BMX racing emerged from the motocross craze that took off in California in the 1960s, as youngsters began racing their bikes on improvised tracks all over the state. BMX began to develop into a proper sport in the early 1980s; in 1981 the International BMX Federation was founded, with the first BMX world championships following one year later. BMX was integrated into the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 1993, thereby clearing the first hurdle required to feature at the Olympic Games.
