No drops allowed in NORBA Marathon Series

Organiser of the U.S. based National Off-Road Bicycling National Mountain Bike Series announced the series rules and regulations this week. One significant change in the 2006 series over the 2005 series is the handling of event 'drops'; a rule that allows a racer to drop a specific of their results from a season (typically one race per season).

Changes for the 2006 series include the assignment of no drops in the marathon or Super D series (compared to one drop in the 2005). Which means contenders for the marathon overall title will need to attend all five races in the series. All five races are in West Coast venues, which puts a burden on East Coast athletes, but makes it a little simpler for West Coast racers to afford the travel to each event.

Two drops will be allowed in both the Mountain Cross and Downhill series. One in the cross-country and short-track endurance series. In each series that allows a drop, the National Mountain Bike Series finals cannot be used as the dropped race.

The 2006 NORBA Marathon Series race schedule

March 24, Nova Desert Classic, Phoenix, AZ
May 5-7, Southridge Park, CA
July 7-9, Deer Valley Resort, Park City, UT
July 14-16, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
August 4-6, Brian Head Resort, Brian Head, UT

For complete and current series rules, check out the NORBA Nationals Web site.