In a series of 'firsts' for Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA), the National Championships in 2006 move to a January time frame and will be split between XC and DH. The National XC Championships will be hosted by Team Mt. Beauty at the nationally famous Mt. Beauty MTB park on January 12-15, 2006. The National DH Championships will be hosted by RawNRG and Thredbo Range Rats in Thredbo the following week on January 19-22, 2006.
"2006 is a special year in many respects, said Tony Scott, CEO for MTBA. "The January date for the XC Championships was needed because of it being the final selection event for nomination of 2006 Commonwealth Games XC athletes. Nominations need to be finalized by the end of January and it takes two weeks for the Cycling Australia board to ratify the nominations and forward them to the Commonwealth Games secretariat.
