The World's Best BMX Racers Are Coming to Sarasota

Sarasota is about to return to the global stage. This Halloween weekend, the world's oldest continuously operating BMX track will host the final two rounds of the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Cup, and local pro Rayne Lankford is already helping put the destination on the map ahead of an even bigger 2027.

The Season Finale Comes to Sarasota BMX

On October 31 and November 1, Sarasota BMX will host Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2026 UCI BMX Racing World Cup, the only U.S. stop on this year's 10-round international calendar. It's a fitting final chapter: the season's overall champions in the Men Elite, Women Elite, Men Under-23, and Women Under-23 categories will be crowned right on Sarasota's home track, after a season that's wound through France, the Netherlands, and China.

The stakes go beyond a season title, too. These rounds fall within the qualification window for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, meaning every lap carries weight for riders chasing a spot on the Olympic start line. BMX Racing has been part of the Games since Beijing 2008, and the road to LA officially opened August 1st, with Sarasota’s World Cup being a big circle on racers’ calendars

"BMX Racing is an incredibly popular Olympic cycling discipline that continues to grow globally," said UCI President David Lappartient, who credited Sarasota BMX, USA BMX, and Visit Sarasota County for their commitment to bringing the sport to new audiences.

It's a vote of confidence in the venue itself. Sarasota BMX has been sanctioned to host UCI World Cup finals in both 2026 and 2027, and the track's pedigree backs it up, it's the oldest continuously running BMX facility in the country, dating to 1974, and was upgraded to full UCI World Cup standards in 2016, complete with an 8-meter starting hill built for elite international competition.

"We're incredibly honored to welcome the UCI BMX Racing World Cup finals to Sarasota and to share this moment with the community that has supported Sarasota BMX for more than 50 years," said Erma Miller, longtime spokesperson and volunteer for Sarasota BMX.

For spectators, the World Cup format itself is part of the draw. Rather than the three-moto qualifying structure typical of domestic racing, riders take on a single qualifying run and a last-chance qualifier before advancing through knockout rounds of up to eight racers, all the way down to an eight-rider final; all in a single day, with two full rounds over the weekend. Racing will stream live on the UCI's YouTube channel, though geo-blocking applies for viewers outside the event region.

A Hometown Ambassador for the Road Ahead

While the track gets ready for its biggest weekend yet, Visit Sarasota County is already building momentum toward 2027, and they've enlisted local talent to do it.

The tourism bureau has entered into a content partnership with Rayne Lankford, a professional BMX athlete and Sarasota County resident, naming him an ambassador for the region's sports marketing efforts. As part of the agreement, Visit Sarasota County will produce photo and video content of Lankford around the destination, using it across print, digital, and social channels to welcome both visiting athletes and leisure travelers heading into 2027.

It's a partnership built around dual appeal: showcasing the area's training-grounds for serious athletes, while also selling the lifestyle side of Sarasota County to fans and spectators looking for their next trip. Lankford is expected to compete in both the 2026 and 2027 World Cup editions, both of which culminate at Sarasota BMX.

"Competing on the global stage starts with dedicated training at home, and we couldn't be prouder to promote Rayne as he returns to the track as a contender for the World Cup and as an ambassador for our destination," said Erin Duggan, President and CEO of Visit Sarasota County. "When our community contributes to such high-caliber sports facilities like this, it's important we do our part to promote them, attract athletes and events, and maximize the return on that investment."

That investment is already paying dividends. Between October 2024 and September 2025, more than 75 events backed by Visit Sarasota County drew nearly 300,000 attendees, generated 44,000 hotel room nights, and produced $98.6 million in economic impact across the county, numbers that make the case for why landing back-to-back UCI World Cup finales is a win for the region.

Why It Matters

Taken together, the World Cup announcement and the Lankford partnership tell the same story from two angles: Sarasota isn't just borrowing the spotlight for one big weekend; it's positioning itself as a long-term home for BMX Racing. A world-class facility, a community with 50-plus years of history in the sport, a local pro carrying the flag, and two more years of World Cup racing on the calendar all point toward Sarasota becoming a fixture on the road to Los Angeles 2028.

For now, the countdown is on to October 31. Full competition schedules and ticket information are available at sarasotacountyparks.com, and fans looking to follow Sarasota County's broader sports tourism push can find more at sports.visitsarasota.com.