2021 UCI BMX SX World Championships Preview

The BMX Racing action continues with the 2021 UCI BMX SX World Championships in Papendal, the Netherlands, from August 20 – August 22.

As most BMX fans continue to recover from what was an intense Olympic Games with some fantastic results and bar to bar racing, the biggest UCI BMX SX event on the calendar is about to get started in the Netherlands.

Papendal will play host to the twenty-sixth edition of the UCI BMX SX World Championships, with the winner of each event being crowned as BMX Cycling World Champion and walking away with the one and only rainbow jersey.

The Australian Cycling Team has a formidable record at the World Championships with a handful of winners, including Natarsha Williams, Warwick Stevenson, Sam Willoughby and Caroline Buchanan.

Australia will have three riders competing at this year's World Championships, with Lauren Reynolds in the Women's Elite and Izaac Kennedy and Jack Davis in the Men's Elite.

Unfortunately, 2019 World Championships finalist, Saya Sakakibara will not race as she continues to recover from injuries sustained in a crash in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Olympic Games on July 30.

Reynolds comes into her eleventh elite World Championships in top form after clinching fifth in the women's Olympic BMX, equalling Australia's best result in the women's event at the Games. After an early crash in the semi-finals, Reynolds rallied well to make the final and saw it as a huge step forward. After finishing ninth in 2019, the three-time Olympian will be hoping to carry her Olympic form into this year's World Championships.

Kennedy heads into his second elite World Championships with more experience under his belt after finishing third in a UCI BMX SX World Cup round last year in Shepparton and finishing fourth at the most recent World Cup round in Colombia. The twenty-one-year-old made the quarterfinals in 2019, finishing 19th overall, an impressive debut in the elite category.

Photo - @Get Snapt

Tamworth rider Davis has had a solid start to 2021, leading the AusCycling BMX National Cup after taking out all three of his opening state series rounds and both national rounds. Davis represented Australia in the Junior Elite's last World Championships, making the quarterfinals. After spending time in the USA, Davis comes into the Championships race-ready and keen to better his result from the previous championships.

Photo - @Mitch Ramm

Practice starts this Friday, with Elite Racing kicking off this Sunday at 9:00 AM local time (5:00 PM AEST).

Stream Live - The UCI BMX World Championships finals will be live and free via SBS On Demand, streaming will commence at 9.15PM AEST on Sunday.

To grab more information about the World Championships – CLICK HERE

To check out the full schedule – CLICK HERE