The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today unveils the calendar for the 2017 UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup. The four rounds, which will take place on three continents, have been awarded to the following cities:
Montpellier and its region have been part of the history of the FISE World Series, the Festival International des Sports Extrêmes (International Festival of Extreme Sports) since 1997. Hugely popular and successful year after year, it is not surprising that the event in this southern French city will again open proceedings for the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup.
Budapest is new to the series this year. Like Montpellier, this Hungarian stopover will be a large-scale event with five days of competition. One year after Osijek (Croatia), Eastern Europe confirms its passion for extreme sports.
Edmonton returns to the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup for a second season after its first very successful event. The Canadian stopover featured on the programme in 2016, marking the arrival of the FISE World Series on North American territory. Over three days, Edmonton will welcome fans of extreme sports to the Hawrelak Park on the outskirts of the city. Edmonton will also be part of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in 2018 thanks to a three-year partnership between the organiser and the FISE World Series. Already part of the inaugural UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in 2016, Chengdu is a stopover of the FISE World Series for the fourth time. The Chinese megalopolis of 14 million inhabitants will host three days of competition for the closing round.
2016 UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup in figures (source Hurricane Action Sports)
Once again, the UCI will benefit from the expertise of the company Hurricane Action Sports, organisers of the FISE event since its launch.
BMX Freestyle Park BMX Freestyle includes five specialities: Park, Vert, Flat, Street and Dirt Jump. The Park speciality is the best-known of the Freestyle specialities. Park is practised in skateparks and freestylers are judged on tricks and their respective difficulties, but also on originality and style. The tricks are performed on obstacles within the Park areas – ramps, curbs, rails, walls.