The fifth leg of the 2015 Canadian BMX Championships kicks off in Drummondville, Quebec

This weekend, the UCI-sanctioned track in Drummondville, Que. will host the 2015 Canadian BMX Championships — and the fifth leg of the Canada Cup itself.

It’s the biggest BMX event on the domestic calendar, and it starts with the time trial, followed closely by the Canadian BMX Championships on Saturday and the Canada Cup BMX race on Sunday. The event will feature both junior and elite categories, as well as present a broad variety of classes for all ages of rider.

Of Team Canada’s roster of BMX riders, only Drew Mechielsen, currently recovering from an injury, is expected to miss the competition. The four cyclists scheduled to compete at the Pan Am Games in Toronto, though — starting next Saturday, July 11 — are all slated to participate in Drummondville: Tony Nyhaug, Jim Brown, Amelia Walsh and Daina Tuchsherer. Nyhaug returns to racing this weekend after an injury of his own, focused on defending his 2014 title, as well as earn his fifth consecutive Elite BMX title and fifth consecutive Elite time trial title.

Since turning junior, Nyhaug hasn’t lost a Canadian title, a winning streak that also includes last weekend’s two races in Abbotsford, B.C., catapulting him to the top of the Canada Cup BMX standings — and making his successful defense of last year’s title a very real, very reasonable prospect.

Daina Tuchsherer, meanwhile, returns this year to try to best last year’s performance, when she finished sixth in the time trial and eighth in the event’s supercross. Also leading the standings in the junior women category, Tuchsherer is similarly undefeated. Alex Tougas, the recipient of back-to-back Challenge Boys World Championships, is another undefeated contender going into this weekend’s competitition, having an unblemished BMX Canada Cup series record thus far. Amelia Walsh will look to defend her title-winning performance last year at the 2015 event, having won her first elite title at 2013’s race in St-Albert, which was successfully defended at last year’s race in Drummondville.

It’s the second championship event to happen on the BMX Drummond track, which was unveiled and launched just before the 2014 event — and organizers are eager to once again show off the state-of-the-art racing facility.

“For the second consecutive year, Drummondville is proud to host the most prestigious BMX racing in Canada,” said Drummondville mayor Alexandre Cusson. “Moreover, last year, Cycling Canada recognized the value of the Drummondville organization, awarding it the BMX Event of the Year. With exceptional infrastructure and a dedicated organizing committee, Drummondville has become a must in the sport across Canada.” It’s a unique spectacle, Cusson said, and it will encourage a large number of athletes in Canada and abroad — a sentiment notably shared by other organizers, too.

“The atmosphere will be electrifying as exceptional athletes will compete against each other in thrilling races,” said Francois Levesque, president of BMX Drummond. “It will be a true sporting spectacle and the population of Drummondville will see how these riders are skilled, intelligent and courageous.