Melissa Buhl (KHS) on the dual slalom course (Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
Dual slalom racing will return as a part of the 2011 and 2012 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships. The 2011 edition will not happen during the UCI-specified National Championships weekend in mid-July, but instead will happen on September 23-25 in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. 2011 is the first year that cross country and gravity nationals will be held separately.
Due to rider feedback, USA Cycling said that the head-to-head dual slalom competition will replace the four cross event at the gravity national championships this fall.
2007 dual slalom national champion Christopher Herndon is building the course at Beech Mountain with the goal of increasing participation in the gravity national championship event.
Although the discipline is changing, the categories will remain the same for dual slalom including pro men; category 1 men: 15-18, 19-29, 30-39, 40+, Junior: 14 & under; and category 2/3 men: 18 & under, 19-29, 30-39, 40+. The women can compete in a pro category or combined category 1/2/3.
