Action BMX is bringing some of the best bicycle motocross riders in the nation to the Surrey track later this month.
The Newton-based club is hosting the Canada Cup and BC BMX Premier Series May 27-28. A purse of $16,000 is up for grabs, and organizers are hoping the cash will entice the sport’s best to show up at the Newton race track at the end of the month.
Half of the prize money will be distributed on the Sunday, when the Action BMX $8000 Shootout takes to the track.
“The bigger prize is to encourage more pros to come here,” said Trevor Brown of Action BMX. “On the Saturday, the prize money is split between so many categories – guys and girls, elite and junior. On Sunday, the eight riders in the (Shootout) final stand to make a lot more.”
The Canada Cup races are the first two of seven in the series for elite and junior racers, which was launched in 2012 to give riders a chance to compete in national competition. The BC Premier Series races for amateurs are the third and fourth of seven on the 2017 schedule. The first two were Feb. 18-19 in Abbotsford. with Race Five set for Ridge Meadows BMX on June 18. The finals, which will be the sixth and seventh races, are back in Abbotsford Sept. 16-17.
“Some of the best in the world will be here,” said Brown, hoping the lure of Alex Tougas and Tory Nyhaug will draw fans to the track. Tougas, a Pitt Meadows native, was fourth at last year’s BMX World Championships in Medellin, Colombia, while Nyhaug placed fifth at last summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“These guys are elite athletes, they are amazing to watch.”
Brown says 300 to 400 racers are expected to attend the Canada Cup weekend, and adds “it wouldd be nice” to top 500 competitors.
