The UCI BMX Racing World Championships are about to arrive in Brisbane, bringing more than 3,000 riders from around the world to the 400-metre track at the Brisbane SX International BMX Centre, part of the Sleeman Sports Complex in Chandler. It is the first time Brisbane has hosted the UCI BMX Racing World Championships, and the first time the event has been held in Australia since 2009. It is a fitting stage: a UCI Bike City where top-level sport and everyday riding sit side by side.
A week of competition
This edition of the UCI World Championships reverses the usual order of the programme, with the Championship racing held before the Challenge and Masters competitions. Elite, Under 23 and Junior riders, both men and women, take to the track on 18 and 19 July, before four days of Challenge and Masters racing from 22 to 25 July.
Building on a legacy
Australia's connection to BMX racing runs deep. The country has already staged the UCI BMX World Championships three times before, in Melbourne (1998), Perth (2003) and Adelaide (2009), along with World Cup rounds in Adelaide (2008) and in Shepparton and Bathurst (2020). Brisbane added its own chapter in 2024, hosting rounds three and four of the UCI BMX Racing World Cup in the city's first appearance on the series calendar.
This year’s World Championships, and the 2030 UCI Track World Championships to follow, form part of the city's Green and Gold runway to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, all of which points to a home event set to show the sport at its best: fast, fierce and full of character.
A city built for cycling
Brisbane's appeal goes well beyond the elite events. It is one of Australia's most bike-friendly cities, built around everyday riding, and its Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, sees the UCI World Championships as a chance to show this side of the city to the world. "Brisbane is Australia's lifestyle capital, with world-class river walks, parks, bikeways and precincts to enjoy all year round.
"Events like the UCI BMX Racing World Championships put Brisbane on the world stage and inspire more families and young people to get active and give the sport a go.
"Major events like this draw visitors from near and far, back our local businesses and create more to see and do across Brisbane."
On arriving in Brisbane, riders and spectators alike will find an everyday cycling network of more than 5,000 kilometres of bikeways and pathways, linking neighbourhoods, riverfronts, parks and visitor precincts, and taking in the 40-kilometre Riverloop and over 25 kilometres of mountain biking tracks at Mt Coot-tha Reserve. New active transport bridges are making it easier, safer and more scenic to get around by bike.
International-standard cycling infrastructure isn't just reserved for professionals: event-grade tracks at the Brisbane International Cycle Park and BMX facilities in 25 parks across the city give riders of every level somewhere to train close to home, while the annual Tour de Brisbane and AusCycling Track National Championships keep the local calendar busy. This focus on accessibility also extends to the city’s youth, through Brisbane City Council's free bike workshops, which give both adults and children a safe, supportive place to build confidence, sharpen their skills and pick up a love of riding that can last a lifetime.
This commitment to cycling is precisely what the UCI sought to reward with the UCI Bike City label, awarded to Brisbane in 2025 for its $100 million investment and strategies such as Brisbane Vision 2031 and the Active Transport Strategy.