The countdown to the 2012 UCI BMX World Championships in Birmingham has begun with Copenhagen handing over the official UCI flag and the launch of the official competition website.

After an exciting week of racing in Copenhagen last month, the closing ceremony of the event saw the official UCI flag handed to Garry Peal, representative of Birmingham, who commented: "We'd like to thank the people of Copenhagen for welcoming us to this year's event and want to invite the world of BMX racing to Birmingham in 2012 as we look to build on the success of this week and again take BMX racing to the next level."

The competition's official website, www.bmxworldchamps.com, has also launched with full details about the event.

The 2012 World Championships will see the first indoor world championships in a number of years as the event takes to Birmingham's National Indoor Arena (NIA) where a bespoke track will be built for the duration of the event which runs from the 24th-27th May 2012, slightly earlier in the calendar due to the London Olympic Games.

The BMX World Championships next year will be the last event where Elite riders have the opportunity to score ranking points that enable their nation to qualify for the Olympics in London.