Massanutten races change dates

Two national-level races held at Massanutten Resort near Harrisonburg, Virginia, will be moving dates for 2010. The Hoo Ha! cross country race, which is scheduled tentatively as the final of the new US Mountain Bike Racing League (MBRL) will slip a few weeks to June 20 while the Yee Ha! downhill race, a round of the Gravity East Series (GES) will move up a week to May 1.

The Hoo Ha! has been run on the first weekend of June in recent years, but is shifting so as to avoid conflict with other races such as the Teva Games, the Bump & Grind US ProXCT round and the Trans-Sylvania stage race. "We had been set on that date for at least four years. We chose to fly instead of fight," said Masannutten's George Willetts. "I hope that we hit gold by moving the date to father's day." The race will also serve as the first stop in the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association (WVMBA) ultra series.

The Yee Ha! move comes in order to avoid conflict with the local university's graduation weekend. "We wanted to get away from James Madison University graduation. The race has been on Mother's day weekend, which didn't seem to help or hurt us because we run the race on Saturday." The move also helps Massanutten avoid conflicts with opening weekend events at other ski areas in the mid-Atlantic and north east.

A large turnout for the downhill race is expected again next year. "For two years in a row, we've had 23 states or Canada represented. We had over 250 competitors."