The Chandler BMX program will move from championship practice and finals into four Challenge competition days, bringing riders from more than 40 nations to the Brisbane SX International BMX Centre.
Running from Friday, 17 July to Saturday, 25 July, the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Championships will divide its nine-day schedule between the Championship and Challenge programs.
Three Days Decide The Championship Titles
The opening Friday will place the championship field on the track for official practice from 10am to 2pm.
Meet Your Heroes Day will run alongside the session, with selected members of the Australian team taking part in appearances, signing sessions and a live question-and-answer program.
Qualification will follow on Saturday, 18 July. Riders are scheduled on the track from 9:10am until 4pm, with the first race beginning at noon.
The Championship finals and awards will be held on Sunday, 19 July. Track activity will run from 9:50am to 3pm, and the first race is again scheduled for noon.
Sunday’s winners will earn the right to wear the UCI rainbow jersey until the following world championships. The jersey carries bands of blue, red, black, yellow and green.
Australian Riders Face An International Field
Olympic champion Saya Sakakibara and Gold Coast rider Izaac Kennedy are among the Australians identified as contenders in Chandler.
Sakakibara has won the past three overall UCI BMX Racing World Cup titles. She moved back to the Gold Coast and has spent more time riding the Brisbane track before the world championships.
Kennedy won a Brisbane World Cup round in 2024 before claiming the overall series title that year. He followed that result with silver at the 2025 UCI World Championships.
Defending women’s world champion Bethany Shriever arrives with three world titles and an Olympic gold medal from Tokyo 2020.
The women’s field also includes Canadian Molly Simpson, who won the opening round of the 2026 World Cup, five-time European champion Laura Smulders and Olympic bronze medallist Zoé Claessens.
Alongside Kennedy, the men listed to watch include Eddy Clerté of France, Dutch rider Jaymio Brink, Swiss champion Loris Aeberhard and Colombia’s Diego Arboleda Ospina.
Aeberhard recorded his first two World Cup victories in consecutive rounds before Brisbane. Arboleda Ospina collected the third World Cup win of his career during the opening weekend of the 2026 series in Sarrians, France.
The competing-nations list covers Australia and more than 40 other national teams from across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
Chandler BMX Program Continues With Challenge Racing
After the Championship finals, Challenge practice will take over the track on Monday, 20 July and Tuesday, 21 July.
Car parks will open at 7am on both days, followed by spectator entry at 7:30am and track activity from 8am.
Challenge competition begins on Wednesday, 22 July and continues for four consecutive days. The first race is scheduled for 10am each day, with awards included in every competition-day program.
Riders will be on the track until 4pm on Wednesday and Thursday. Venue closing is scheduled for 4:30pm on both days.
Friday’s track program will run until 4:20pm, followed by a scheduled venue closure at 5pm. The final Saturday session will place riders on the track until 3:55pm, with the venue due to close at 4:30pm.
All closing times may change if racing is delayed.
Eight-Metre Start Ramp Shapes The Trackside View
The Brisbane SX International BMX Centre includes an eight-metre start ramp, placing riders above the opening section of the course before the gate drops.
Each start follows a random delay of between 0.1 and 2.7 seconds. Riders then receive four lights and four beeps, with the gate beginning to fall on the fourth signal.
Once racing begins, riders can pedal at up to 220 revolutions per minute, approaching four complete rotations each second.
Ground-pass spectators will watch from trackside areas between the start hills and Turn 3. Grandstand seats run along the finish straight, while outdoor screens will operate between Turns 1 and 3 and near the awards stage.
Another screen will be available inside the Anna Meares Velodrome, which also provides seating and undercover protection away from the track.
Entry, Transport And Venue Facilities
About 40,000 spectators are expected across the nine-day event.
Parking at Sleeman Sports Complex and the Belmont Shooting Complex must be booked in advance. Bus routes 250 and 270 stop at the Sleeman Centre on Old Cleveland Road, and bicycle parking will be available near the Brisbane Aquatic Centre.
Ticket QR codes will be scanned through the AXS app. Visitors will also pass through security screening, including bag checks, when entering the venue.
Food and drink outlets, free water refill points, first aid, accessible toilets and an accessible viewing platform will operate within the precinct. Pram storage and baby-change facilities will also be available.
Umbrellas and camp chairs are not permitted. Smoking and vaping are prohibited within the ticketed area, with a separate designated area outside the perimeter.
The published schedule remains subject to change, including adjustments caused by racing delays.
Published 15-July-2026
