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For someone who has never seen BMX,
I would describe it as motocross but with a bicycle
Its a dirt track with obstacles and lots of jumps.
we never sit down on our bikes and we race 8 riders at a time.
The first one to cross the finish line is the winner.
The equipment that you need for BMX is a full face helmet
goggles and racing gloves
We also always wear a thick shirt with elbow guards to protect us.
We have trousers that are similar to the ones used in motocross.
The ones that we use are lighter and have knee guards inside.
Our shoes are designed to clip to the bike's pedal
We are attached to the bike at all times.
The bikes that we race with are specific to BMX
We only have one brake at the back
The bike has 20 inch wheels and it is very light.
The seat is set very low because we never sit down
The only time that we sit down and use the brakes is at the end of the race.
In BMX you need a lot of power
We workout many hours in the gym
The muscles that we use are very similar to that of a 100m sprinter
We need to have strong legs.
We focus on strength training, with sit ups
and weight lifting; our arms have to be strong as well.
We never sit down as we are holding the bike at all times.
It's a very generic sport where you have to be strong,
but with a lot of power in your legs.
We normally spend around 6 to 7 hours training every day
BMX has many rules. The basics are...
during races we have a lot of riders, but only 8 get to the final.
So we have elimination rounds until only 8 riders are left for the final
and the final lasts for around 38 seconds.
The start gate is elevated to 8 metres high, the same as supercross.
You cannot cross the lanes for the first 10 metres.
The rest of the track has white lines that you are not allowed to cross.
Contact is allowed, as it is an extreme sport.
During the last 10 metres you are not allowed to switch lanes.
Every rider should stay in their own lane
at the finish line there is a photo finish to decide who is the winner.