US MTB Nationals return to Mammoth in July '06

The USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships will return to Mammoth Mountain, Calif. in 2006 but will shift to an earlier date, the national governing body announced yesterday.

Scheduled for July 20-23, 2006, next season's USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships falls more closely in line with the traditional mid-summer UCI date.

"I think this will be another welcome change for our members," commented USA Cycling chief executive officer Gerard Bisceglia. "With last year's new format and now a more attractive date during the heart of the mountain bike season, we're much better aligned with the rest of the international mountain biking community."

In 2004, the adoption of a one-day USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships altered the way national champions were crowned as a season-long national championship series was no longer used.

2006 will mark the third consecutive year that Mammoth Mountain has hosted the event.

With a new date in place for '06, a new qualifying timeline has also been introduced. Riders who meet the qualifying standards beginning August 1, 2005 will be eligible to compete at the 2006 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships.

As a result of the new date and new qualifying window, a six-week period late this summer also affords the opportunity for USA Cycling members to qualify for both the 2005 and 2006 championship events. Riders who meet the qualifying standards between August 1, 2005 and September 12, 2005 will automatically be qualified to participate in the 2005 and 2006 editions.