Counter-culture BMX makes debut in Beijing

By Deborah Charles

BEIJING (Reuters) - Olympic cycling moves to the gut-wrenching world of BMX on Wednesday where cyclists on tiny bicycles ride at high speeds on a dirt circuits and make spectacular jumps in the event's debut at the Beijing Games.

The newest event, aimed at drawing a younger, X-Games audience to the Olympics, is expected to draw rowdy crowds at the Laoshan course.

Synonymous with the Californian way of life, BMX, an acronym for bicycle motocross, has its roots in the 1960s and 1970s when teenagers started to imitate the motocross scene with modified bicycles.

On the Laoshan circuit, 32 men and 16 women, dressed in heavy protective padding and helmets, will career down a starting ramp, take tight turns and make spectacular jumps in a short race that is finished almost as soon as it begins.

Top riders include Americans Donny Robinson, Kyle Bennett and Mike Day, Britain's Shanaze Reade and Sarah Walker of New Zealand.

Some BMX riders, including Australia's Luke Madill and the American team, have been training on specially built replicas of the Laoshan circuit which includes an eight-meter tall starting ramp and long, fast jumps.

The riders welcomed their involvement in the Olympics.

"It's good to watch and it's going to show what BMX is about," Madill said. "A lot of people think it is kids riding on the street.