Jamaica BMX National Championship puts the island on cycling map

Oracabessa, St. Mary – Competitive cycling in Jamaica will be wheeling its way into the spotlight at the inaugural Jamaica BMX National Championship.

The Eden Park BMX track in Jack’s River, Oracabessa St. Mary will be coming alive on Saturday, July 4^th as riders from across the island are set to compete. Eden Park is the only BMX track in the English speaking Caribbean which received a boost from the Digicel Foundation last year when it was resurfaced to meet International standards.

The Jamaica BMX National Championship is the first high profile event to be held on the newly resurfaced track and is being staged by BMX Jamaica, an affiliate of the Jamaica Cycling Federation in collaboration with the Oracabessa Foundation and Singletrack Jamaica.

The championship will see young riders aged 9 – 18, competing in ‘Challenge Categories’, winners of which will be crowned ‘national champions’. There is also an ‘Elite Category’ for riders who are licensed with the Jamaica Cycling Federation and are the fastest in the sport.

“I am expecting between 30 and 50 riders in the challenge categories for the championship,” said Jonathan Gosse, Executive Director of the Oracabessa Foundation. “We should have around 8 – 10 elite riders.”

BMX champion Maliek Byndloss will be among the elite riders as he seeks to earn qualifying points on his road to representing Jamaica at the 2016 Olympics.  The 19-year-old is a two time World Champion, seven times USA Cycling Champ and seven times National Champion. He finished the 2013 season as the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) No. 6 ranked junior rider in the world, and switched his riding allegiance from the United States to Jamaica.

“Depending on the level of the race, riders earn points towards their attempt to qualify for the Olympics. All National Championships earn riders UCI points,” said Gosse. “The great thing is the Jamaican National Championship earns the exact same amount of points as the United States National Championship or any other country for that matter.”

Byndloss will have to earn UCI racing points to qualify for the upcoming Summer Olympic Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August, 2016.

This competition is a significant step for BMX, a fledging sport in Jamaica. “To date the BMX Track has really been a local Jacks River affair.  The track now needs to become a legitimate parish, national and regional resource,” said Gosse.