Niek Kimmann won the first men's race in this year's UCI BMX Supercross World Cup series near Paris ©Twitter

Sylvain André’s defence of his International Cycling Union BMX Supercross World Cup title on home ground got off to an unhappy start today as he wheeled in almost a minute adrift of the field after coming to grief early in the race at Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris.

Andre finished seventh in a race won by Niek Kimmann of The Netherlands.

The Dutchman won the first men’s elite final in a time of 33.488sec, finishing ahead of two home riders – Romain Mahieu and Joris Daudet, who clocked 33.678 and 33.842 respectively.

World champion Corben Sharrah of the United States was sixth in 34.957.

Laura Smulders of The Netherlands, centre, was the winner of the first elite women's race in the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup series which got underway near Paris ©Twitter
Laura Smulders of The Netherlands, centre, was the winner of the first elite women's race in the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup series which got underway near Paris ©Twitter

Laura Smulders of The Netherlands won the women’s final, clocking 37.121.

Natalie Afremova of Russia was second in 37.671, with Australia’s Saya Sakibara third in 37.889, and Colombia’s Mariana Pajon fourth in 38.478.

The French venue, new to the International Cycling Union (UCI) calendar, is hosting the first and second round of the eight-long series this weekend.