Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 26, 2010) -- The 2010 USA Cycling Pro Mountain Bike Cross Country Tour (Pro XCT) is set to kick off on Saturday with the US Cup in Fontana, Calif.
As the first of the Pro XCT’s five UCI-inscripted events, Fontana will set the stage for some intense competition. Many of the world’s top mountain bikers will be racing for valuable UCI points that determine start positions not only for the World Cup finale in New York this summer, but also for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec the following weekend.
In the men’s race, American strong men Todd Wells (Durango, Colo./Specialized), Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher), and Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont./Subaru-Gary Fisher) will be contenders, along with Canadians Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) and Max Plaxton (Sho-Ari-Specialized), as well as Aussie Sid Taberlay (Sho-Air-Specialized).
On the women’s side of competition, American stand-out Georgia Gould (Ketchum, Idaho/Luna), who has won in Fontana for the past three years, will be up against riders like Canadian Catherine Pendrel (Luna) and Norwegian Lene Byberg (Specialized). Other contenders in the women’s race will include 2009 world championship bronze medalist Willow Koerber (Asheville, N.C./Subaru-Gary Fisher) and 2009 USA Cycling national champ Heather Irmiger (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher).
In addition to providing a sequence of international-caliber events where elite cross country racers can earn UCI points, the USA Cycling Pro XCT will name overall individual and team champions at the end of the series. American riders especially will be looking for strong rides this weekend in Fontana as the top U.S. male and female riders in the Pro XCT standings at the end of the series will earn a spot on the U.S. National Team for the world championships (provided they are in the top 3). Click here to see the 2010 Pro XCT distribution of points for both individual riders and teams.
REMINDER to domestic pro mountain bike teams that are not registered as UCI teams:
In order to be tabulated into the Pro XCT Team Rankings, your team must be registered as a USA Cycling Mountain Bike Domestic Pro Team, and team ranking points will only begin to accumulate at the next event after a team’s registration. CLICK HERE for the 2010 Mountain Bike Domestic Pro Team Membership Application.
For more information about USA Cycling’s Pro XCT, please visit its Pro XCT webpage.
