New venue will host round three of US National MTB Series
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Mann all alone out front(Image credit: US Cup)
Mariske Strauss wins the short track at Bonelli Park(Image credit: John Muller/US Cup)
Blake Harlan (Team Jamis) rides some shady singletrack(Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru Trek) attempts to catch his teammate Sam Schultz(Image credit: Dave McElwaine/trailwatch.net)
The US Pro Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) is on hiatus for a few months while top racers contest several rounds of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, but when the action resumes in the US national mountain bike series, racers will head to Ute Valley in Colorado Springs, Colorado for round 3.
The Ute Valley race adds a new venue for the US Pro XCT. Colorado Endurance Sports is organizing the race, officially titled the 2012 Ute Valley Pro XCT Presented by Rotor Bike USA, on June 16-17, 2012.
The Ute Valley venue will include a UCI-category 2 Pro XCT cross country, amateur cross country, kids, junior and short track races plus it will be the first-ever US Pro XCT round to offer an eliminator for the elite riders. The eliminator will be a world championship event for the first time in September of this year at the Worlds in Austria.
This spectator-friendly course will start and finish on a dirt running track that encloses the Ute Valley Cycling Expo, which will showcase the latest in cycling equipment, apparel and accessories.
Ute Valley is a mountain bike venue filled with tight twisty singletrack, short steep climbs, and speedy, rocky descents. At 4.5 miles in length, the course will include a mix of open doubletrack suitable for passing, as well as technical riding that should prove fun to ride and watch. The course is at 6100 feet of elevation and has 344 feet of climbing per lap.
