Urban Cycling World Championships 2022: BMX freestyle preview, schedule and stars to watch 

Mark your calendars - the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships take place from 9-13 November in Abu Dhabi with the world’s best BMX freestylers all vying for the title of world champion.

They will also have the chance to take an important step forward in their quest to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

Both reigning Olympic champions will be present at the World Championships after the sport made its debut at Tokyo 2020. They will be joined by a field packed chock-full of Olympians, former world champions and up-and-coming stars, all eager to make it onto the Abu Dhabi podium.

Find out everything you need to know about the event below.

When and where will the BMX freestyle competition at the Urban Cycling World Championships take place?

The BMX freestyle competition begins in earnest on Thursday 10 November with the women’s qualifiers, with men’s qualifiers taking place a day later on Friday 11 November.

Both the women’s and men’s semi-finals take place on Saturday 12 November, with the all-important finals scheduled for Sunday 13.

For the first time in history, the world championships are being hosted by a Middle Eastern country, with the competition taking place in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

How do the world championships affect Olympic qualification?

While there are two Paris 2024 quotas per gender available at the 2022 Urban Cycling World Championships, they will only be allocated based on the results of the Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS) that takes place in 2024.

The Olympic Qualifier Series 2024 offers six quotas per gender to the highest-ranked athletes by name. In the case that not all continents are represented following the results of the OQS, the first of two quota remaining quotas per gender will be retrospectively allocated to the highest-ranked NOCs from a continent that has not yet qualified for the Games, based on their performances at the 2022 Urban Cycling World Championships.

So while riders will have to wait until 2024 to see whether their results during these upcoming Worlds will take them to the Olympics, a strong placement here could put them in pole position for a spot at the Paris Games.

READ MORE: How to qualify for BMX freestyle at Paris 2024

BMX freestylers to watch at the 2022 Urban Cycling World Championships

Worthington, Roberts and Ducarroz to battle for supremacy in women's competition

As you could imagine from such a high-stakes competition, the best of the best riders in the world will be on show in Abu Dhabi.

Britain’s Olympic champion Charlotte Worthington and the USA’s three-time world champion Hannah Roberts headline the women’s field. Worthington famously produced a backflip 360 - the first in women’s competition history - at Tokyo 2020 to secure gold when the sport made its debut at the Games last year. The rider she surpassed with that gold-winning run was Roberts, who first burst onto the international stage when she won the inaugural World Championships at age 17 in 2017, following it up with wins in 2019 and 2021.

Worthington expressed her excitement about the upcoming Worlds in an interview with Team GB, where she said: “The world championships is a key event in our prep for Paris 2024 and a huge opportunity for the team to come together. It’ll be a great learning experience for everyone and I’m really excited to see what’s going to go down, especially in the women’s category – we’ve really raised the bar this year!"

Switzerland’s Nikita Ducarroz will also be one of the main favourites at the event, with the Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist adding world championships silver to her trophy cabinet last year. She is currently placed No. 1 in the World Rankings, ahead of Roberts and Worthington.

Of the young up-and-coming riders hoping to make it onto the podium, keep an eye out for Colombian twins Queensaray and Lizsurley Villegas who have been making waves in the BMX freestyle community with their mix of bravery and skill. Queensaray is currently ranked 7th in the world rankings with sister Lizsurley 13th.

Other female riders to keep a close eye are on the USA’s Perris Benegas and Chelsea Wolfe, who occupy 5th and 6th in the world rankings, as well as Germany’s Lara Lessmann the 2018 Youth Olympic Games champion.

READ MORE: Charlotte Worthington: 'You can't just stay at one pace'

Olympic champion Martin joins France's Jeanjean and Tokyo silver medallist Dhers in stacked men's field

On the men’s side, Australia’s Logan Martin is not only Olympic champion but also first in today’s World Rankings. The reigning world champion also won gold in the 2017 edition in Chengdu and will once again be fancied to win in Abu Dhabi.

France’s triple European Champion Anthony Jeanjean is second in the world rankings and will be aiming to impress ahead of his home Olympic Games in Paris. He will face the challenge of veteran rider and crowd favourite Daniel Dhers who won silver for Venezuela at Tokyo 2020.

Aso watch out for Croatia’s Marin Rantes, the 2018 World Cup Champion, and the USA’s Justin Dowell, the gold medallist at the 2018 World Championships in Chengdu. Rantes recently recovered from surgery to take his place on the start list for these upcoming Worlds, while Dowell has been in strong form over the past year, including winning silver in his first X Games in 2021.

UCI Urban Cycling World Championships 2022 schedule

Thursday 10 November

15:30-17:00: Women’s qualification group 1

17:30-19:00: Women’s qualification group 2

Friday 11 November

12:00-13:45: Men’s qualification group 1

14:15-16:00: Men’s qualification group 2

16:30-18:15: Men’s qualification group 3

18:45-20:30: Men’s qualification group 4

Saturday 12 November

15:30-17:30: Men’s semi-finals 

18:30-18:30: Women’s semi-finals 

Sunday 13 November 

16:30-18:00: Women’s finals

19:00-20:30: Men’s finals