cruiser revolution

It’s finally happened.

The cruiser class has been split into two proficiencies: expert and sport.

When did USA BMX/BMX Canada institute this change, you say?

Well…they actually haven’t.

It was Fédération québécoise des sports cyclistes (FQSC), the sanctioning body in Quebec, Canada that made the change.

I first heard of this development when I was catching up with Quebec racer, Andrew Mueller, at a race a few weeks back.

Andrew Mueller lays the power down at MBMX (pic by Steve Di Monte)

I was stoked to hear the news. I’ve been thinking about this idea for a while and was always disappointed when it would be raised on BMX racing forums and then quickly dismissed (shot down is a better description) by folks saying “it would be harder to fill gates”, “there are already too many classes”, “go race 20 then”…blah, blah.

Turns out these arguments to stick with the status quo are all bunk if the results in Quebec are anything to go by.

According to Mueller, more and more riders are entering races and it’s not uncommon to get 2-3 full gates in the “sport’ class alone.

Older riders in Quebec are now returning to the sport (or just giving it a try for the first time) because the intimidation factor is significantly lower. They no longer have to gate up immediately with highly experienced/skilled riders that are not afraid to bang bars or hit the big jumps.

BMX racing’s appeal and selling proposition was always “nobody has to sit on the bench.” Yet the Cruiser class (in USA BMX/BMX Canada) has always kept some people on the bench by not offering an option to people that are not willing or interested in racing an expert-level class.

Kudos to FQSC for making this important move.

Looks like it’s really paying off for them.

Will USA BMX/BMX Canada have the courage to make a similar change?

We’ll have to see.