This weekend will see Ireland’s premier BMX rider Kelvin Batey competing in the second round of the UCI Supercross World Cup in Manchester, UK. The UK based rider is the reigning Masters World Champion, and this year has switched back to elite racing with his sights firmly on Olympic qualification. While the qualification for the Rio Olympics is centred ultimately on a top performance at the 2016 UCI BMX World Championships in Medellín, Colombia on the 25-29 May, riders must also amass UCI qualification points in key events along the way. The BMX World Cup this weekend takes place in Manchester from the 9-10 April.

Last weekend Batey finished 16th out of 85 starters in Round 1 & 2 of the UEC European Elite Cup in BMX Zolder, the venue where he was crowned 2015 UCI Worlds Masters Champion, a title which he won in emphatic style. Ireland’s Elite BMX racer, who has been at the pinnacle of international BMX racing for many years, winning numerous UK Elite titles and UCI World medals, also won the World Masters Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand during the 2013 event.

Over the next 6 weeks Batey will have a full race programme, competing in World Cups and European Cups across Europe. The 34 year old had previously qualified an Olympic spot for the 2008 games in Beijing, China, racing for GB, but missed out due to injury. Following that he declared for Ireland and 2012 saw him crash out while in a qualification spot for the London Olympics. Now, with the full backing of Cycling Ireland High Performance BMX programme, Kelvin plans on adding Olympian to his illustrious BMX career.

Cycling Ireland’s BMX Commission secretary Kevin McShane said “We are excited to be working with Kelvin on his Olympic journey, and to be working on the BMX high performance pathway, having someone like Kelvin has definitely helped to raise the standard of racing and attract new riders. We have a great young group of riders on the National Race Team who are coming through, and we are always on the lookout for new talent, looking for people with the potential to shine on the world stage.”

The World Championships take place in Medellín, Colombia from the 26-29 May 2016.

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