Team USA is gearing up for some critical events as they look ahead to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games happening this summer. The first key event this year for the BMX team is the opening rounds for the 2021 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in Verona, Italy on May 8-9. The event is followed by rounds three and four at the World Cup in Bogota, Colombia on May 29-30.
As we approach the World Cup season, several riders are trying to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. For BMX Racing, positions will be filled by athletes in order of their ranking in the USA Cycling Olympic BMX Supercross Rankings which take into account their best finishes from the UCI BMX World Cup events and World Championships from January 1, 2019 to May 31, 2021.
The Nation’s Ranking determines the number of qualifying positions for each event in Tokyo; Elite Men and Elite Women. As the rankings currently stand, the U.S. women’s team is ranked in the top-2 nations, meaning they will get a maximum of three starting positions. Alise Willoughby (Team Toyota/ GW Bicycles; St. Cloud, Minn.) and Felicia Stancil (Factory Answer SSquared; Lake Villa, Ill.) have quite the points lead in the USA Cycling talent pool. The third spot will come down to a points chase at the first four rounds of the BMX World Cups. The women in the running and competing at the World Cup rounds include: Payton Ridenour (Mongoose Bicycles; Pottstown, Penn.), Daleny Vaughn (316 Racing; Tucson, Ariz), and Ashley Verhagen (Full Tilt; Phoenix, Ariz.).
For the U.S. men’s team, they are ranked third leaving them with two starting positions. Corben Sharrah (Daylight Cycle Co.; Tucson, Ariz.) and Connor Fields (Chase Bicycles/ Monster Energy; Henderson, Nev.) are solidly first and second in the USA Cycling Olympic BMX Supercross Rankings.
The selection criteria details the points structure for each World Cup placing, as well as what happens in the event of a tie. No discretionary selections will be used for BMX Supercross Olympic Team.
To learn more about how Olympic qualification and selection works, click here.
For questions related to selection criteria, please contact Jeff Pierce at jpierce@usacycling.org
