NorCal Mountain Bike Racing

2010 USA Cycling MTB Championship Calendar

2009-11-09T16:49:00.001-08:00

Sites (mostly) and dates are out for the 2010 USA Cycling National Championships:

USA Cycling announced today the dates and locations for the majority of its 2010 National Championship events. Next year, sixteen events will provide professional and amateur cyclists of all ages with opportunities to race for Stars-and-Stripes jerseys in five disciplines of competitive cycling. Of the fourteen events whose locations have been determined, nine are returning to their 2009 locations and five are headed to new host cities.

In June, ultra-endurance off roaders will make their way to Davis, W. Va., where the USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships will be held in conjunction with the 24 Hours of Big Bear. Scheduled for June 12-13, the competition will award Stars-and-Stripes jerseys in nine individual or team categories.

Fourteen more national titles will be up for grabs on the Fourth of July as ultra-endurance riders celebrate our nation’s independence at the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships. The event returns to Breckenridge, Colo. for 2010 to be held in conjunction with the Firecracker 50.

Fat tire enthusiasts will head to a site yet be determined in the Rocky Mountains to battle it out on the dirt at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships, July 15-18. The event will award national titles to pros and amateurs in several disciplines of off-road racing including cross country, downhill, short track cross country, four-cross, single speed, and super D.

Student-athletes will meet again the following month for the second national championship event of their season – the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships. Slated for October 14-17, the event will return to the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort in Truckee, Calif. where coeds will fight for bragging rights in cross country, short track cross country, downhill, and four-cross contests.

All unconfirmed dates and locations will be announced as soon as they become available.

2010 USA Cycling National Championship Calendar
June 12-13: USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships – Hazelton, W. Va.
July 15-18: USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships – TBA, Colo.
July 4: USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships - Breckenridge, Colo.
October 14-17: USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships – Truckee, Calif.

Via www.usacycling.org.

Very interesting that there isn't a venue for the MTB Nationals ... I bet there is a story behind that.

Sea Otter Adds Gran Fondo and Collegiate Cats

2009-11-08T12:00:00.001-08:00

Some new events from this year's Sea Otter Classic:

The Sea Otter Classic has added two new elements for 2010: a Gran Fondo and collegiate cycling categories ... Gran Fondo, or "Big Ride" as it's known in Italy, falls somewhere in between a century tour and a race. Open to all categories of riders, the Gran Fondo challenges you not to compete with your fellow cyclists, but to push yourself against the clock and the elements, all while taking in scenic views and enjoying great food ... The Gran Fondo will offer three fully supported ride distances: a 28-mile coastal route, a 45-mile coastal route and, for the more experienced riders, a 100-mile inland route. The short and middle distances wind along the coastal communities of Marina, Seaside, Monterey and Pacific Grove.

To ensure that there is no shortage of team rivalry at Sea Otter, open collegiate categories have been added to the 19-mile mountain bike Cross Country race scheduled for Sunday, April 18, 2010. Circuit racing will also play host to the young athletes, as a men's open collegiate category will be held on the famed Laguna Seca Raceway on Saturday, April 17, 2010."

Via Bicycle Retailer and Industry News

Fox Racing Shox Looking To Sponsor

2009-11-06T11:37:00.001-08:00

With the 2009 season winding down, it's time to start looking towards 2010 and figuring out who's going to pay for all those entry fees:

FOX is a racing company and we support race events on a technical and grassroots level across the US and globe. If you have a team or are a rider that has what it takes, we want help with your success by sponsoring you with the best performing suspension on the market.

FOX Racing Shox is currently accepting Mountain Bike racing sponsorship applications for the 2010 race season. The deadline is December 19th, 2009. You can also submit your Resume to us via regular mail, details are at the end of this page.

Via FOX RACING SHOX.

‘Race Across the Sky’ Encore

2009-11-05T09:41:00.001-08:00

If you missed it last month, you've got another chance:

After its national, one-night-only debut on Oct. 22, the documentary “Race Across the Sky” will play one more time.
“Race Across the Sky” features the 2009 Leadville Trail 100, Lance Armstrong, Dave Wiens and a cast of thousands of adventurous souls taking on the epic high-elevation race out of Leadville, Colorado.
The encore showing is back to select movie theaters nationwide for only one night on Thursday, Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. EST/ 7 p.m. CST/ 9 p.m. MST and 8 p.m. PST.

Via Competitor.com.

Sea Otter Classic Registration Opens Today

2009-11-02T03:43:00.000-08:00

Get after it:

Sea Otter Classic 2010 registration opens up on November 2.

To help us celebrate our 20th Anniversary, take $10 off your entry fee. Just use Coupon Code SOC20YEAR01 when you register for your favorite Sea Otter event. This offer is good through November 30, 2009. We look forward to see you in April at the Sea Otter Classic Powered by SRAM!

You can register at the Sea Otter Classic website.

2009 TBF 50 Miler Results

2009-10-26T15:41:00.001-07:00

Photos and results are up for yesterday's inaugural TBF Racing 50 Miler:

Congrats to top mens finishers Clint Claassen (1), Nate Byrom (2) and Greg Anderson (3). Dawn Infurna-Bean was the first womens finisher.

2009 Fall CCCX DH #1 Results

2009-10-26T06:36:00.001-07:00

The results for this weekend's CCCX DH opener have been posted. Congratulations to Ian Massey (Stone Racing WTB) and Annemarie Hennes (Family Cycling Center) and Kiran MacKinnon (CCCX) who were the fastest Man, Woman and Junior (respectively).

Nate Philips blog has some photos from the race.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: Oct 24 - 25, 2009

2009-10-22T21:41:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the lack of updates this week, I've been laid out with the H1N1 (or is it just the flu ? how do I know the difference ? should I care ?) since Monday morning. As I still don't feel that well, I'll keep it short and sweet:

CCCX Fall DH #1 (Near Monterey on Saturday): consistently one of the best attended series in Northern California, this is the kickoff for the fall 2009 series. The course is described as "It is going to be a super fast course for the CCCX Fall/Winter DH Series opener. Speeds will be extremely high as recent rains have helped improve the traction on most of the trails. There will be some tricky turns added and some break check spots where tire traction will be tested. This course has some screaming fast spots in it where gravity takes over and it feels like your riding at freeway speed. Plus some slow sections of trail where line choice and rider control will dictate who is best. Most of all it is going to be fun!" Peruse the archives for extensive pics and past race results.
DAWN OF THE SHRED!!! (Yreka, CA/Mt Shasta, CA on Saturday): I've read the website for this three times and I am still not sure exactly what all is going on here. But I think you will have a good time. I looks like there may be bacon involved.
TBF 50-Mile MTB Challenge (Granite Bay near Sacramento on Sunday): TBF Racing (organizers of the early season XC races) branches out with the looong course race to close out there 2009 schedule.
BASP CX #2 (CX race in San Mateo, CA on Sunday): A cyclocross race in the Bay Area at Coyote Point.
Homegrown Cyclocross #1 (Woodward Park in Fresno on Sunday): More CX, Central Valley style. They have the best flyer of the week and a sweet deal for the willing.

Stay well.

CycleFest to Support NorCal HS MTB

2009-10-18T18:33:00.000-07:00

NorCal HS MTB will hold their annual fundraiser next month:

The Bay Area’s cycling social event of the season, the NorCal League’s CycleFest 2009 will feature the CEO of Slipstream Sports, Jonathan Vaughters, as its special guest at its main annual fundraiser, a three-day gathering, November 6-8 in Mill Valley.

Also on show at the CycleFest dinner will be a vintage poster show displaying European poster art with a cycling theme. Elizabeth Norris of Vintage European Posters (www.vepca.com) will be displaying a portion of her collection of original posters from as early as 1890.

The CycleFest 2009 schedule is as follows:
Friday, November 6th: Cocktail reception with Jonathan Vaughters in Mill Valley
Saturday, November 7th: Benefit dinner, silent auction and vintage poster show, hosted by Jonathan Vaughters at the Mill Valley Community Center
Sunday, November 8th: Scenic road ride in Marin countryside with Jonathan Vaughters.

Proceeds from the ticket sales and silent auction go to supporting the Northern California High School Mountain Bike League, so be sure to purchase one for your friend/spouse/partner too! Regular tickets are $150.00, and Patron tickets, which include an intimate cocktail hour with Vaughters, are $195.00. All tickets are available online at http://norcalmtb.org/.

2010 SSWC Date

2009-10-18T17:10:00.001-07:00

I believe that this website says that next year's SingleSpeed World Championship will be held on October 22nd, 2010 in Rotorua, New Zealand.

2009 Collegiate MTB Nationals

2009-10-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

I don't usually fully cover the college MTB racing scene, but the US Championships are being held just up the road from me at Northstar this weekend (and I know a lot of college racers read the site):

Collegiate riders from around the nation are getting ready to converge on the Northstar at Tahoe resort near Truckee, Calif. to race for national titles at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, the second national championship event of the 2009/2010 collegiate cycling season.

The event, slated for October 16-18, is being hosted by the University of Nevada at Reno and will award a total of twenty-two national titles, including the overall team omniums in Divisions I and II. Fort Lewis College and Appalachian State University will look to defend the coveted team crowns they earned a year ago in Banner Elk, N.C.

In addition to all the racing on tap, the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championship Banquet will take place on Saturday night at the Mid-Mountain Lodge. The banquet will feature guest speaker Katerina Nash, a graduate of the University of Nevada at Reno, and will also provide a great opportunity for riders to meet USA Cycling’s new High School and Collegiate Program Manager, Jeffrey Hansen.

Via USA Cycling.

SRAM To Sponsor Sea Otter

2009-10-14T17:44:00.001-07:00

Good news:

SRAM has signed a four-year agreement to be the presenting sponsor of the Sea Otter Classic.

SRAM's industry leadership and broad reach across all aspects of cycling make it the perfect company for presenting sponsorship of Sea Otter. The partnership guarantees continued growth of the event as it prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

"SRAM has been a sponsor and supporter of the Sea Otter Classic since 1995. Much of the success Sea Otter has enjoyed is directly attributable to their generosity," said Frank Yohannan, president of the Sea Otter Classic. "With SRAM's support, we'll continue to present one of the world's premiere cycling events and, more importantly, to introduce a new generation of young people to the wonderful sport of cycling. We look forward to many years of hosting the Sea Otter Classic... Powered by SRAM!"

Via Bicycle Retailer and Industry News

2010 Global Biorhythm Events

2009-10-12T04:15:00.000-07:00

Close on the heels of this season's "Leave No Trace" series ender (this weekend's Knickerbocker 50mi/8hr), preliminary dates and races for next year's series have been announced:

2010 Global Biorhythm Events Schedule
May 1-2: Coolest 8 & 24 Hour Race Against Cancer (Cool, CA) **
June 6: Cool Mountain Bike Race (Cool, CA) **
June 19: Oak Tree Super Deeee (Auburn, CA)
July 18: Boggs 8 & 24 Hour (Cobb, CA) **
July 31: Sugarpine Mountain Bike Race (Foresthill, CA) **
August 14: Oak Tree Super Deeee II (Auburn, CA)
August 21: Boggs Mountain Bash (Cobb, CA) **
September 4-6: Tahoe Sierra 100 (Ice Lakes Lodge, Soda Springs, CA).
Three day stage race OPTION. Racers have the option of doing just the 100, or the three day stage race. Solo racers doing all three days. Or teams of two doing all three stages both racers doing the three stages. Or teams of three with each racer doing one stage each.) **
(**) 2010 Leave No Trace Series races

Via Global Biorhythm Events.

Kernville Fat Tire Fest Next Weekend

2009-10-11T15:16:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up for those of you looking for a non-racing MTB weekend/roadtrip to close out the season:

18th Annual Kernville Fat Tire Festival
October 16-18, 2009

Kernville is where it's at for our 18th annual Kernville Fat Tire Festival staged over three days, October 16, 17 and 18, 2009. Come join us for one, two or three days of total immersion in biking activities for all riding abilities. Bring your riding club or come to meet other riding enthusiasts, just like you.

The town of Kernville (MAP) uses the Sequoia National Forest for a playground, come play with us!

Check out the full details at Mountain River website.

Sand Hill Ranch Sold

2009-10-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

Sad new out of the Bay Area:

Tom Anderson had his gate person announce last week to all of the riders that he has sold the ranch. It is in Escrow, which is an in-between phase until the new owner takes over. Until that time, we are still running as usual.

Obviously, the ranch has been on the market for a while but still quite a loss to the Bay Area gravity community.

2009 Parkfield Classic Results

2009-10-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

Results from last weekend's Parkfield Classic have been posted:

Well, another Parkfield has come and passed, and what a Parkfield it was! A big thanks to everyone who came out and helped make our 20th annual possible.
DH Results
DS Results
STXC Results
XC Results

You can also see some pics here.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: Oct 10 - 11, 2009

2009-10-09T17:41:00.001-07:00

It's a "quality over quantity" weekend for racing:

10/10/09: Knickerbocker 50 Mile and 8 Hour (Cool, CA near Auburn)
10/11/09: Race4Tara-3 (Truckee, CA)

If you're not racing, you should think about heading up to the Marin Biketoberfest, which marries two of the finest things in life on Saturday.

2009 CCCX Fall DH Series Announced

2009-10-08T22:28:00.001-07:00

The CCCX downhill racing series is returning from the summer hiatus with a vengeance for this winter. Here is the fall/winter DH schedule:

10/24/09: CCCX Fall DH #1
11/15/09: CCCX Fall DH #2
11/28/09: CCCX Fall DH #3
12/13/09: CCCX Fall DH #4
01/03/10: CCCX Fall DH #5
01/31/10: CCCX Fall DH #6

All races will be held in Toro Park (near Monterey, CA) and will cost $25 for juniors and $35 for women or men.

You can find more information about this series in the archive.

Race For Tara III Coming This Weekend

2009-10-07T09:43:00.001-07:00

I just got word that everything is a "go" for this race, even with the low temperatures up in Truckee:

This weekend, Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort will serve as host to the 3rd Annual 'Race for Tara,' a benefit DH race weekend to raise funds for the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery Fund and the Christopher Reeve Foundation to find a cure for spinal cord injury.

This year's event will kick-off with race practice on Saturday, October 10 and a party at sundown in the Village at Northstar™ featuring a DJ, video screening, raffle and beer for participants 21+. The race will begin at 11 a.m. sharp on Sunday, October 11 with sport and beginner, 4-wheel, and professional and expert divisions competing on a four mile long course featuring a 1,800 foot descent that begins at Northstar® Resort's summit and ends at mid-mountain (see this page for the complete course for each category).

Donations to participate in the race are $35 for beginner, sport and expert divisions, and $40 for semi-pro and pro classes. In addition, Northstar Resort will offer discounted lift tickets for $25 to registered riders on both Saturday and Sunday of the event weekend. Medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each division, and GIANT Bicycles is sponsoring a $2,500 Pro prize purse.

Among the Pro racers who are expected to compete are US National Short Track Champion Adam Craig and his Giant MTB teammates Carl Decker and Jared Rando, Former US National Downhill Champion Cody Warren, and a possible guest appearance by local rider and multiple X-Games gold medalist Shaun Palmer. The event will conclude Sunday with a huge raffle that at previous 'Race for Tara' events has been the highlight of the race weekend.

Obviously, this is a great race and Northstar has taken it up a notch with the Saturday night party (see here for details). I'll be heading up to help support the cause.

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: Oct 3 -4, 2009

2009-10-02T12:28:00.001-07:00

Racing is starting to wind down for the year, so for this weekend's calendar I am opening it up nationwide. In case, you are looking for a serious roadtrip:

10/03/09: Whiskeytown 9-5 / 24 (NorCal, near Redding)
10/03/09: Parkfield Classic (Central CA, near nothing [ed: kidding])
10/03/09: Road Apple Rally (NM)
10/03/09: Bryan Texas Utilities Power Pedal (TX)
10/03/09: Fall Tilt in Telluride (CO)
10/03/09: SoCal Fat Tire Epic 50 (SoCal)
10/04/09: Northstar DH (Live Wire Classic) (Truckee, CA)
10/04/09: Wolf River Rendezvous (WI)
10/04/09: Leaf Blower (NJ)
10/04/09: North Texas XC #3 Rowlett Creek (TX)
10/04/09: BASP CX #1 (Bay Area Cyclocross)

Santa Cruz Demo Day

2009-09-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Santa Cruz coast area this weekend ...

Santa Cruz Bicycles Mega-Demo
Saturday, October 3rd 2009
Wilder Ranch, Santa Cruz, Ca

A big yellow truck full of ALMOST brand new bikes will be coming home to Santa Cruz following the Interbike tradeshow, and we are going to be hosting a day-long, hands-on, frenzy of demo rides at Wilder Ranch. Bikes available for riding will include everything we make except for Stigmatas and Chameleons, but will be skewed toward our newer bikes. In other words, a big pile of carbon fiber Tallboys, Blur XCs and Blur LTs will be on hand, as well as a giant stack of aluminum LTs, Nomads, Driver 8s, V-10s (yeah, we know, Wilder isn't exactly the perfect venue for V-10s and Driver 8s, but they'll be there anyway). We'll also have a pretty solid sampling of all our single pivot range (with an emphasis on Hecklers and Superlights). We're talking over 70 bikes here.

This demo will be FREE to all who show up, and we'd like to point out that all these BARELY RIDDEN demo bikes will also be for sale at SCREAMING DEAL pricing.

Via Santa Cruz Bicycles - October Demos '09!

2009 Clif Bar Challenge Results

2009-09-28T11:09:00.001-07:00

Results from this weekend's Clif Bar Challenge (by TBF Racing) have been posted:

No pictures as of yet.

2010 US Cup To Add Venues

2009-09-28T10:10:00.001-07:00

According to MTB Race News, next year's US Cup is expanding:

While the 2010 US Cup schedule has yet to be released MTBracenews has learned that two new venues will be added to next year's series. Included in the 2010 US Cup races will be Mt. Morris, Wisconsin and Bonelli Park, California.

Mt. Morris hosts the Subaru Cup and is part of the Wisconsin Off-Road Series (WORS). WORS is the largest mountain bike racing series in the United States. Just last week, WORS director Don Edberg told MTBracenews, "WORS has had another great year in 2009, for the first time since 2002 we are set to increase our numbers. Right now we are averaging about 680 racers per event."

Via MTB Race News: Eatough To Retire After Moab, US Cup 2010 Adds New Venues

New Zealand To Host 2010 Singlespeed Worlds

2009-09-27T03:13:00.000-07:00

At last weekend's Singlespeed World Championships in Durango, next year's site was chosen:

New Zealand's Rotorua will host the 2010 edition of the Singlespeed World Championships. The North Island city was selected after New Zealand won a tense and unconventional bidding process at at the singlespeed worlds in Durango, Colorado, this past weekend.

Via Cyclingnews.com.

For those of you who haven't been to Rotorua, it is spectacular.

NorCal HS Program Going Nationwide

2009-09-26T04:14:00.000-07:00

Cool news from the people behind the NorCal High School league:

The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) is launching October 1 as a new organization to promote and facilitate interscholastic high school mountain biking in the USA.

With Specialized Bicycle Components stepping in as the National Founding Sponsor, and the Easton Sports Development Foundation II stepping up its backing of the SoCal League to include a sponsorship match program at the national level, the fast emerging national association shows it has earned the trust and support of major industry players.

While the search for sponsorship continues in the quest to fully meet operating costs, a Trailblazer’s Team of individual benefactors has been established to provide additional support in getting – and keeping – the association off the ground. Early members of this important group include Charles Moore of McGuire Real Estate and Scott Tedro of Sho-Air International.

NICA has grown out of the highly successful NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League, which is now entering its tenth year. The launch of NICA follows the successful first year of the NorCal League spin-off, the SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League.

The new association is led by NorCal League founder, Matt Fritzinger, and will commence its work with four state or regional chapters. The initial states and regions are Northern California, Southern California, Colorado, and Washington.

Click over to the new website for full details.