RACE REPORT: CCCX #6

Hey, the results for CCCX #6 have been posted. No pictures, maps or series points totals, but I'll update this when/if they appear.

UPDATE (06/22/06): Photos are up. There is also a good thread over at MTBR about the race.

PRODUCT NEWS: SRAM 2007 Products

So I usually don't cover a whole lot of product news (although you know I love the bike p0rn), this is a pretty good set of articles from Singletrack Magazine with ample pictures of SRAM's new products.

SRAM Oh-Seven Part 1 - Rock Shox
SRAM Oh-Seven Parts 2 - Avid and Truvativ

I especially like the new Avid brakes. It's always nice to see some competition for Shimano's Saint line.

RACE REPORT: PCRS #10

Oops, so I forgot to post this. Last Wednesday was the 10th race in the Prairie City Racing Series and was held under hot, but clear skies. I didn't get a chance to race (travelling again), but we found the course gps map:
It looks like the course was 3.66 miles and 430 elevation, running down the valley through the normal part of the park. Results have been posted here and photos are here and here.

2006 NMBS#3 Results

It looks like NMBS #3 at Mount Snow in Vermont (the site of next year's US MTB Nationals) is in the books:

The World Cup overflowed at Day 2 of the National Mountain Bike Series #3 as Mary McConneloug (Chilmark, Mass. / Kenda/Seven Cycles) and two-time World Cup champion Christopher Sauser (SUI) claimed the women’s and men’s pro cross country titles . . . In the end, top-seed and former World Champion Greg Minnaar (RSA) placed first, completing the DH course in 3 minutes and 19.99 seconds . . . On the women’s DH side, World Cup silver-medalist Sabrina Jonnier (FRA) rode the fastest time in the field of 25 at 3:57.20. NMBS #2 winner, Australian Tracey Hannah was second, and Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, Calif. / Jamis) was the top American finisher in third.

Read the rest of the results at USA Cycling (XC titles awarded at Mount Snow NMBS #3 and Downhill, short track titles awarded at NMBS).

NorCal Racing This Weekend: June 17 - 18, 2006

A short but interesting weekend of racing:

Tonight (SATURDAY) is Sand Hill Racing's Fathers Day Eve dual slalom event. Signups and practice from 3 - 5 PM, then it's right on to the qualifying. Registration costs $30 and you need a NORBA license. If you want a good preview of the race, check out the feature on I Hate Bikes.

SUNDAY continues the CCCX series (race number #6). Be ready for the fast course in Seaside, CA (near Monterey) as “laps will be between five and six miles … 3 laps for Beginners, 4 laps for Sport, 5 laps for Expert/Pro.” The race costs $30 ($15 for juniors) with registration onsite.

MTB Nationals Moving East For 2007

Wow. This was certainly coming, but didn't think they would move it all the way to Vermont . . .

USA Cycling announced today that Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, Vt. will host the 2007 and 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships. The two-year agreement brings the event to the east coast for the first time since the inception of a single-event national championship format in 2004.

Scheduled on the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) designated mountain bike national championship weekend, the 2007 edition will be held July 19-22. Dates for 2008 have yet to be determined.

Read the rest of the press release at USA Cycling.

RACE REPORT: 12 Mile Super D

The folks over at dhReno have written up their race report on last weekend's 12 Mile Super D. Check it out.

UPDATE: The Team Motionbased people have written up their report also. Complete with maps!

Prairie City Race Series Announces 2006 Fall Flash Series

The PCRS folks have announced their 2006 Fall "Flash" series dates:

• August 30th, 2006
• September 6th, 2006
• September 13th, 2006
• September 20th, 2006

From their announcement page:

This year we will feature a CYCLOCROSS class - you CX'ers can use these as a pre-season tune up! (Although possible, there will probably not be any dismounts on these courses).

The FLASH courses are a little shorter, flatter and faster than our spring/summer season courses because of the limited sunlight hours.

The FLASH Series has been made famous because of the following "features": NO Raffle prizes! NO Schwag! NO T-shirts! NO Whining... Doh!

The Expert class will start at 6:00 sharp and will then be followed by the Sport and Beginner classes. The classes are approx. 1 minute apart.

Each lap around the course for the FLASH series is between 1.8 and 2.5 miles long. Beginners will do 2 laps, Sport is 3 laps and Expert is 4 laps.

$15 first race then $10 per race after that... and that's it!

2006 Sky Tavern Announced

The University of Nevada Reno Cycling Team has announced the details for their 2006 Sky Tavern race. Providing both cross country (XC) and downhill (DH) competitions, the race will be held August 19th, 2006 near the Sky Tavern Ski Area [ MAP ].

The XC course is a technical 6 mile loop. The trail starts off with a steep fire road climb up to some tight, winding single track that finishes with a fast open descent. Riders will do between one and six laps (one for beginners through four for expert men and pros).

The DH course is a technical, rocky course with a couple of steep sections. They hope to use the same course as in years past. DH practice will be open in the morning.

Event: Sky Tavern Race
Dates: August 19th, 2006
Location: Sky Tavern Ski Area (Reno, NV) [ MAP ]
Competition: DH, XC
Cost: $30/event
URL: http://www.nevadacycling.com/racing.shtml
Registration: Onsite race day only
License: NORBA

UPDATE (08/16/06): Updated information here.

Norcal Racing This Week: June 14 - June 15, 2006

It's a full slate weeknight racing:

Tonight (WEDNESDAY) marks another Prairie City Race (PCRS#10). Riders do a varying amount of 4 mile laps (course varies weekly) depending on category. Registration starts at 4:15 PM and costs $25 (subsequent races cost $10). These are the last few races, so if you or your team is still in the points running . . .

Also on Wednesday is the second Howarth Park Dirt Crits in Santa Rosa, CA. Short (1 mile) course races for timed durations that are fun for the entire family. Racing starts at 5:30 PM and costs $9 for adults ($4 juniors).

Tomorrow (THURSDAY) the racing shifts to Northern Nevada and the Twilight MTB Series (TMTB#7). This week's edition of the race series is moving back to Reno at River Banks [ MAP ]. Registration and racing begins at 6:30 PM. Registration costs $5 at the race.

It's a slow weekend again for NorCal racing, so get your races in this week.

2006 Magic Mushroom Speedway Update

The Trinity River Pirates have posted an update on the upcoming Magic Mushroom Speedway race:

At dark the race will begin to go into motion. Event staff will fire the generators and the Magic Mushroom course shall come to life under the moon and stars. I expect that this will be rather dramatic. At least for me!

Riders will then shuttle to the top of the course and await their turn to descend into a tunnel of christmas lights, black lights, floods and whatever type of lighting we can get our hands on. I am hoping to get ahold of a fog machine or two for some of the steeper parts! There may be ghetto blasters pumping sick tunes at some areas of the course. Who knows what you will encounter? All I can say for sure at this time is that although you will not be allowed to use a bike light the course will be lit well enough for you to throw down.

The race format will be three runs combined times. Lowest times win.

2005 Cougar Mountain Winners Qualified For US MTB Nationals

Got an email from the Cougar Mountain Classic folks today:

Congratulations on your qualification for the 2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Championships brought to you by XFusion!

We have just confirmed that riders that qualified for last years MTB National Championships at the 2005 Cougar Mountain Classic, are also qualified for this year's 2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Championships at Infineon Raceway.

If you have recieved this email, we believe you are one of those qualified riders. You should confirm your qualification by finding yourself on the USA Cycling's official list of qualified riders on their website.

Please help us out by spreading this word to your friends. We do not have email addresses for all of the qualified riders. We have posted an unofficial list of riders that we believe qualified at last years event onto our website. You can use it for a quick check, but to be sure you should check the official list mentioned above.

Exactly one month until the 2006 Cougar Mountain Classic.

It looks like everyone who qualified for Nationals at last year's Cougar Mountain Classic will get a pass to this year's championship. Unfortunately for me, I qualified in MTX instead of what I wanted (XC).

2006 NORBA #2 Gravity Results

NORBA stop #2 at Sugar Mountain Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina is in the books. Here are the pro gravity results:

The final day of round two of the 2006 National Mountain Bike Series began Sunday as Australians Sam Hill and Tracey Hannah took the pro men’s and women’s titles in the downhill competition. . . Hill rode last as the top qualifier in the field of 49 in a blistering time of 3 minutes and 28.7 seconds down a challenging course that included 2,500 feet of technical and rocky terrain . . . Eighteen-year old Hannah picked up her first-ever NMBS national title Sunday with her winning time of 4:28.6 – nearly ten seconds under pre-race favorite France’s Sabrina Jonnier who placed second. Kathy Pruitt (Lake Almanor, Calif. / Jamis) was the top American finisher in third. Joanna Petterson (Folsom, Calif. / Morewood Bikes) and Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Ariz. / KHS Bicycles) placed fourth and fifth to fill out the podium. (USA Cycling)

Read the rest of the results over at USA Cycling.

2006 NORBA #2 XC Results

NORBA stop #2 at Sugar Mountain Resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina is in the books:

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo. / Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Shonny Vanlandingham (Durango, Colo. / Luna) won the men’s and women’s cross country titles in dominating fashion Saturday at the National Mountain Bike Series #2 Showdown ... Fresh of his World Cup podium in Fort William, Scotland, Horgan-Kobelski finished four laps of the 6.6-mile course in 2 hours, 4 minutes and 59.1 seconds – 2 minutes and 45 seconds ahead of Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va. / Trek/VW) and NMBS#1 and current Canadian champion Geoff Kabush. (USA Cycling)

Read the rest of the results over at USA Cycling or Velonews.

Bigfoot Classic Last NorCal US Championship Qualifier

So I didn't think this was really new news since it has been on the Team Bigfoot page for a while, but USA Cycling issued this press release yesterday:

USA Cycling today confirmed that the Bigfoot Classic in Arcata, CA is now a sanctioned NORBA event. Along with their permit this event has been designated a cross country and downhill qualifier for the 2006 USA Cycling MTB National Championships to be hosted by the Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic at Sonoma, CA's Infineon Raceway, July 13 - 16, 2006.

The top 15 positions in each category will qualify to race at the National Championships.

Northern Californian riders now have the opportunity to qualify close to home, which they have been asking for. The Bigfoot Classic's website has full information on these two races. The cross country will be held on 7/1/06 and the downhill will be held on 7/2/06.

Looks like there might be a lot of people heading up to Arcata in late June.