Thursday, October 27, 2011

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: 27 Oct - 1 Nov, 2011

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

  1. 24 Hours of Gold (10/29/11) [24HR, 8HR]

NorCal MTB Race Event Map

Thursday, October 20, 2011

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: 20 Oct - 25 Oct, 2011

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

  1. Lagrange Fall Classic (10/21/11) [XC, DH, SD]
  2. TBF MTB 50 Miler (10/23/11) [MA]

NorCal MTB Race Event Map

Thursday, October 13, 2011

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: 13 Oct - 18 Oct, 2011

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

  1. BetterRide MTB Skills Camp (10/14/11) [CLN]

NorCal MTB Race Event Map

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

SportsBase Online Closes

SportsBase Online, popular event registration, closes up shop ... I don't believe this affects any of our local MTB races:

One of the western United States’ leading event registration companies, SportsBase Online, closed up shop over the weekend — leaving numerous promoters empty handed long after their events concluded.

On Monday, SportsBase Online (SBO) issued a short statement apologizing to event promoters, but informing them that payment for the thousands of registrations the company has processed over the past few months would not happen.

“We regret to inform you that due to financial reasons Sports Marketing Concepts, Inc. DBA SportsBaseOnline will be dissolving as of October 15, 2011 and is ceasing operations,” the statement said. “We have explored every option to avoid this outcome to no avail. There are no funds available and no tangible or other assets owned by the corporation that could be monetized to make restitution or pay claims.

SBO sent another email Wednesday afternoon saying that at least some payments would be made soon.

The Northern California Nevada Cycling Association and Utah Cycling Association were each hit especially hard. Bill Nicely, NCNCA president, said in a statement to NorCalCyclingNews.com the SBO situation will put the hurt on local promoters. Nicely’s statement was released prior to the Wednesday email from SBO.

“This affected all races from Giro (de San Francisco on Sept. 5) forward on SBO. About 65k in reg fees as a loss in total. The BOD is deeply saddened by this loss and we are grateful to USAC for their participation in lessening the burden to our affected promoters.”

Via UPDATED: SBO shut down rattles promoters, owner promises to repay debts

 

UPDATE: this is SportsBase Online, NOT Sportsbasement as the headline typo originally said. Apologies to SportsBasement Online for the error.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

NorCal MTB Racing This Weekend: 6 Oct - 11 Oct, 2011

For those of you making your weekend plans, here is quick rundown of this weekend's MTB racing schedule for NorCal:

  1. Ridge Trail Festival 2011 (10/08/11) [XC, SD, STRX, DH, CLN]
  2. Jughandle Juggernaut Race (10/08/11) [XC]

NorCal MTB Race Event Map

Monday, October 03, 2011

UCI Eliminates 4X/MTX, Introduces XCE, GE

The UCI (Cycling Worldwide Race Governing Board) has decided to eliminate Mountain Cross / 4X and introduce two new events: Cross Country Eliminator and Gravity Endurance:

Next year the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup calendar will undergo a facelift: the disappearance of four-cross and the official introduction of the cross-country eliminator (XCE) aim to keep the mountain bike discipline abreast of current trends.

He confirmed that the withdrawal of four-cross related only to the World Cup. The format will remain for the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Leogang, and registrations for four-cross races are still being accepted for the UCI international calendar. Peter Van den Abeele adds that the UCI is open to working with any organiser looking to host a UCI registered four-cross event during a World Cup weekend.

So why will we no longer see four-cross at the World Cup?

“Four-cross has proved more successful in some regions than others. This fact, coupled with the high financial costs and the environmental issues associated with the building of four-cross courses has led the UCI to make this decision. Four-cross competitions remain viable in a few World Cup venues but the lack of interest in others does not warrant continuing with this format in the World Cup series.”

Cross-country eliminator

Meanwhile the increasing popularity of the cross-country eliminator format has led the UCI to officially integrate it into the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

Introduced in Europe two years ago, this format, suited to Olympic cross-country (XCO) specialists, sees four competitors race each other over a lap of around 1km. World Cup test events held in Dalby Forest (GBR) and Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE) last season were very successful, and in 2012 the format will be part of the World Cup events in Houffalize (BEL) Nove Mesto na Morave and La Bresse (FRA).

2012 will also see the crowning of the first XCE World Champion: this new format is being introduced to the UCI World Championships, and will be raced the day after the XCO event.

Development of gravity endurance events

Another flourishing mountain bike format is that of gravity endurance, which UCI Gravity Endurance Coordinator Chris Ball is looking to develop within the UCI by working with existing “enduro” events and riders.

His aim is to develop a discipline that will attract an increasing number of mountain bikers as it combines the physical endurance of cross-country riding with the technical difficulty and excitement of downhill racing.

The UCI invites organisers of current gravity enduro events to contact the UCI with a view to establishing a UCI Enduro Calendar from 2013. Enduro events can be in the form of multi-stage races, day races or mass start races.

Via Union Cycliste Internationale