Canadians set for first BMX Supercross World Cup

For the third consecutive year, the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup will start in the United Kingdom, with the first event in Manchester, England Saturday and Sunday. While Olympian Tory Nyhaug, silver medalist at last year’s world championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands will miss out through injury, Canada is sending six athletes to England. With this year’s World Cup acting as qualification for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, there’s a lot on the line.

In the elite men category Jim Brown (Airdrie, AB), James Palmer (North Vancouver, BC) and Brandon Reid (Victoria, BC) will face last year’s World Cup winner Liam Phillips (Great Britain) and two-time world champion Sam Willoughby of Australia. Last year Palmer was runner-up to Nyhaug in the Canadian championships in St-Charles-de-Drummondville, QC.

Daina Tuchscherer (Airdrie, AB) and 2014 Canadian championships silver medalist Drew Mechielsen (Langley, BC) will contest the junior women’s race.

A highly-touted up and comer, Alex Tougas of Pitt Meadows, BC will be making his junior class and World Cup debut in Manchester. Tougas has been dominating his classes over the last couple of years on his way to two BMX Challenge world championships.

The World Cup will be visiting Papendal, the Netherlands in May before a long break leading to August’s Engelholm, Sweden event. September sees events in Santiago Del Estero, Argentina and Rock Hill, South Carolina in the USA. The world championships this season are July 21-25 is Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.