BMX racers ready to shock and awe

BEIJING (Reuters) - BMX racers make their debut at the Olympics next week promising to shed their "punk kid" image and prove they are worthy athletes.

The introduction this year of bicycle motocross as an Olympic event has raised some eyebrows among the sporting elite, but the Games ideals "faster, higher, stronger" definitely apply to BMX, the U.S. team said on Friday.

"To see what is possible on a BMX bike will have people in awe. For the TV viewership it can't get any better," said U.S. competitor Donny Robinson, hours after arriving in Beijing to prepare for the August 20-21 competition.

Action-packed races last just 40 seconds, with the bikers launching themselves off a steep incline, which is higher than a three-storey building, and hitting speeds of 40 miles an hour as they skid round banked turns and make the big jumps.

"It is just like a roller coaster riding on that track. You are going at 40 miles an hour off the start in less than two seconds. It's a 'hang on' kind of event," Robinson said.

The sport was nurtured in the Californian counter-culture of the 1970s and has something of a "bad ass" reputation, but the Olympic embrace should help clean up its image.

"We are good role models. We are not just some punk kids riding around town vandalizing things and stuff. We realize our obligations to kids," said Robinson, 25, who dreams of starring in Broadway musicals when his BMX days are over.

The Olympics feature many "noble sports", such as rowing, fencing and swimming, which have deep-rooted traditions but limited appeal among younger generations.

After successfully absorbing beach volleyball into the Games, sporting authorities now hope that BMX races will provide a further dose of youthful glamour.

"They are trying to appeal to a younger element and add more of the extreme element," said U.S. women's racer, Jill Kintner. "It's really cool how this has opened a whole new world to us and everyone else."

While the BMX racers expect to thrill the Olympics with their high-speed skills, they themselves admit to being bowled over by the sporting extravaganza that has bought almost 11,000 athletes from 204 nations to China.

"We had a preconceived notion about what this was all about, but when we stepped off the plane and saw the scale we had to deal with, it added a whole new element," Robinson said. "I think we are in awe of what we are able to be part of."

(Editing by Alex Richardson)