Medellin (Colombia), May 26 (IANS): The 21st BXM Cycling World Championship has opened with the participation of athletes from 60 countries and regions.

Some 2,500 cyclists will take part in the competition, including 350 elite athletes, until next Sunday, reports Xinhua.

BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes. The championship was officially opened here on Wednesday at Antonio Roldan Betancur Challenger Track.

The first competitions were in the children and U-16 youth categories.

The main attraction is the participation of Olympic champion, Colombian Mariana Pajon, who is native of Medellin and leads the women's national team including Estefania Gomez, Maria Paulina Osorno and Andrea Escobar.

The Colombian men's elite team includes Carlos Mario Oquendo, Carlos Alberto Ramirez, Juan Carlos Diaz, Miguel Alejandro Calixto, Diego Alejandro Arboleda and Andres Eduardo Jimenez, as well as the substitutes Sergio Ignacio Salazar and Andres Felipe Lopez.

The BMX World Championship will grant several tickets for Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.

Several national teams have trained in the cycling complex of Medellin including Dominican Republic led by Alfredo Abreu, Germany, Latvia, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Ecuador and Bolivia.