US Cup Announces Junior Mountain Bike Championships

US Cup Announces Junior Mountain Bike Championships

PRESS RELEASE: Eastern States Cup

“When I first started out in (mountain biking), it was all about having fun, playing with my mates, with a bit of racing thrown in. Nothing has changed!” – Steve Peat

After a successful inaugural event in California last year the U.S. Cup Junior Mountain Bike Championships are doubling the fun and bringing a second weekend of top-level youth competition to the East Coast. The well-known and respected Maxxis Eastern States Cup series will be organizing the new Eastern Championships and their years of experience promise a flawless event. The championships offer a place for top young talent from all over the country to test themselves against their peers. The U.S. Cup is no stranger to organizing top-level mountain bike races. 2019 marks the 10th year the U.S. Cup has produced UCI Olympic cross-country events for athletes. These events represent the highest level of professional cross-country in the U.S., and offer athletes valuable points for World Cup and Olympic racing for their countries.

The Junior Mountain Bike Championships will crown champions in both cross-country and enduro disciplines. The races will be divided by gender and offer racing age classes in two year increments starting with a 10-and-under class. There will also be an elite category where any junior who feels they can be the fastest in the nation can step up to the plate. Registration is open to anyone from anywhere and we extend a special invitation to our friends from north of the border to come join the fun. No licenses of any kind are needed so there is no red tape for parents to worry about.

The venue for the U.S. Cup East Coast Junior Mountain Bike Championships will be Glen Park in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Glen Park has played host to an Eastern States Couple enduro race each of the past couple years and has been lauded by racers for the variety of terrain it packs into a modest 500' vertical. The Pocono Bike Club maintains more than ten miles of trails in Glen Park that run the gamut from cross country to freeride. The trails check all the boxes with flow, tech, steeps, rocky features and speed but are still approachable for any level of rider.

For racers interested in participating at the collegiate level, this event will offer a unique chance to meet coaches and recruiters from many of the top cycling schools in the country. Coaches will be offering training and race strategy clinics in both cross-country and enduro and will be looking for young talent to showcase their skills on race day. Visiting schools can be a daunting undertaking for a family but this event will offer ample opportunities for parents and racers to meet and interact with a wide range of coaches over the course of one weekend. College coaches will be on hand and available all weekend but Friday will feature several clinics with coaches that should prove invaluable to every racer, especially those considering collegiate competition in their future.

Here is the tentative schedule for the East Coast Championships:

CROSS COUNTRY

The Cross Country Championships will be held on Saturday

Endurance racers will compete on a 3-4 mile lap for a certain number of laps. Lap counts will be determined by category. Laps consist of uphills and downhills on varied terrain. Usual laps times will be 10-15 minutes per lap.

ENDURO

The Enduro Championships will be held on Sunday

Enduro is a gravity-based event with multiple timed stages. The timed stages are the downhill portions. The uphill portions are not timed. The podium results will be based on an accumulation of time for all timed stages.

FULL SCHEDULE

Thursday: (June 13, 2019)

Glen Park is open for riding at your own risk

Friday: (June 14, 2019)

8am - 11:30am - Course inspection and pre-riding for Cross Country (Enduro pre-riding is closed)

10:30am - 11:30am - Enduro discussion with the college coaches

11:30am -12:30pm - General presentations from the college coaches

12:30pm - 1:30pm XC discussion with the college coaches

12:30pm - 4pm Course inspection and pre-riding for Enduro (Cross Country pre-riding is closed)

8am - 2pm onsite registration and packet pickup opens

Saturday: (June 15th, 2019) (No enduro pre-riding)

7am – 1pm Onsite registration and packet pickup

9:00am XC Race Start4:30 Podiums all categories

Sunday (June 16, 2019)

7am – 8am Onsite enduro registration and packet pickup open

7am - 9:30am Enduro course inspection and pre-riding

9:45 mandatory Enduro racer meeting at registration area

10am all racer staging

Here are the age categories for the Cross Country Championships:

Only 50 spots available per category

Elite Boys (ages 11-19)

Elite Girls (ages 11-19)

Boys 17-18

Girls 17-18

Boys 15-16

Girls 15-16

Boys 13-14

Girls 13-14

Boys 11-12

Girls 11-12

Open 10 & under

Here are the age categories for the Enduro Championships:

Only 50 spots available per category

Elite Boys (ages 11-19)

Elite Girls (ages 11-19)

Boys 17-18

Girls 17-18

Boys 15-16

Girls 15-16

Boys 13-14

Girls 13-14

Boys 11-12

Girls 11-12

Open 10 & under

The West Coast Junior Championships will follow a similar format and take place the prior week. Vail Lake Resort in Temecula, California will be the host site and the championships will be held on June 8th and 9th. The West Coast Championships will be organized by SoCal Endurance, SoCal Enduro and Team Big Bear.

This promises to be a great family event with fun youth racing for every age level and a unique opportunity to meet college coaches and showcase your talent. We look forward to seeing the fastest young rippers challenging for the Championship Jerseys.