Junior MTB Development Race Camps

In an effort to extend international development opportunities to a larger number of our best young US Mountain Bikers, USA Cycling will organize three Cross-Country Mountain Bike Development Camps in Europe, Canada and the USA for the spring/summer of 2016. Riders who are eager to improve through international competition are encouraged to use these camps as a primary development tool.

2016 Camp Dates

• Camp #1 - May 10-22 – European Race Camp (17-18 Junior Men & Women)
• Camp #2 - June 2-12 – Canada Cup Race Camp (17-18 Junior Men & Women)
• Camp #3 - July 28-30 – Boston Pro XCT Race Camp (15-16 & 17-18 Junior Men & Women)
• Camp #4 – late July-early August- European Race Camp (15-16 & 17-18 Junior Men & Women)

2016 Race Schedule

• May 13-15 – French Cup UCI, Ussel, France (Camp #1)
• May 21-22 – Junior UCI Series, Albstadt, Germany (Camp #1)
• June 5 – Horseshoe Valley Canada Cup UCI C2, Ontario, Canada (Camp #2)
• June 12 – Trek Store Canada Cup, Ontario, Canada (Camp #2)
• July 30 – Boston Rebellion Pro XCT UCI C2 (camp #3)
• July-August – Two weekends of MTB racing in Northern Europe (TBD)

Financial Responsibility

• 2015 Cross Country Junior Men & Women category 1 aged 15-16 & 17-18 Mountain Bike National Champions will only be required to pay for their round-trip airfare.
• Any rider who qualified for automatic nomination to the 2015 Mountain Bike World Championships will only be required to pay for their round-trip airfare. 
• All other attending riders will be required to pay for their round-trip airfare as well as a camp fee which will range from $600 to $1000 depending on the camp. 

• All interested riders should petition for a specific camp using the European MTB Race Camp petition form which can be found by following the this link.  This form should be emailed directly to Marc Gullickson at mgullickson@usacycling.org on or before the Camp #1 petition deadline date of April 11, 2016, the Camp #2 petition deadline date of May 2, 2016, or the Camp #3 petition deadline of June 27, 2016.
• For Camp #1, 2 & 4 riders will be selected based on 2015 and 2016 international and domestic race results.
• For Camp #3 top 15-18 junior men and women performers from the two (2) USA Cycling Regional Mountain Bike Talent ID Camps will be given special consideration.

• Provide high level UCI race experience for our countries best young cross-country mountain bike riders.
• Offer an alternative to using the World Championships as a development tool.  The World Championships should be viewed as a secondary goal after a rider has performed successfully at one of the Mountain Bike Development Camps.  Of course any rider who meets the published World Championship automatic selection criteria will be selected for the World Championship Team.
• Give riders an opportunity to experience high level international competition in a supportive team atmosphere in advance of their participation in other top tier events such as World Cup events and the World Championships.

• In 2017 our goal will be to offer even more opportunities for Junior riders to race and train in Europe.
• Riders interested in attending 2017 European Mountain Bike Race Camps should strive to attain top results in the Mountain Bike National Championships as well as USAC Pro XCT events.  International results as well as results from these domestic events will be used as the main selection events for the 2017 Camps.