NCS Visits East Coast Off-Road Capital
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Traditional stop at Mount Snow offers festive atmosphere, more amateur racing Mount Snow, Vt. (June 12, 2003) Long considered the off-road cycling capital of the Northeast, Mount Snow, Vermont will welcome the third stop of the NORBA National Championship Mountain Bike Series, June 19-22. The 2003 race season is in full swing, and the NORBA Series is attracting world-class mountain bike athletes from more than 10 nations, and four continents, across all four disciplines of the sport: Cross Country, Short Track, Downhill and Mountain Cross. Mount Snow, long known for its challenging wooded courses, has hosted mountain bike events since 1988, including the New England Championship, four UCI World Cups and the NORBA finals in 2002. This year marks the tenth visit for the NORBA NCMBS to Mount Snow. The compact schedule of the Pro/Elite categories will again be followed allowing for greater spectator viewing on Saturday and Sunday as well as more time for the amateur race schedule. This format has already proven successful this year, adding to the excitement and buzz of the Pro/Elite finals each day. On Saturday the professional women will be called to the start line at 10:30 a.m. to compete on the twisting and technical Cross Country course, with the professional men following at 12:30 p.m. This Olympic event is important to the riders as many national teams use NORBA results in the selection of their Olympic athletes. The Shimano Kids Race is scheduled in between the two races at 12:00 p.m. allowing families to enjoy a full day of off-road action. The pro Mountain Cross finals will close out racing on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. in a crowd pleasing stadium-like atmosphere. As is tradition at this venue, Saturday night will be full of entertainment and live music at The Snow Barn and will celebrate the weekend with a live fireworks show. On Sunday the Pro/Elite women will navigate the Short Track course at 12:30 p.m,. with the men starting at 1:00 p.m. The course is completely visible as it winds its way through the expo area at Main Base Lodge. Pro/elite Downhill women will jump out of the start gate at 2:00 p.m. and the men will follow at 2:30 p.m. The Downhill course will again feature the infamous “Yard Sale rock garden,” one of the toughest challenges of the entire series. Amateur Mountain Cross will be featured for the first time on Thursday and will be run on the same course as the pros. Expert amateurs will also be able to race Short Track on Saturday. Set in the Green Mountain National Forest, Mount Snow offers 45 miles of mountain bike terrain consisting of singe-track, old town roads and ski trails in a classic Vermont setting. Because of the quality location, Team Devo, a team of junior mountain bike Olympic hopefuls, makes Mount Snow its official training site. Expect good attendance as previous NORBA events have had as many as 30,000 spectators and racers. Schedule information and a link to online registration for participants are at: http://www.mountsnow.com/site_index_summer.ilx The NORBA National Championships Mountain Bike Series is North America's premier off-road cycling series. The series crowns USA Cycling's Mountain Bike Champions. USA Cycling is the national governing body for cycle sport. GaleForce Sports Marketing is the series management and promotions company, and is recognized as the USA's leading cycling and events management group. About
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This Article Published June 12, 2003 For more information contact:
