The Great Britain Cycling Team start the 2016 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup at Santiago del Estero in Argentina on Friday.
Manchester (UK), Papendal (Netherlands), Rock Hill (USA) and Sarasota (USA) complete the five-stop tour.
With the Rio Olympic qualification window closing on 30 May, the two-day event is a major point scoring opportunity with Kyle Evans and Tre Whyte named in the Great Britain squad.
Defending UCI BMX Supercross World Cup champion Liam Phillips, winner at the corresponding round in 2015, misses out as he focusses on a training block that will see him start his world cup season in Manchester on 9-10 April.
British Cycling Olympic BMX coach, Grant White, said: “We are excited to head to Argentina to begin our UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in this important Olympic year.
“The event will give Kyle and Tre a good opportunity to test themselves against world-class opposition.”
Team
Twenty-two-year-old Kyle Evans was 19th in last year’s series with a ninth-place finish in Manchester the pick of his results. The Wigan-born rider exited in the quarter-finals in Santiago last year and will hope to improve on that this time around.
Both of Evans’ world cup final appearances came in 2014, in Manchester and Berlin respectively.
Tre Whyte missed last year’s Santiago round in an injury-disrupted campaign. The 2014 world championship-bronze medallist reached the final in Manchester in what would be his best result of 2015.
Evans and Whyte will not contest the time trial finals on Friday - that is reserved for the top 16 riders from 2015. Instead they will compete in the qualifying motos with a place in Saturday’s racing at stake.
Competition
The race to Rio is reflected in world-class field travelling to South America. Olympic champion Maris Strombergs and world champion Niek Kimmann are joined by Australian Sam Willoughby, American Connor Fields and France’s Amidou Mir to name but a few.
Olympic champion Mariana Pajon, world champion Stefany Hernandez, former world champion and world cup winner Caroline Buchanan, plus Olympic bronze medallist Laura Smulders, form part of a prestigious line-up in the women’s event.
Venue
Located in north Argentina, the outdoor track at the Sport Centre of Santiago del Estero made its world cup debut in 2013 and has become popular with riders and fans alike.
Schedule (UK time)
Friday 25 March
5pm-7.25pm: Qualification motos
8pm-8.50pm: Time trial superfinals
Saturday 26 March
5.05pm-9pm: Supercross finals
How to follow
- Watch the action live on the British Cycling website.
- Report, gallery and reaction on the British Cycling website.
- Follow @BritishCycling on Twitter for updates.
UCI BMX Supercross World Cup - Manchester
Watch the Great Britain Cycling Team in action at round two of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester on 9-10 April.
