track make over

he BMX tracks at the World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland, have been renovated and modified to optimize training conditions for visiting athletes.
The main track, which was renovated a year ago in order to resemble that of the Olympic Games in Beijing, has been resurfaced for the new season, with changes to a jump in the first straight.
The UCI’s BMX Coordinator Johan Lindström explains that the track will continually evolve to meet the demands of athletes. One of the reasons for the latest change is the ever-improving level of the female athletes training at the WCC.
The UCI’s BMX Track Builder, Tom Ritzenthaler, also carried out significant work on the WCC’s second training track. This smaller, technical, pump track boasts a starting ramp of a similar difficulty to those of the European Championships.
Johan Lindström explains: “This two-man track is ideal to practice gate starts and to learn to be agile and quick with the bike on small jumps”.
The Word Cycling Centre’s BMX training facilities are constantly in high demand from National Federations. Last year, 39 training camps were carried out by 18 National Federations, some of them returning as many as five times.
In the last week, teams from France, New Zealand and Great Britain have trained at the WCC to prepare for the first round of the UCI BMX Supercross in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 8th and 9th.
The Manager of the British team, Keith Reynolds, is enthusiastic about the changes.
"We trained here on several occasions last year and in 2007, and it's good to have some new technical challenges. We really like coming to Aigle and the riders are very happy with the track."