How to watch Mariana Pajon in Rounds 5 and 6 of 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Bogota
The two-time Olympic champion will be in action on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September in front of the home fans. You can watch her live and for free on Olympics.com.
Cycling BMX Racing
'BMX Queen' Mariana Pajon will be the undisputed star in Bogota, Colombia, for the last four rounds of the 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup season.
Rounds 5 and 6 of the eight-stop series take place on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September respectively, and you can watch the London 2012 and Rio 2016 gold medallist live via Olympic Channel on Olympics.com and the Olympics YouTube page.
Pajon headlines a strong Colombian squad, which includes Olympic medallist Carlos Alberto Ramirez, World no. 2 Diego Arboleda, and Juan Camilo Ramirez, who won silver at this year's U23 World championships in Nantes, France.
Last season the 30-year-old triumphed in both home races to eventually claim the series title.
Bogota is the first World Cup event where riders can gain points for their NOCs (National Olympic Committees) in the UCI BMX Racing Olympic ranking.
The Parque El Salitre track will also stage the final two World Cup rounds on 1-2 October.
Mariana Pajon chasing first podium during 2022 World Cup season
Double Olympic champion Pajon is hoping to revive her World Cup campaign: in the first two rounds in Glasgow she didn't qualify for the final, while she skipped both stages in Papendal after crashing heavily in training.
The reigning World Cup series champion has recently triumphed at the Panamerican Championships in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, in front of team-mate Gabriela Bolle, who also will be in action in Bogota.
In July the Colombian national champ, who will turn 31 on 10 October, claimed her eighth title (the seventh in BMX racing) at the Bolivarian Games in Valledupar.
A few weeks later she finished fifth at the World Championships in Nantes.
The local star returns to the track where she won her third - and last - World Championships BMX racing title in 2016. She will face stiff competition, starting with the current circuit leader Laura Smulders, who clinched the two opening World Cup rounds in Glasgow and finished twice runner-up in Papendal.
Others female riders to watch will be newly crowned world champion Felicia Stancil and Zoe Claessens, who won silver in Nantes following two World Cup victories in Papendal.
In the men's category, home favourites Diego Arboleda and Carlos Ramirez will look to challenge overall leader Sylvain Andre of France, in-form Olympic and world silver medallist Kye Whyte of Great Britain, and Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and 2021 world champion Niek Kimmann of the Netherlands.
How to watch Rounds 5 and 6 at 2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Bogota
The competition from Rounds 5 and 6 will be broadcast live on Olympics.com and the Olympics YouTube channel from Bogota on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September, 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
(Times are local)
- Round 5: Saturday 24 September
11:24-11:44 - Men Elite Round 1
11:52-12:00 - Women Elite Round 1
12:14-12:26 - Men Elite Last Chance
12:30-12:34 - Women Elite Last Chance
12:55-13:09 - 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 6: Sunday 25 September
11:24-11:44 - Men Elite Round 1
11:52-12:00 - Women Elite Round 1
12:14-12:26 - Men Elite Last Chance
12:30-12:34 - Women Elite Last Chance
12:55-13:09 - 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.
2022 UCI BMX Racing World Cup - Women's Elite: Results
Round 1 - Glasgow:
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Laura Smulders (NED)
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Zoe Claessens (SUI)
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Judy Baauw (NED)
Round 2 - Glasgow:
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Laura Smulders (NED)
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Bethany Shriever (GBR)
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Saya Sakakibara (AUS)
Round 3 - Papendal
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Zoe Claessens (SUI)
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Laura Smulders (NED)
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Felicia Stancil (USA)
Round 4 - Papendal:
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Zoe Claessens (SUI)
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Laura Smulders (NED)
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Bethany Shriever (GBR)