2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Bogota - Rounds 7 and 8: Preview, schedule and how to watch livestream
The last two events of events of the season will be streamed live by Olympic Channel on Olympics.com and YouTube on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October 2022. Here are the key things to know.
Cycling BMX Racing
The 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup season reaches its climax in Bogota, Colombia, which is hosting the last two rounds of the eight-stop series.
And you can watch live via Olympic Channel on Olympics.com and the Olympics YouTube page on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October.
The Parque El Salitre track also staged rounds 5 and 6 on 24-25 September.
Four-time winner Laura Smulders of the Netherlands and 2017 series champion Sylvain Andre of France currently top the women's and men's elite World Cup standings, respectively.
And with a total of 1,000 points at stake in the last two races of the season, the successors of last year's overall champions Mariana Pajon and Simon Marquart will be decided next weekend.
In Bogota riders will also fight to gain points for their NOCs in the UCI BMX Racing Olympic ranking ahead of Paris 2024.
READ: How to qualify for BMX racing at Paris 2024. The Olympics qualification system explained
How to watch Rounds 7 and 8 at 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Bogota
The competition from Rounds 7 and 8 will be broadcast live on Olympics.com and the Olympics YouTube channel from Bogota on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 October beginning at 3pm local time in Colombia (8pm UTC) on each day.
That means there will be live coverage of the races in all four categories from the quarter-finals onwards.
Territorial restrictions may apply to the live stream, but the coverage is due to be available worldwide.
2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Bogota: Schedule for rounds 7 and 8
(Times are local to Bogota, Colombia, which is GMT-5)
- Round 7: Saturday 1 October
11:24-11:46 - Men Elite Round 1
11:54-12:02 - Women Elite Round 1
12:16-12:30 - Men Elite Last Chance
12:34-12:38 - Women Elite Last Chance
12:59-13:15 - Men Elite Eighth Final
15:20-15:30 - Women Elite Quarter Final
15:30-15:40 - Men Elite Quarter Final
15:56-16:04 - Women Elite Semi Final
16:04-16:12 - Men Elite Semi Final
16:28-16:36 - Women Elite Final
16:36-16:44 - Men Elite Final
- Round 8: Sunday 2 October
11:24-11:46 - Men Elite Round 1
11:54-12:02 - Women Elite Round 1
12:16-12:30 - Men Elite Last Chance
12:34-12:38 - Women Elite Last Chance
12:59-13:15 - Men Elite Eighth Final
15:20-15:30 - Women Elite Quarter Final
15:30-15:40 - Men Elite Quarter Final
15:56-16:04 - Women Elite Semi Final
16:04-16:12 - Men Elite Semi Final
16:28-16:36 - Women Elite Final
16:36-16:44 - Men Elite Final
2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup: The format
The winner of each of the eight World Cup events receives 500 points, with riders from second to eighth getting 430, 370, 318, 273, 235, 202 and 174 points respectively. Any riders eliminated prior to the final will be awarded points corresponding to the round they were eliminated in and their position in those races.
After the eight World Cup rounds are over, the top athlete is crowned World Cup champion.
UCI BMX Racing World Cup Bogota - Rounds 7 and 8: Stars to watch
Laura Smulders is all but certain to win her fifth World Cup series crown in a season which saw her on the podium in all six events held so far, with three wins and three second places.
The Dutch Olympic medallist is followed by Zoe Claessens in the World Cup standing, but the Swiss rider will have to make up a 672-point deficit and is unlikely to pose any threat to the leader.
The same goes for Olympic - and European - champion Bethany Shriever, who sits now third overall, 985 points down from Smulders after beating her on round five.
Double Olympic champion Pajón finished sixth and fifth in the previous two stages in Bogota and will be eager to impress the home crowd, while eyes will also be on two-time world champion Alise Willoughby, who just collected two podium places in Colombia.
In the men's field, Andre holds a 465-point lead on American revelation Cameron Wood.
The 21-year-old based in Arizona claimed his maiden World Cup win on round 6: this represented a third consecutive podium finish and propelled him into second place in the men's elite ranking.
On round 5, Tokyo 2020 gold medallist - and former world champion, Niek Kimmann came back to winning ways on his first race in 16 months. The Dutchman, who failed to qualify to the final on round 6, will be one to watch along with European champion Kye Whyte, fourth on round 5, and Australia's Isaac Kennedy, who claimed three podium finishes this season.