen Reno (Dallas)
Mika Shaw (Bailey, Colo.)
Alise (Post) Willoughby (Chula Vista, Calif.)
* Not scheduled to race in Rounds 5 and 6.
** Not scheduled to race in Rounds 3 and 4.
SCHEDULE
Find the complete racing schedule for both events below (local times).
Rounds 3 & 4 – Papendal – Schedule HERE
Rounds 5 & 6 – Heusden-Zolder – Schedule HERE
WATCH
Watch all UCI BMX Supercross World Cup racing live online via BMX Live TV HERE or visit www.uci.org. Follow the UCI on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or via #UCIBMXWC for BMX racing and event updates. Follow @USACycling across all channels for the latest on Team USA.
