US Cross Country National Championships 2012: Preview

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Beautiful views from the race courses in Sun Valley, Idaho(Image credit: Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor)

For the second consecutive year, US cross country mountain bike nationals are happening in Sun Valley, Idaho. Up to 1,500 cross country, short track and super D racers of all ages are expected in Ketchum. The USA Cycling championship event wraps up the Ride Sun Valley Bike Festival, which has been happening all week.

Gould, finished in the top three during both of the past two weekends of World Cup racing, will be challenged by fellow Olympic team member Lea Davison (Specialized). The two have consistently been the top Americans racing this season so far, but there are several other racers who could vie for the title including past national champions Heather Irmiger (Subaru/Trek) and Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven/NoTubes).

Wells is ready to go for another national title. "The beginning of this season I had a light scheduled compared to previous years," he said to Cyclingnews. "I had a bit of an injury and was racing a bit less, so I finally feel like I'm getting into a groove. Mont-Ste-Anne didn't go so well for me, but Windham was good. I put a lot of emphasis and have focused intently on this race, so I'm excited for it."

The pros and young juniors will race the same just-under-four-mile cross country course as last year. Elite men do six laps. U23 men and elite women do five laps while U23 women do four laps. Junior 15-18 men race four laps while junior 15-18 women race three laps. The pro course features one long, steep, mostly fireroad climb, followed by a long, pedally singletrack downhill where there is not passing. There is a short flat section with a rock garden at the bottom by the lodge.

"This course is a little different than the courses we're often seeing now. It's similar to Windham in that there is one long climb and one long descent," said Wells to Cyclingnews. "This course was great for me last year and Windham was great for me last weekend. It's not necessarily my favorite course to ride, but when you're racing, the races are always hard and it's a fair course. It'll select a good champion.

Amateurs will race a completely different, single-lap cross country course. No longer using the Bald Mountain climb, the route takes riders up on Cold Springs and around the mountain. The finish is the same as the course winds back to River Run with the rock drop section remaining in the course. Riders will start with a short one-mile start loop in the River Run base area before making one large loop, traversing over 18 miles.

Some of the elite racers will get up early Sunday morning to contest the super D. The approximately six-mile super D course is largely the same as 2011 with some minor tweaks. Adam Craig (Rabobank-Giant) and Carl Decker (Giant) are expected to go head-to-head again. Last year, they finished less than two seconds apart. Lea Davison (Specialized) won last year's elite women's super D, but there is no word yet whether she will also race the super D again this year.

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Sue George is an editor at Cyclingnews. She coordinates all of the site's mountain bike race coverage and assists with the road, 'cross and track coverage.