NMBS Morphs Into US Cup For 2009

Here is a really good and in-depth article from The Cycling News about the death of the long running NORBA Nationals / NMBS series and the new US Cup series that hopes to take it's place:

"With the demise of the National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) held annually in the United States, North American mountain bikers were left wondering 'What's next?'. Going into the 2009 season, Team Sho-Air's Scott Tedro has stepped up to lead an effort to create a new national-level series: the US Cup.

The proposed US Cup would include races in Fontana, Laguna Seca and Los Olivos, California; Fountain Hills, Arizona; Angel Fire, New Mexico; Windham, New York; and Mt. Snow, Vermont, many of which were popular NMBS venues. Nearly all of the races, running from late March through early August, would award UCI points. Furthermore, the series would pay equal prize money to elite men and women and aim to provide a 'very rewarding' experience for amateur racers."

The only NorCal events on this year's US Cup schedule are the Sea Otter Classic (Monterey, CA) and the Santa Ynez Cup (Los Olivos, CA).

2008 East Coast NMBS Results

Here's the wrapup from the East Coast National at Windham Mountain Resort:

The fifth round of the US National Mountain Bike Series, the East Coast Nationals, hosted by Windham Mountain Resort in the Catskill Mountains of New York state, concluded today with foreign riders announcing their presence in the U.S. with resounding wins, and the newly selected U.S. Olympic team members confirming their talent and form. Mathieu Toulouse, Adam Craig, Jeremiah Bishop, Georgia Gould and Katherina Nash starred in the Kenda Tubes and Tires cross country races, while Joanna Petterson and Kieran Bennett claimed victory in the Fox Racing Shox gravity races.

XC Men
Canadian Mathieu Toulouse (Team Maxxis) grabbed the biggest result of his career when he got the better of U.S. Olympic Team member Adam Craig (Giant) in a thrilling sprint finish that concluded the Men's Pro XC race at Round 5 of the National Mountain Bike Series at Windham Mountain, NY. Rounding out the podium was the ever-consistent Jeremiah Bishop (Trek/VW), a mere 18 seconds adrift of Toulouse and Craig.

The race finish time of 1 hour, 35 minutes reflected the heated action on a hot summer day in New York's Catskill Mountains, an hour south of the state capitol of Albany. Toulouse, a Quebecois from Montreal, used his knowledge and familiarity with regional terrain to steadily pursue and eventually catch early leaders Craig and Bishop near the beginning of the 4th and final lap.

Once he caught Craig and Bishop near the beginning of the final lap, Toulouse displayed the tactical nous of a seasoned competitor, holding the wheels of the two Americans- surprised at his sudden appearance - for the first half of the 4th lap before applying the coup-de-grace at the summit of the climb, just before the quick descent to the finish.

XC Women
In the Women's Pro XC race, Georgia Gould (Luna Women's MTB) won the start and never looked back for the entire race, staying away to win in 1 hour, 21 minutes on a hot, 87-degree New York afternoon. When a lone competitor did catch her briefly, at the top of the first climb, it was Luna teammate Catherine Pendrel. Pendrel's attempt at shared race leadership fell apart on the quick, technical descent back to the start/finish line. Still, the 28-year old Canadian held the runner-up spot all the way to the race finish, a further 2 laps away. She finished only 1 minute 20 seconds adrift of Gould.

Rubber stamping the Luna team's dominance of Round 5 was teammate and NMBS Series Leader Katerina Nash, who rounded out the podium with a 1 hour, 24 minute ride for 3rd place.

Men Short Track
Newly-selected 2008 U.S. Olympic team member Todd Wells (GT) won the start at Saturday's Pro XC race, before it all started to go wrong. He later retired with a mechanical issue. Sunday's Short Track event offered a chance at revenge for the multiple cyclocross National Champion. He got revenge on the mechanical gremlins and the race win, with the help not of a teammate, but of his brother Troy (Tokyo Joes). Another cyclocross head-of-state, Ryan Trebon (Kona), made his trademark attack in the short track event. With Trebon going clear on the first lap, Troy Wells took up the chase behind.

Towing his brother along for the ride, Troy eventually caught Trebon several laps later, while behind, Jeremiah Bishop (Trek/VW) was putting in a tremendous ride, moving up from 23rd slot at the start to 4th, and closing in on the lead quickly. After the Wells brothers caught Trebon, Troy attacked again, forcing Bishop and a resurgent Adam Craig to lead the chase. As the catch was made, brother Todd attacked for the win. Bishop and Craig reversed their finish order from the previous day's XC race, with the Virginian taking 2nd place just ahead of Craig, both at 4 seconds to Wells. Trebon finished fourth, a further 2 seconds back.

Women Short Track
Team Luna continued its domination of the NMBS series with team rider Katerina Nash riding most of the race with Georgia Gould, only to better her teammate at the finish. Gould, who won Saturday's Women's Pro XC race, again won the start, and Nash was put in the unusual position of chasing a teammate in order to preserve her series lead. This round, the non-Team Luna women's contenders were not content to race against each other, and they mounted a vigorous pursuit of Nash and Gould. While not able to completely close the gap, Michal Dyck (Trek/Terrascape), Wendy Simms (Kona), and Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fisher) took places 3-5, respectively.

Men's DH
New Zealander Kieran Bennett (Odi), won the Men's Downhill finals in similarly slick condtions as the women faced. Bennett finished 2 seconds faster than Garrit Beytagh (Morewood), and 5 seconds faster than fellow countryman Cameron Cole (Maxxis).

Women's DH
Finally the rains came. Just in time for the Women's Downhill finals to start! Navigating the slick, treacherous and foggy conditions with trademark precision was South African Joanna Petterson (Maxxis), who prevailed over New Zealander Amy Laird by 2 seconds. Delivering the goods for U.S, fans was Alexis Wruble (Vitamin Water), who finished third at 13 seconds.

Men's Super D
Cross-country Pro Adam Craig (Giant) won the Super-D in 9 minutes, 18 seconds on a course that clearly involved a lot of pedalling. Cross-country riders dominated the results. Second was Samuel Koerber (Gary Fisher), and third was Brian Fawley. Both riders were nearly even on time, 8 seconds behind Craig.

Women's Super D
Canadian Wendy Simms (Kona) won the Women's Super-D with a time of 11 minutes, 1 second. Second place was Lindsey Bishop (Mafia Racing) at 1:14 behind Simms, and third was Danae York (Velobum.com) at 1:26.

NMBS Windham Preliminary Results

Preliminary results from the NMBS event back East this weekend:

"After racing four laps of the newly constructed course at this first-time venue in New York’s Catskill Mountains, Toulouse took the win by a wheel over Craig. Both finished within a second of each other, stopping the clock at 1:35:10.7 and 1:35:11, respectively. Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-VW) was third.

Earlier in the day, Team Luna dominated the women’s cross country. Canadian Olympian Catherine Pendrel took the hole shot to lead onto the single track climb up the mountain. Her teammate and U.S. Olympic Team member Georgia Gould was close behind, and took control of the three-lap race on the first descent.

Gould kept her lead for the rest of the three-lap race, finishing in 1:21:20. Pendrel took second, with teammate Katerina Nash rounding out the top three. Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth) was fourth, and Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fischer) fifth. "

Via VeloNews.

NorCal HS MTB Goes to Deer Valley

Cool news from the folks at the NorCal High School MTB league.

Seven of the top riders from the NorCal High School Mountain Bike Racing League, who were selected from a special invitational camp, traveled to Park City, Utah, to compete in the Deer Valley stop of National Mountain Bike Racing Series. The team was hosted by the Subaru-Gary Fisher professional mountain bike team, giving the young riders the first hand experience of preparing to race alongside top American pro’s, such as Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, and Heather Irmiger, and Sam Schultz.

Early Saturday was the expert cross-country race and in the boy’s race were two sophomores, Bjorn Fox (Redwood) and Ben Sukys (Contra Costa), and Junior Will Curtis (San Rafael). The thin air and a 300-foot climb made for an intense battle to be first on the single-track. All three riders reached the single-track in good position and Bjorn decided to attack early but over-powered the tight single-track and ended up crashing out of the race with some bruises and trail rash. Will and Ben kept up the pressure and Will edged out last year’s winner by a bike length. Ben rolled in minutes later for 3rd place. “That was such a close race – I’ve never had a finish be that close and it made for a very exciting race for me” commented Will. Christine Weir (Nevada Union) overcame pre-race worries to take a 2nd place. “I wasn’t sure I was ready for the expert class and was nervous racing against Dierdra.” Chirstine ended up beating Dierda York, who recently raced at the world championships in Italy.

The remaining NorCal representatives competed in Sunday mornings sport-class race. 11th grader, Nick Newcomb (Drake) settled into what looked like third place and overtook one rider in the final lap when they began to fade. At the end of the race he learned he’d been chasing a rider in an older category. When he learned of his win he lifted his bike over his head and exclaimed “beast mode!” His teammate, Alec Kassin (Drake, 11th grade) sprinted to the line for a strong third place finish. Lauren McQuinn (San Marin, 11th grade) raced uncontested for 1st place – also beating many of the older riders in that start-wave.

This first-ever travel team raised a lot of eyebrows around the Deer Valley race venue as interest seems to grow for the concept of scholastic mountain biking in other states. “The team concept fits our mission for growing the sport in schools, as well as gives some of our top riders an opportunity to reach higher levels; the victories were an added bonus. We plan to return next year – the Deer Valley race is an exceptional event, the trails, the accommodations, and the scenic town made for luxury racing. I predict many more NorCal riders attending next year,” stated Fritzinger.

Deer Valley NMBS Roundup

Here is the official lowdown on last weekend's NMBS jamboree in Utah:

The fourth round of the US National Mountain Bike Series, the Deer Valley National, presented by Subaru Gary Fisher, concluded today at Deer Valley, Utah ... Ryan Trebon (Kona), of Bend, Or., outclimbed a determined Jeremiah Bishop (Trek VW), of Harrisonburg, Va., who announced his return to form with a second-place result in Saturday's Cross Country. Trebon rode a 29-inch wheeled bicycle to his win, making it the first time a '29er' has won a national series mountain bike cross country race ... It was no surprise to see the world's top women's cross country team sweep the top three places at Deer Valley, but Katerina Nash (Luna Chix), of the Czech Republic, scored the first National Mountain Bike Series cross country win of her career, which so far has been studded with victories in the Short Track.

The three world championships competitors who earned podium positions were New Zealander Justin Leov (Yeti/Fox Shox), who placed sixth in Italy, and Australia's Amiel Cavalier (Giant), who finished 18th, and Leov's compatriot and trade team-mate Sam Blenkinsop, who was 17th at the worlds. Today Leov was once again comfortably ahead of Cavalier, with a 3:01.41 compared to a 3:07.28. Cavalier was very narrowly ahead of another New Zealander, Sam Blenkinsop (Yeti/Fox Shox), who finished with a 3:07.33. Blenkinsop placed 17th at the world championsips.

Joanna Petterson, of South Africa, scored what is thought to be her first National Mountain Bike Series win [Women's Downhill], with a dominating ride of 3:53.21 that left her rivals a long way back ... Finishing second was Darian Harvey (Sobe/Cannondale), of Durango, Co., in 4:05.84, and Lisa Myklak (Spyder/Fox), of Boulder, Co., was third with a 4:09,23.

Full results are available here.

There is also a NorCal angle to the Deer Valley race, as the NorCal HS league sent a team along. I'll have more about that later.

Preliminary Deer Valley NMBS Results

Some results are trickling in from this weekend's NMBS at Deer Valley:

"Luna swept the top three spots on the podium in Sunday’s short track cross country ... Katerina Nash took the honors in 23:47 ... Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) won the men’s race in 23:39.

In gravity action, a pair of Kiwis won the downhill, dual slalom and Super D — Justin Leov (Yeti-Fox Shox), Cameron Cole (Maxxis) and Sam Blenkisop (Yeti-Fox Shox Factory Team), respectively. Joanna Petterson took the women’s downhill and Super D, while Melissa Buhl (KHS Bicycles) won the women's DS.

Luna's Czech rider, Katerina Nash, beat teammate Georgia Gould to win the Kenda cross-country event at the Deer Valley Resort race on Saturday. In the men's race, Kona's Ryan Trebon prevailed over Jeremiah Bishop (Trek/VW) and Canadian Geoff Kabush, (Team Maxxis)."

Via VeloNews | Luna's Katerina Nash and Kona's Ryan Trebon win and VeloNews | Luna rules STXC, Kiwis crush DH at Deer Valley.

NMBS #3 Santa Ynez Coverage

Although you've probably seen the dhRENO recap of their DH finishings and the MTBR pictures, here is the endurace racing roundup from last weekend's NMBS event in SoCal:

"Kelli Emmett (Giant) took her first-career National Mountain Bike Series cross-country win at the third round of the 2008 series ... Visiting Australian Sid Taberlay (Avanti) took his first NMBS victory in the men’s race. Both events saw riders tackle the course in 100-degree heat.

Gould, who spent April in Europe racing the opening three rounds of the UCI World Cup, sprung to an early lead in the women’s race. As she did in 2007, when the Chamberlain Ranch venue hosted its first NMBS stop, Gould built a two-minute advantage on the rest of the women’s field. But up the final climb of the day, roughly 15 minutes from the starting line, Gould dismounted her bicycle suffering from heat stroke and dehydration. The 2006 national champion was taken in an ambulance to a nearby hospital where she spent four hours being hydrated with an IV.

Taberlay took a tactical victory in the men’s race, outmaneuvering Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) and Barry Wicks (Kona) to take his first-career NMBS win ... Kabush edged Wicks and Horgan-Kobelski out in Sunday’s short-track, held again in 100-plus degree day temperatures. Luna’s Katerina Nash took the women’s race ahead of Emmett and Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fisher).

Men XC
1. Sid Taberlay (Aus), Avanti-SRAM, 1:43:38
2. Geoff Kabush (Can), at 0:36
3. Barry Wicks, Kona, at 1:00
4. Todd Wells, GT, at 1:59
5. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Subaru-Gary Fisher, at 2:26

Women XC
1. Kelli Emmett, Giant, 1:45:08
2. Catherine Pendrel (Can), Luna, at 0:11
3. Lea Davison, Trek-Volkswagen, at 2:05
4. Jennifer Smith (NZ), Trek-Volkswagen, at 3:04
5. Mical Dyck (Can), Trek-Terrascape, at 5:30
7. Katerina Nash (CZ), Luna, at 5:55
8. Rachel Lloyd, Proman-Paradigm, at 6:54
9. Susan Haywood, Trek-Volkswagen, at 7:21

Men ShortTrack
1. Geoff Kabush (Can), Maxxis
2. Barry Wicks, Kona
3. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, Subaru-Gary Fisher

Women ShortTrack
1. Katerina Nash, Luna, 25.17
2. Kelli Emmett, Giant, at 0:07
3. Heather Irmiger, Subaru-Gary Fisher, at s.t."

Via VeloNews

2008 NMBS Finals Move to Brian Head, Utah

The NMBS Finals have found a new home in Utah:

Blue Wolf Events is pleased to announce Brian Head, Utah, as the replacement venue for the National Mountain Bike Series Finals Presented by Trek VW, on August 30 and September 1, after Tamarack Resort, Idaho, had to remove itself from the schedule.

"I am really delighted that we have been able to resolve this crisis so quickly and cleanly. We've only crossed one state line, and we don't even have to change our date," said series director Jeff Frost, of event management company Blue Wolf. "And it is great to be returning to Brian Head. We were very impressed with this venue when holding a series round there two years ago."

This is good news for the NMBS people and NorCal riders. Brian Head is actually slightly closer to the Bay Area than Tamarack.

2008 NMBS Finals Moved From Tamarack

The NMBS finals, originally scheduled for Tamarack in Idaho, are being moved.

The final round of the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series has been moved from Tamarack Resort, Tamarack, Idaho to a location that has yet to be revealed.

"We are awaiting confirmation from a past NMBS venue that everything is in place for the series finals to be held there, and then we can make the announcement," said series director Jeff Frost of Bluewolf Events.

In its fourth year of operation Tamarack Resort is in the midst of ongoing development, but it already offers an outstanding mountain bike trail network capable of hosting world-class competition. "Expected funding for some key pieces needed for the NMBS is being delayed. To ensure that we can host the best Finals possible, we are deferring being the event site until another year," explained Ken Rider, Tamarack Resort Director of Marketing & Sales.

A press release will be distributed as soon as the replacement venue for 2008 is confirmed.

I am hoping this means that it will be held at Mammoth (hope, hope) or Big Bear (socal, but still roadtrip-able) -- but a lot of sites are certainly possible.

NMBS #2 NOVA National Results

The full results links that were sent to me don't seem to be working but here is a writeup of this weekend's NMBS #2 in Phoenix:

U.S. Olympic hopeful Georgia Gould (Luna Chix) and Canada's Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) dominated the KENDA Cross Country, the finale of round two of the National Mountain Bike Series, the NOVA National, powered by SOBE Cannondale, held on a fast, technical, desert course at McDowell Mountain Regional Park.

These two also won the three-day stage race. Both won Friday's Super D time trial; and Kabush won Saturday's Short Track while Gould finished second in the women's race. Kabush and Gould now lead in the National Mountain Bike Series standings, with two of six rounds completed.

MEN XC
Kabush worked with a lead group of five over three fast laps of the technically challenging, yet relatively flat, 10-mile course. With an abundance of embedded rocks throughout, many riders with superlight tires on hard-tail bikes suffered flat tires.

Kabush was not troubled by rocks. The 2007 NMBS series champion went to the lead on the first lap, with four others. These were: Adam Craig (Giant), Barry Wicks (Kona), Santa Cruz, Calif., the 2006 US Under-23 champion, Sam Schultz (Subaru-Gary Fisher), Missoula. Mont., and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher), Boulder, Colo.

On the second lap, Schultz, riding a hard tail, followed Craig through an alternative line that turned out to be full of sharp rocks. Craig floated; Schultz flatted.

Craig was doing a lot of pace setting as the end of the race drew near. After working with him and others in the lead group for two laps, going into the final three miles, Kabush grew restless and started to attack the group as they crested the repetitive 15-second climbs that reared up from among the cacti. The first two times the group came back together on the following descent, but the effect of these repeated attacks took its toll as Wicks and Horgan Kobelski lost touch with the battling Craig and Kabush. Finally Craig could no longer pull back the Canadian on the descents and so the finishing order was decided.

Horgan-Kobelski took third at 50 seconds and Wicks rolled in fourth at 1:30. Another 45 seconds later, Liam Killeen (Specialized) of Great Britain outsprinted Canada's Mathieu Toulouse (Maxxis), and Carl Decker (Giant), Bend, Oreg. to claim fifth spot.

WOMEN XC
Georgia Gould, 28, of Missoula, Mont., blasted off at the start of her two-lap, 20-mile race and was not seen by her rivals until the end, which she reached one minute, forty-seven seconds ahead of her team-mate Katerina Nash.

Nash, 31, a Czech native who now lives in Truckee, Calif., might have ridden with Gould all the way had she not gone down hard at the first corner and done herself an injury to the left knee that required stitches after the finish.

A group of eight riders formed to chase Gould, which later reduced to four as the race progressed and riders succumbed to double flats. Canada's Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher), was in fourth place when she double-flatted. Wendy Simms (Kona), and Catherine Pendrel (LUNA) were two other highly-placed riders stopped or delayed by flat tires - a spate of which came in the second half of the final lap.

Australia's Dellys Starr (Dale's Pale Ale) took third place, ahead of Kelli Emmet (Giant), Colorado Springs, in fourth and Kathy Sherwin (SOBE-Cannondale), Heber City, Utah, in fifth.

Yeti Posts NMBS Fontana Video

For those of you who missed this weekend's NMBS #1 down south at Fontana, CA, the folks at Yeti has released a video cast of their weekend:

Click through the picture to go see it.

2008 Fontana NMBS #1 Pro DH Results

The folks from NMBS just sent over the rest of the official results from the Fontana National presented by MAXXIS (Round 1 of the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series):

Pro Men

1. KOVARIK, CHRIS (CARRERA / CHAIN REACTION INTENSE) 02:19.62
2. RENNIE, NATHAN (MERRIMAC, AUS / SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 0:02.65 back
   
3. LEOV, JUSTIN (CHRISTCHURCH, NZ / YETI/FOX SHOX FACTORY TEAM) 0:05.00
4. BLENKISOP, SAM (GOLDEN, CO / YETI/FOX SHOX FACTORY TEAM) 0:05.56
5. COLE, CAMERON (CHRISTCHURCH, NZ / MAXXIS) 0:05.76

Pro Women

1. BUHL, MELISSA (CHANDLER, AZ / KHS BICYCLES) 02:41.99
2. MYKLAK, LISA (BOULDER, CO / SPYDER/FOX/INDUSTRY) 0:08.27 back
   
3. PETTERSON, JOANNA (FOLSOM, CA / MAXXIS) 0:09.08
4. BUCHAR, CLAIRE (MURRIETA, CA / INTENS SRAM MAXXIS) 0:09.84
5. GRIFFITHS, FIONN (SHREWSBURY / NORCO WORLD TEAM) 0:12.64

Other notable NorCal finishers included Tenille Smith (#8 Pro Women, Menlo Park), Sondra Williamson (#13 Pro Women, Morgan Hill), Mariska Chuse (#14 Pro Women, Nevada City), Ryan Condrashoff (#11 Pro Men, Pleasant Hill), Mike Harderer (#15 Pro Men, Concord), Evan Turpen (#19 Pro Men, Aptos), Curtis Keene (#26 Pro Men, Fremont), Rick Goldrup (#27 Pro Men, Orangevale), John Hauer (#38 Pro Men, Campbell), Ryan Stayskal (#42 Pro Men, Los Gatos), Miles Payton (#45 Pro Men, Santa Cruz) and Andrew Mince (#50 Pro Men, Scott's Valley).

2008 Fontana NMBS #1 Pro XC Results

The folks from NMBS just sent over the official results from the Fontana National presented by MAXXIS (Round 1 of the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series):

Pro Men

1. KABUSH, GEOFF (VICTORIA,BC / TEAM MAXXIS)
2. CRAIG, ADAM (BEND,OR / GIANT MTB TEAM) 00:29.02 back
3. PLAXTON, MAX (VICTORIA,BC / ROCKY MOUNTAIN-HAYWOOD) 01:08.16 back
4. JUREKOVIC, SAM (COLORADO SPRING,CO / U23 NATIONAL TEAM) 01:58.19 back
5. WICKS, BARRY (SANTA CRUZ, CA / KONA) 02:28.10 back
6. SNEDDON, KRIS (VICTORIA, BC / KONA LES GETS) 02:57.75 back
7. FEDERAU, RICKY (CHILLIWACK, BC) 03:27.26 back
8. HORGAN-KOBELSKI, JEREMY (BOULDER,CO / SUBARU-GARY FISHER) 04:00.48 back
9. KILLEEN, LIAM (MALVERN / SPECIALIZED FACTORY TEAM) 04:52.20 back

Pro Women

1. GOULD, GEORGIA (KETCHUM, ID / LUNA WOMENS MTB TEAM)
2. NASH, KATERINA (TRUCKEE, CA / LUNA WOMENS MTB TEAM) 02:51.69 back
3. SIMMS, WENDY (NANAIMO, BC / KONA) 04:21.43
4. PENDREL, CATHERINE (KAMLOOPS, BC / LUNA WOMENS MTB) 04:26.70
5. BATTY, EMILY (BROOKLIN, ON / TREK BICYCLE STORE TORONTO) 05:32.21
6. EMMETT, KELLI (COLORADO SPRING, CO / GIANT MTB TEAM) 05:33.91
7. IRMIGER, HEATHER (BOULDER, CO / SUBARU-GARY FISHER) 06:44.86
8. DAVISON, LEA (JERICHO, VT / TREK/VW) 06:55.77
9. DYCK, MICAL (CALGARY, AB / TREK/TERRASCAPE RACING) 07:04.97
10. SAWICKI, MONIQUE (MILILANI, HI / ELLSWORTH) 09:55.47

Other notable NorCal finishers were: Maureen Kunz (#33 Pro Women, Oakland), Tim Olson (#30 Pro Men, Chico) and Aren Timmel (#34 Pro Men, Chico).

Fontana NMBS 2008 Coverage

Pinned Magazine has some good coverage of this weekend's 2008 Fontana NMBS event, mostly focused on the gravity events. There are also a few photos posted, but no final results yet.

UPDATE: Pinned has Buhl and Milan winning the 4X / Mountaincross finals.
UPDATE: Velonews has Gould and Kabush winning the XC Pro finals.
UPDATE: See the front page of this blog for official Pro XC results.
UPDATE: Southridge's website has XC and 4X/MTX pics and results.

MTB Racing this weekend: March 29 - 30, 2008

The big news this weekend is the start of the National MTB series down in SoCal, there is some racing here in NorCal this weekend:

• The Pre-Otter was cancelled
• Tomorrow is the CCCX XC race at Fort Ord.

If you are going down for the Fontana NMBS (the XC race started about 20 minutes ago, I think):

• Cycling News preview
• NMBS/NORBA turns 25 in Fontana | VeloNews

2008 Nevada Cup Races

The Reno Wheelmen have announced the 2008 Nevada Cup schedule:

NORBA Northern Nevada State Championship Series

• May 4: Jetway Chevrolet Rainbow Ridge Challenge (Fallon, NV)
• May 24: Pine Nut Cracker (Gardnerville, NV)
• May 31: Peavine Challenge (Reno, NV)
• August 17: Sky Tavern Classic (Reno, NV)

This is a change of dates for the Rainbow Ridge Challenge.

Most of these races are XC-only races. However, I believe Sky Tavern and Peavine Challenge have also had DH races in the past.

You can see results and more information from last year's Nevada Cup races in the archives.

Thanks to Peter for the tip on this.

New NMBS Website

The National Mountain Bike Series (which used to be called the NORBA Nationals) finally redid their website and it kinda makes sense now. Wander over to the new NMBS Website and find out details on the series events. They've even posted the 2008 US Nationals schedule.

I think the old site (http://norbanationals.com/) is being abandoned.

2008 USA Cycling MTB Calendars

USA Cycling, the UCI MTB governing body here in the US (also referred to as NORBA), has announced their 2008 endurance (XC/STXC), ultra-endurance (8/16/24 hr and marathon) and gravity (4X/MTX, DH, SD, DS) schedules:

"With more than $150,000 on the line to off-road cyclists next season, the 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendars were announced today by the national governing body.
 
The 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Cross Country Calendar welcomes eight new events and features four UCI-sanctioned races and the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships. The calendar begins in early spring with the 20th Annual Keyesville Classic in Lake Isabella, Calif., March 15-16 and concludes seven months later with the Piney Hills Fall Classic in Ruston, La., Oct. 25-26.

The National Gravity Calendar also opens with the Keyesville Classic in March before concluding with the Whiteface Third Annual 5k Downhill in Wilmington, N.Y. on Aug. 31. New events include the Keyesville Classic as well as the Sol Survivor in Sol Vista, Colo., the Third Annual Capital Cup at Wisp in McHenry, Md. and the Sol Squared, also in Sol Vista, Colo.
 
After featuring six events last season, the 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar will include eight races. Added to the Calendar next season are two national championship events – the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships in Breckenridge, Colo. on July 4 and the USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships in Wausau, Wis., Aug. 2-3. The last event on the Calendar – the Shannon Ridge Showdown in Clear Lake Oaks, Calif., Oct. 18-19 – is also new. Once again the Calendar begins with the Mas O Menos 100k in Terlingua, Texas, Feb. 14-16.
  
For compete 2008 calendars, click on the corresponding links below:
2008 MTB National Cross Country Calendar (PDF)
2008 MTB National Gravity Calendar (PDF)
2008 MTB National Ultra-Endurance Calendar (PDF)"

View the press release over at USA Cycling website (2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Calendars announced). I'll have some analysis of the calendars this weekend.

Official 2008 NMBS Schedule

The "official" 2008 NMBS (National Mountain Bike Series, which used to be called the NORBA Nationals) schedule press release was posted this week. Important excerpts are below:

One of the new venues is Tamarack Resort, at McCall, Idaho, which hosts the series finale, August 30 - September 1. This event is scheduled so as to allow the US Olympians to return from their races in Beijing, 22-23 August, and still compete for the series win. "We wanted the top athletes to have an opportunity to race in the finals, they have expressed a desire to do so, and we are more than happy to oblige," says series director Jeff Frost.

The other new venue is Windham Resort, New York, July 12-13. "Plattekill Mountain is the gravity base of New England, there's a huge gravity crowd in and around that area. We're excited to be going there for that, but also, the venue is two hours southwest of Mt Snow, the national championships venue, and our race is the weekend before. It's the last chance to qualify for the nationals," explains Frost.

The 2007 series saw continued growth in participant numbers, with 10,000 entrants and 14,000 starts. "I think we've found our plateau, Our events have become 70% regional and 30% national, which is a very healthy mix. This series is a standalone and has nothing to do with NORBA. As our reputation grows as a standalone entity, so does the pull from the region surrounding the event," says Frost.

Good to see that they nailing this down early this year. I am excited about the Tamarack event -- I may have to make the long drive up to Idaho. Here's the official schedule:

2008 NATIONAL MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES - SCHEDULE
Round 1 (March 29-30, 2008) : Fontana National (Southridge Park, Fontana, California) [XC/DH/ST/4X/Super D]
Round 2 (April 5-6, 2008): NOVA National (McDowell Mountain Regional Park, Fountain Hills, Arizona) [XC/ST/Super D]
Round 3 (May 17-18, 2008) Santa Ynez National (Ted Chamberlin Ranch, Los Olivos, California) [XC/DH/DS/ST/Super D]
Round 4 (June 28-29, 2008): Deer Valley National (Deer Valley Resort, Park City, Utah) [XC/DH/DS/ST/Super D]
Round 5 (July 12-13, 2008) East Coast National (Windham Resort, Windham, New York) [XC/DH/DS/ST/Super D]
Round 6 Final (August 30 - September 1, 2008) National Mountain Bike Series Finals (Tamarack Resort, Tamarack, Idaho) [XC/DH/4Xor DS/ST/Super D]

This is pretty close to what we saw on the preliminary schedule except Snowmass (CO) and Sugar Mountain (NC) dropped out.

Sugar Mountain Bows Out of 2008 NORBA

Just about two week after the preliminary 2008 NORBA (NMBS) schedule was posted, there has already been a change:

"Sugar Mountain Resort is committed to growing its mountain bike program for many years to come. As a result, we have made some short term changes. Sugar Mountain Resort will not host the Showdown at Sugar National Mountain Bike Series event in 2008. The decision was not easy and one we labored over for quite a while. However, we will take a fresh look at hosting an event in 2009. In the mean time, please continue to ride the trails on Sugar Mountain." (Via Sugar Mountain Resort)

I am sure that this won't be the only change that we see in the NMBS schedule.