Close to 450 riders of all ages are descending on Airdrie for this weekend's 2017 Alberta Provincial BMX Cup.  

Shane Carson, the Promotions and Communications Lead at the Airdrie BMX Club says the Alberta Cup series takes place every year at different tracks aorund the province.

"We're basically hosting Alberta Cup number five and six.  This is the third stop on the circuit for 2017.  We were fortunate enough to host it last year as well and we're excited to be back on the circuit."

Last year's event drew 500 riders but Carson expects it to be a bit smaller turnout this year.  "We're coming off of the World Championships at Rockhill (South Carolina) and there's still a number of families coming back from that event.  We had 21 riders from Airdrie BMX and their families taking part in that event.  Because it's the week after that we expect a smaller turnout but there will still be 400 to 450 riders taking part."

Carson says the Airdrie club were ecstatic to have so many riders from the city qualify for the World Championships.  "Alberta's known as a hotspot for competitive BMX racing.  We have a large number of riders.  We see competitors taking part in cometitions throughout Alberta, British Columbia, sometimes in Ontario and at international events like the one in Rockhill."

Just over 3,900 riders from countries around the world took part in the world championships.

At this weekend's Alberta Cup event in Airdrie riders of every age are involved.  "We have riders as young as five and as old as 50 plus taking part in the Alberta Cup series.  Men and women, boys and girls.  That's the cool thing about the sport, it's for any age, any ability and it's one of the few sports where you can compete as a family.  We've got a lot of families where the kids race and also mom and dad are out there competing in their classes."

Races begin Saturday at 11:00 am and Sunday at 10:00 am.  The Airdrie BMX track is located in Fletcher Park and admission to the event is free.  

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