USA Cycling announced today dates and locations for the majority of its 2009 National Championship events. Next year, a total of 17 events will provide amateur and professional cyclists with an opportunity to claim a coveted Stars-and-Stripes national champion’s jersey across all five disciplines of competitive cycling.
USA Cycling annually awards more than 480 national titles throughout the junior, U23, collegiate, master, elite and professional ranks in the disciplines of road, track, mountain bike, BMX and cyclo-cross racing.
The first event of the season to crown national champions will once again be the USA Cycling BMX National Championships. Scheduled for March 21 at Metroplex BMX in Desoto, Texas, a full day of activity will result in both 20” and 24” Cruiser Class national champions in Challenge Class and Elite categories.
Two months later, student athletes from many of the nearly 300 collegiate cycling teams around the country will converge in Fort Collins, Colo. for the second year in a row to contest the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships. Occurring May 15-17, the event will feature team time trial, criterium and road events for division I and II schools, resulting in individual and team champions.
In one of the largest gatherings of the year, more than 1,000 competitors are expected at the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships in Louisville, Ky., June 28 – July 4. Held there for the second consecutive year, amateur cyclists spanning several age categories between 30 and 85+ will compete for national titles in individual time trial, criterium and road race events.
Continuing a month of July which features six national championship events, the ADT Event Center in Carson, Calif. will host the USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships July 2-5. Throughout the four-day event, athletes between the ages of 10 and 18 will vie for national championships in several different track events, as well as overall omnium classifications.
Off-road ultra-endurance cyclists will celebrate the Fourth of July competing for one of 14 national titles up for grabs at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships in Breckenridge, Colo. Held in conjunction with the Firecracker 50, the event will determine champions in both professional and amateur categories.
On July 10, the “Tandemonium” event at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in Trexlertown, Pa. will again be the site of the USA Cycling Tandem Sprint National Championships.
After two years on the East Coast, the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships head to the Rocky Mountains as Sol Vista Basin in Granby, Colo. plays host July 16-19. Fat tire enthusiasts from across the nation will compete for national titles in pro and amateur categories in several disciplines of off-road racing; including cross country, downhill, short track cross country, 4-cross, single speed cross country and super D.
Once again, Downers Grove, Ill. will welcome the fastest riders in America to the USA Cycling Elite & Professional Criterium Championships, Aug. 15-16. After two days of racing, three national champions will be crowned in the elite men’s and women’s categories, as well as a pro men’s champion.
Amateur riders aged 30 and up will head to Indianapolis where the Major Taylor Velodrome will host the USA Cycling Master Track National Championships, Aug. 18-23.
For the fourth year in a row, Greenville, S.C. will host the USA Cycling Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships. Scheduled for Aug. 29-30, the two days of racing will spotlight the best American road cyclists in the world as Olympians, Tour de France competitors and the balance of U.S. pros race for prestigious titles in both the individual race against the clock and a mass-start road race.
The ADT Event Center will host its second national championship event of the year when it welcomes the nation’s best track riders to the USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships, Sept. 30 – Oct. 4.
Although dates and locations for most national championship events for the 2009 season have been confirmed, there are a few that still list details as TBD.
The USA Cycling Junior, U23 & Elite Road National Championships are tentatively scheduled for July 8-12 with a location yet to be decided upon. The bid process to host the event remains open until Jan. 15, 2009.
With school back in session, the collegiate ranks will contest their first national championship of the academic year at the USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships, tentatively scheduled for September. The deadline to bid has passed, however the event has not yet been awarded.
Ultra-endurance off-road competitors will contest the USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships in Payson, Ariz., where national championships will be on the line in nine individual or team categories. A date in mid- to late September is expected.
The USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships will again take place during its traditional late-October time slot, however exact dates have not yet been determined. A host venue is has not yet been finalized and the bid process remains open indefinitely.
Tentatively set for Dec. 11-14, a site for the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships has also not yet been designated, although the bid process has closed. The event will again determine ‘cross national champions in junior, U23, collegiate, masters and elite categories.
Finally, with the omnium competition at the UCI Track World Championships gaining popularity, the multi-race event will be introduced to the national championship program beginning in 2009. An invitation-only competition for men and women will be held at a date and location yet to be determined and serve as the first USA Cycling International Omnium National Championships.
Details regarding events that have not yet formalized dates and/or locations will be announced as they become available.
2009 USA Cycling National Championship Dates & Locations:
*All Dates and Locations Subject to Change
March 21: USA Cycling BMX National Championships – Desoto, Texas
May 15-17: USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships – Fort Collins, Colo.
June 28 – July 4: USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships – Louisville, Ky.
July 2-5: USA Cycling Junior Track National Championships – Carson, Calif.
July 4: USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships – Breckenridge, Colo.
July 8-12: USA Cycling Junior, U23 & Elite Road National Championships – Location TBD
July 10: USA Cycling Tandem Sprint Championships – Trexlertown, Pa.
July 16-19: USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships – Granby, Colo.
Aug. 15-16: USA Cycling Elite & Professional Criterium National Championships – Downers Grove, Ill.
Aug. 18-23: USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships – Indianapolis, Ind.
Aug. 29-30: USA Cycling Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships – Greenville, S.C.
Sept. 30 – Oct. 4: USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships – Carson, Calif.
Dec. 11-14: USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships – Location TBD
Date TBD: USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships – Location TBD
Date TBD: USA Cycling 24 Hour Mountain Bike National Championships – Payson, Ariz.
Date TBD: USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships – Location TBD
Date TBD: USA Cycling International Omnium National Championships – Location TBD