Returning to Australia for the first time in more than a decade, Greater Shepparton will be joining the likes of Madrid, Manchester and Paris as hosts of a UCI BMX Supercross World Cup event.
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Councillor Seema Abdullah said she welcomed all competitors and their teams to the region.
“It is with great pleasure we welcome the world’s best BMX riders to Greater Shepparton. It is an outstanding achievement for our community to be able to host such a prestigious event,” Cr Abdullah said.
“Over the last decade Council has worked hard at establishing a major event program to boost the local economy and help create jobs and growth for our tourism and business sectors. This has seen a growing number of state, national and international events grace our events calendar.”
In preparation for the BMX Supercross World Cup Greater Shepparton has already seen multiple visits from a number of international teams and visits from our nation’s top BMX riders over the past few months.
The weekend BMX Supercross World Cup event is expected to attract more than 3,000 people to the region with over 50% expected to travel from intrastate, interstate and internationally.
To further boost visitation across the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup the Bikes and Bites Festival which is a celebration of the international cycling on Saturday evening at the Victoria Park Lake with food trucks, music, entertainment, freestyle demonstrations, sports and water activities is expected to attract an additional 3,000 to 5,000 visitors.
“Hosting these events really highlights the benefits of providing quality infrastructure with the events expected to generate an excess of $1 million in economic stimulation for our region. This event will help to fill our city’s accommodation, our restaurants and eating establishments, our retail and tourism sectors to help keep local businesses busy and the economy strong,” Cr Abdullah said.
Top riders to keep an eye on this weekend will include Australians Anthony Dean and Caroline Buchanan both former Olympic finalists, up and coming aussie young guns Kai and Saya Sakakibara and international riders including the USA’s Connor Fields the 2016 Olympic men’s champion and Alise Willoughby the 2016 Olympic silver medallist and 2019 women’s World Champion.
The BMX Supercross World Cup begins on Friday with open practise from 9:00am to 1:30pm and the BMX Australia Nationals Series racing from 5:00pm. Friday is free for spectators.
The BMX Supercross World Cup proper will kick off on Saturday with round one, with the event village open from 9am Saturday and 10:15am Sunday. Spectators will be able to watch the practice races in the mornings with racing beginning at noon both days. Tickets for the BMX Supercross racing on Saturday and Sunday will be available to purchase online until Thursday 30 January. Spectators will be able to purchase tickets at the gate over the weekend.
For more information including event schedules, site maps and to purchase tickets head to bmxworldcup.com
