The opening round of the 2018 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup takes place in Japan this weekend, with the first-ever Great Britain Cycling Team squad in action.
Five riders have been selected to represent their country at this season’s competition gets underway in Hiroshima.
About the UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup
Set to make its debut as an Olympic sport in Tokyo in 2020, BMX Freestyle Park is one of cycling’s most thrilling and spectacular disciplines.
Riders compete on a 30x50 metre course with ramps, big transition sections and obstacles, looking to impress the judges with their two one-minute runs.
Riders are scored on the difficulty and height of their tricks, the flow of their run, their use of course, originality, execution, risk, style and the total number of tricks - riders will receive a score between zero and 100.
Hiroshima is the opening stop of the 2018 UCI BMX Freestyle World Cup - with a further four rounds to take place this year.
The world cup moves to Montpellier in France in May, before heading to North America, with Canada hosting the third round in Edmonton.
Round four takes place in Budapest, Hungary in September with the final round in Chengdu, China in November where overall world cup winners will be crowned.
The team
Five riders will compete for the Great Britain Cycling Team in Hiroshima this weekend.
The team is headed by Alex Coleborn - silver medallist at the 2017 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships.
Alex is joined by Jack Clark, Charlotte Worthington, Mark Webb and Ben Wallace in Japan with Declan Brooks, who was due to compete, forced to withdraw after suffering an injury.
The venue
Competition will be held at the former Hiroshima Municipal Stadium site in central Hiroshima, located near to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.
The original stadium, which was primarily used for baseball, was opened in 1957 but closed eight years ago following the opening of the MAZDA Zoom-Zoom Stadium Hiroshima one year earlier.
Hiroshima is the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan and literally means Broad Island.
The schedule (UK times)
Friday 6 April
1.30am - 7.30am
Men’s and women’s qualification - Postponed due to rain
11.40pm - 12.40am
Women's qualification
Saturday 7 April - Revised schedule
1.10pm - 2.40pm
Men’s semi-finals group one
3.10pm - 4.40pm
Men's semi-finals group two
5.10pm - 7am
Men's semi-finals group three
Sunday 8 April
7.50am - 9.20am
Men’s and women’s finals
How to follow
- Live coverage of the semi-finals and finals on the British Cycling website
- Updates on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
- Report on the British Cycling website
