International BMX World Cup Event To Come to Tulsa

Filed under General on May 08, 2023 | Comment(s)

TULSA, Okla. (May 8, 2023)—The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has announced that the 2024 BMX Racing World Cup is headed to Tulsa in April 2024. The highly anticipated announcement comes after the UCI met in Italy last week to approve the World Cup dates and locations.

The prestigious BMX racing event is comprised of eight rounds held at various spots around the world. Rounds 1 and 2 will be held in New Zealand in February 2024, followed by Rounds 3 and 4 in Australia later that month. From there, the tour resumes in Tulsa for rounds 5 and 6 in April, followed by the final two rounds that will be held in the Netherlands in June 2024.

It is the first time a UCI World Cup event has been held in Tulsa, which will also be the final qualifier for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. It will be held at the 25,000-square-foot Hardesty National BMX Stadium located within the national headquarters for USA BMX at 490 N. Lansing Ave. in East Tulsa.

“We are incredibly proud and honored to be selected to host the only 2024 BMX Racing World Cup stop in the United States,” said BA Anderson, CEO of USA BMX. “All eyes will be on our world-class stadium right here in Tulsa that opened just one year ago. This effort was a labor of love in collaboration with the City of Tulsa and Tulsa Sports Commission, and we are thrilled to bring it to the international stage in such a big way.”

Hardesty National BMX Stadium—spanning two football fields long with seating for 2,000 spectators—is the focal point of the expansive BMX Headquarters complex that relocated to Tulsa in February 2022 and also includes the BMX Hall of Fame and USA BMX Foundation. The outdoor free-span arena hosts weekly racing events, coaching clinics, Stacyc World Finals, elite training camps as well as World Cup events. It is the only Olympic-caliber covered training facility in the United States, boasting an Olympic-sized start ramp with a professional-grade track.

“We are thrilled to partner with USA BMX to bring this international event to their headquarters in downtown Tulsa,” said Joel Koester, director of sales for the Tulsa Sports Commission. “Not only will this bring an estimated 230 athletes from 30 countries here to experience our city, but as the event will be broadcast globally, it will shine a significant spotlight on the Tulsa region and the incredible biking scene we have.”

The BMX Racing World Cup is one of several UCI World Championships that celebrate achievements in indoor and outdoor cycling.

“It is an immense pleasure to bring our 2024 UCI BMX Racing World Cup to Tulsa. This new stopover promises to be particularly intense as it represents the last two UCI World Cup rounds where qualification points for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games can be earned,” UCI President David Lappartient said. “The Hardesty National BMX Stadium, headquarters of USA BMX, will provide a fitting stage for this very important weekend of racing. I thank our new hosts for their commitment to our sport and its athletes.”

About USA BMX

Established as the American Bicycle Association in 1977 and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ABA is the nation’s largest cycling organization with more than 70,000 members with combined racing and freestyle events at more than 300 sanctioned BMX tracks across North America and Canada. ABA empowers and elevates the early stages of bicycle development by creating opportunities through facility development, programs, and national events. As a result, ABA has developed a structured blueprint. A cyclist can progress from humble beginnings on a balance bike to becoming a BMX Olympian by establishing these roots.

Through STEAM, scholarships, freestyle amateur events, the national series, the Olympics and new facilities built across the United States, these four pillars under the USA BMX organization will impact young riders and families: USA BMX Foundation, USA BMX Freestyle, USA BMX Racing and ABA Ethos.

About the Tulsa Sports Commission   

In 1993, the Tulsa Sports Commission (TSC) was created to attract and develop sporting events and conventions for economic impact on the Tulsa community. Since its inception, the TSC has accounted for more than $500 million in economic impact to the Tulsa region by helping attract, market and host championships and sports-related events and conventions to the region. The TSC is a founding member of the National Association of Sports Commissions and lives within the Tulsa Regional Tourism umbrella organization. Learn more at visittulsa.com/sports.

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