91�ȱ�

The BMX Racing World Championships get underway in France today with some of the world's best bicycle motocross racers in action over the next few days!

Last year, Bethany Shriever took gold in the women's event, just weeks after winning the women's Olympic title in Tokyo.

Other categories include the men's Elite event where fellow TeamGB Olympian Kye Whyte is set to compete, fresh from his recent success at the European Championships where he won gold.

So what can we expect and who should we be looking out for? Here is everything you need to know about this year's Championships.

What is BMX?

Bicycle motocross - or BMX - is a cycle sport performed on special BMX bikes.

It started in the late 1960s in California on the west coast of the US.

There are two main types of BMX: BMX racing and BMX freestyle.

BMX racing, is a type of off-road bicycle race. Here up to eight racers sprint around a specially designed track made of various jumps and rollers before crossing a finish line.

In BMX freestyle, riders perform routines consisting of sequences of tricks that can be carried out on various surfaces including flat ground, dirt jumps, a halfpipe or on constructed ramps. In competition, riders are judged on the quality of their performance.

These BMX World Championships are for BMX racing.

What's happening?

Around 3,000 riders from over 50 different countries are expected to compete in front of spectators on the 450m-long purpose-built track at the Nantes Parc des Expositions in western France until Sunday.

The main event will be the contest in the Championships class, where six different categories will be represented: Elite (for riders aged 19 and over), U23 (riders aged between 19-22) and Junior (for 17 and 18-year-old riders) - for both men and women.

Who are the ones to watch?

There will be 14 British racers competing across the elite, under-23 and junior categories at this year's Championships.

In the women's field all eyes will be on defending champion Beth Shriever, who currently holds the Olympic, world, AND European titles!

However the 23-year-old cyclist will have stiff competition from the likes of Laura Smulders of the Netherlands, who currently tops the Women Elite standings in front of the British rider after claiming the two opening World Cup rounds.

Also competing is BMX legend and two-time Olympic champion Mariana Pajon. Known as the 'Queen of BMX', the Colombian cyclist is one of the most successful riders in the history of the sport.

Niek Kimmann is the one to watch in the men's Elite event. The Dutchman is the reigning Olympic and World Champion. In fact the 26-year-old is already a three-time World Champion - could he make this one his fourth?

British hopes in the men's event will be led by Kye Whyte who won silver at last year's Tokyo Olympic Games. The 22-year-old heads to Nantes in excellent form, after recently clinching his first European BMX title as well as a bronze medal at the UCI BMX Racing World Cup in Glasgow.