USA Cycling announced today dates and venues for the 2006 National Mountain Bike Series as a more compact schedule and two new locations highlight next season's premier off-road cycling series.
Trimmed from eight races in 2005, the 2006 national series features six events and kicks off at Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas, CA May 5-7. That start date is two months later than this year's kickoff.
Just 30 miles east of Los Angeles, the season opener marks the return of the National Mountain Bike Series to the state of California after the traditional stop in Big Bear Lake was canceled in 2004.
After a month long break the series resumes with two consecutive weekends on the east coast. Sugar Mountain Resort in Banner Elk, NC hosts its first ever national series event June 10-11 and is followed by a return to a familiar site as Mount Snow Resort in West Dover, VT hosts round three June 17-18.
The series then returns to Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT for round four July 8-9 before taking another brief hiatus.
For the second consecutive year, the NMBS then heads to Brian Head Resort in southern Utah August 4-6 before heading to Snowmass Resort in Aspen, CO for the series finale August 12-13. Because the U.S. National Championships in Mammoth, CA is slated to held in July, next year's series concludes one month earlier than in 2005. In total the U.S. MTB season is three months shorter in 2006, and more in step with the rest of the world.
Headlined by world class athletes from around the globe competing in cross-country, short track, downhill, mountain cross, dual slalom, marathon and Super D events, the 2006 National Mountain Bike Series enters its 18th year.
2006 NATIONAL MOUNTAIN BIKE SERIES SCHEDULE
May 5-7: NMBS 1-Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park...San Dimas, CA
June 10-11: NMBS 2-Sugar Mountain Resort...Banner Elk, NC
June 17-18: NMBS 3-Mount Snow Resort...West Dover, VT
July 8-9: NMBS 4-Deer Valley Resort...Park City, UT
July 20-23: U.S. MTB Nationals...Mammoth Lakes, CA
August 5-6: NMBS 5-Brian Head Resort...Brian Head, UT
August 12-13: NMBS 6-Snowmass Resort...Aspen, CO
The NORBA series conflicts with the May 6-7 DH/4X World Cup opener in Vigo, Spain. Since the list of gravity and endurance events held at each NMBS race has yet to be released, this might turn out not to be a clash at all. Also consider that the U.S. date that it's on top of is Bonelli Park, a venue which has no lift operation. On the other hand Bonelli does have the topography and the service road access to make a shuttled downhill a distinct possibility. Time will tell.
NORBA's 2006 race schedule also conflicts with the first three World Cup Marathon events: May 6-7 in Naoussa, Greece; June 17-18 in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada; July 8-9 in Villabassa, Italy; as well as the August 13 Marathon World Champ's in Oisans, France. Seeing how poorly contested the World Cup Marathon Series was in 2005 (by both Americans and Europeans), the schedule conflict should be of little consequence.
Now that the U.S. has released its dates, we wonder how long it will be before the UCI reshuffles their events on top of our dates like they did to us in 2005.
More details regarding the 2006 National Mountain Bike Series will be released soon. |