More than 1000 tickets have already been sold for each day of the Rotorua-hosted first stage in 2024′s Union Cycliste Internationale BMX Racing World Cup.
It’s New Zealand’s first time to host the event, which will take place at the new Te Papa o
Paris Olympics 2024 BMX qualifier: Rotorua track ready for UCI Racing World Cup
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“It will be full of action, full of crashes and full of big jumps. So get down and have a look.”
Bias is one of 18 New Zealand riders competing, alongside Rotorua’s own Megan Williams and Auckland’s Rico Bearman. Both Williams and Bearman move up to the elite category of the competition after earning top spots on last year’s podium.
The international all-star athlete line-up will include winners of 16 elite UCI BMX Racing World Championship titles and Olympic medallists Mariana Pajon Lodono from Argentina, American Alise Willoughby and Laura Smulders from the Netherlands.
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Smulders, a two-time UCI BMX Racing world champion, is already in town to prepare and plans to spend three months in New Zealand.
“It’s my fifth time in New Zealand. I just love it here,” the 30-year-old said.
“I planned to escape the winter at home, come to New Zealand because it’s a place I like being and I like training here. It is ideal with the first UCI BMX Racing World Cup here in Rotorua, of course.”
Smulders said the Rotorua track will play to her strengths.
“It is a long track so it will suit me for passing people on the last straight, hopefully. It has a big first straight, which I like. The first jump is quite big – bigger than the ones we had last year. That’s cool.
“It has everything – it is a bit technical. It is long so it has the endurance test but you still need to be smart around the track.”
Entries closed on January 29, with most of the world’s best expected along with significant talent from Australia, which hosts the third and fourth rounds in Brisbane two weeks after the Rotorua event.
The pack of overseas registered athletes include 37 riders from across the Tasman, 27 riders from France, 16 from the US, 12 from Switzerland and 11 from Colombia.
Event manager Janette Douglas said spectator tickets to the two-day competition were being snapped up from all over New Zealand.
“It will be great to see lots of locals trackside as well,” Douglas said.
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“An enormous amount of work has gone into getting the track up to spec over the past couple of months. It’s an everyday maintenance job.”
Douglas said volunteers from the Rotorua BMX Club had put in countless hours of work to prepare the venue for the event.
According to Rotorua NZ’s Destination Insights Dashboard, bookings at commercial accommodation in Rotorua, including hotels and motels, are at 79 per cent of capacity for the first night of the World Cup.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said the city was “stoked” to welcome some of the world’s best BMX riders and their support teams to Rotorua ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games.
“Rotorua is a top tourism destination so we welcome and encourage anyone visiting for the UCI BMX World Champs to experience our stunning lakes, forests, rich Māori culture and unique geothermal features,” Tapsell said.
“Our local cycling community is very passionate and there’s lots of excitement to host this international event in the world-class facility that we’ve collectively built here.”
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Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime.
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