Double defending champion Maris Strombergs still the man to beat in BMX
In the women's event, Colombia's Mariana Pajón looks well placed to defend her Olympic crown
Maris Strombergs, known as 'the Machine', has won both BMX events since the discipline joined the Olympic Games at Beijing 2008 (Photo: Getty Images/Harry How)
Maris Strombergs of Latvia will be the man to beat when the Rio 2016 Olympic Games BMX competition begins at the Olympic BMX Centre on Wednesday (17 August).
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Strombergs is aiming for his third consecutive gold medal, having won at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, but he will face challenges from Liam Phillips of Great Britain, Connor Fields from the USA and Sam Willoughby from Australia.
Mariana Pajón of Columbia, gold medallist in London 2012, is the leading women's contender, with Caroline Buchanan of Australia, Laura Smulders from the Netherlands and three-time USA champion Alise Post all in with a shot at medals.
BMX queen Mariana Pajón prepares to rule again in Rio
At Rio 2016, 16 countries will compete in the women's event and 32 in the men's. Riders complete a time trial for seeding before a three-run quarter-finals stage, with the winners advancing to a three-run semi-finals phase to qualify for the one-run medals race.
Points are earned on placings, so first receives one point, second two, and so on. At the end of three runs, the four riders with the least amount of points advances to the next round.
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The event was introduced as an Olympic sport in 2008 and the races are held on a specially designed course set inside a stadium to test cyclists' skills with a series of jumps, berms, ramps and straights.
After two days of qualifiers, eight finalists race one run, with the top three across the line earning the medals in men's and women's medal races on 19 August.
