UCI BMX Racing C1 concludes in Aohan

In the finals, the world's number one cyclist, Laura Smulders, from the Netherlands, won the women's championship. Niek Kimmann, the world's second-ranked cyclist also from the Netherlands, beat the world's number one cyclist from France, Sylvain Andre, winning the men's crown.

The 2018 Qiansen Trophy BMX Racing C1 concluded in Aohan Banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Sept 15, attracting the participation of nearly 100 cyclists from 21 countries and regions.

Zhang Yaru, Chinese cyclist who recently won the BMX racing gold medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta, missed the final of the women’s racing. She said that participating in the event and competing with the world’s top cyclists is a great learning experience.

Lu Yan, a champion in China’s national BMX racing, was the only Chinese female athlete to advance to the semi-finals. Lu said that China’s BMX events, with a late start, has a gap in terms of competition level and quality compared to many foreign countries. But she will continue to work hard to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The competition, approved by UCI and the China Cycling Association, is Asia’s highest-level event, second only to the world's international competitions in the World Championships and World Cup. In addition, the winners of BMX racing will also receive points for participating in Tokyo Olympics.

The Aohan stop was hosted by the Inner Mongolia Sports Bureau, Chifeng municipal people's government, Chifeng municipal sports bureau, people's government of Aohan Banner, and Beijing Qiansen Sports Culture Investment Development Co.

The venue of the competition, the Aohan Banner BMX International Stadium, was completed on June 6. It was designed and constructed by Beijing Qiansen Sports Culture Investment Development Co, together with the International Cycling Federation. 

It is the only BMX racing track in China that has reached the Olympic-required level, and has also obtained the official track certification from the UCI. 

The track is set up for the 5-meter starting line for the youth and amateur level cycling, and the 8-meter starting block for the professionals. Both of the starting blocks adopt the Olympic electronic departure system, which meets the Olympic standards and also caters to the youth echelon construction of the BMX racing sport.

Simone Tetsche Christensen from Denmark won second place at women’s finals and Merel Smulder, the champion’s young sister, came third.

Dutch cyclists dominated men’s finals as Joris Harmsen and Dave Van Der Burg won the second and third places.

The only Chinese male athlete who entered the quarter-finals, Sun Yue, ranked seventh in the end.

In particular, the competition added awards for China’s best men and women athletes. Sun Yue from Shandong team and Lu Yan from Gansu team won the honorary titles.