1. When it runs
BMX racing takes two days, July 29 and 30, 2021. Times below are Japan time (UTC+9).
- Thursday, July 29, 10:00 to 12:00: men's and women's quarterfinals
- Friday, July 30, 10:00 to 12:20: men's and women's semifinals and finals
2. How the format works
Each event has 24 riders. The quarterfinals are four heats of six riders, each racing three runs. The top 16 move on to the semifinals and the top eight make the final. Places are decided on points and time, and unlike Rio 2016 there is no individual time trial.
3. Where it happens
Racing and freestyle are both at Ariake Urban Sports Park on the Tokyo waterfront, close to the Athletes' Village. Skateboarding shares the venue.
4. Riders to watch
The strongest teams come from the Netherlands, France, the USA, Australia and Colombia.
- Women: Colombia's Mariana Pajón is chasing a third straight Olympic gold after coming back from a 2019 knee injury to win Pan American gold in Lima. Her main challengers are two-time world champion Alise Willoughby (USA) and 2018 world champion Laura Smulders (Netherlands).
- Men: Connor Fields (USA) is defending his Rio title against Niek Kimmann and Twan van Gendt (Netherlands), Joris Daudet and Sylvain André (France), and Rio bronze medalist Carlos Ramírez (Colombia).
5. A short Olympic history
BMX racing joined the Olympics at Beijing 2008 and has been on the program ever since. The USA leads the medal count with five, ahead of Colombia with four. Latvia's Māris Štrombergs and Colombia's Mariana Pajón are the only riders with two Olympic titles each.