US CUP - Mountain Bike Racing Alive and Well in the USA!

I'm stoked... 'nuff said.

 

gotta say I back up eric's opinion here. be stoked about this, i definitely am!

 

Its all about what they make of the races and not necessarily the cities / venues they are held at. These races are bound to be much more than what they used to be, especially if they get UCI standings, as Scott was originally planning. Not sure if this is still on the table, but if so, that will be enough to attract the top US and international pros.

If we want mountain bike racing to achieve a top sport status in the US as it has in Europe, we need to support these kinds of efforts. Is it the best it could be - probably not; is it the best we have now - absolutely; can it grow to be world caliber - from here on - yes.

The fact that they are all in So Cal (or there abouts) is actually great, because now we amateurs who can't afford to fly over to Mt Snow or Windham to compete, will have the ability to compete at a national level competition, meet the top pros, mix it up with the best vendors and manufacturers, etc etc.

Power to you Scott and Sho Air!!

 

i agree sho air is freakin awsome, i dont have a single complant

 

The great thing about the short amount of time between races means I can get 3-4 nationals in before I deploy in May! Plus hitting up the grassroots races around the area!

 

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your comments, both for and against, all I ask is that rather then continuing to be negative, let’s look at the positives, as there has been enough negativity over the last few years.

I will say that this has been the hardest thing I have ever tried to do in my entire adult life. I have dealt with so much negativity and petty bull over the last 5 months I cannot even begin to tell you. The only thing that kept me going was the fact that I love riding my bike and some of these negative jerks pissed me off and I was not about to quit on the people who love this sport and love to compete, for glory or fun. I am doing this for anyone and everyone Pro and Amateur alike that want to come race or ride at an event and hang out with their family and friends and forget (maybe just for a day) how hard everyday life can be.

Give it a chance, it will be great, not everyone will be 100% happy, and there are always a 1000 different ways to do it, but we are doing our best and we are going to give back a lot to the amateurs. There will be great contests and great give always, so please be positive and wait for more details, I think you will be very happy and very surprised.

As for people complaining about the California dominated racing on the west coast, well, Dear Valley is done with MTB races, Nova Az would not give us a permit, and we have just as of today, worked a deal to drop our June 7th race at Elings and replace it with a Colorado Springs event on June 13th.

I guess I am saying, get on board, or start your own series and do everything perfect since there are so many of you that have all of the answers.

See you soon, Shred

Scott Tedro

 

The demise of NMBS hasn't been a big secret and it hasn't been any secret that Sho-Air was the only driving force behind any kind of national calendar. I say let's do these races in Scott's backyard and let him save gas money. Go Sho-Air. Thanks.

 

SoCal Cup: Team Big Bear Schedule?

Does anyone know when the schedule for SoCal Cup is posted? Thanks!

 

I think this is what your looking for.

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/for...-cup-mountain-bike-racing-alive-well-usa.html

 

Scott,

It's great that you have put so much energy into creating a new series.

Sometimes when people (me, included) make "complaints", please take them as feedback you can either use for the future or ignore if you'd like. After all, you're the promoter, you get to make the decisions.

But, please don't stop listening to the feedback that the racers provide...it can be very valuable. It's not that we have all the answers, but since we are on the racing (and paying end), our feedback should matter, too.

Best of luck in 2009!

 

On another note, sad to hear that Deer Valley won't be holding bike races anymore!

It was a schlep to get there, but it is gorgeous scenery and a cool town!

 

Well said. Thanks for all the hard work putting this thing together, man. See you on the starting line.

 

why are people complaining? hell the norba national series lost the ability to give real prize money to its pros back when Chevy dropped out.... and great venues like bigbear and deer valley aren't doing races anymore it totally want downhill after ~2001 but
I don't see it as a lack of national schedule I see it as more heavy competition for me to drive to in socal so I can get my ass handed to me

 

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Thanks for the reply, but I am actually looking for the Team Big Bear Southern California Cup. It's a Southern California series as compared to the national US cup. This is their site (http://www.teambigbear.com/index.php), but I don't see 2009 schedule yet. The site says tentative is up, but it still says 2008 (maybe a typo?) I was hoping someone might have an inside scoop or could redirect me in case I am confused (which happens alot)

Hey...don't you live in Big Bear? Is it snow covered yet?

 

I think it is less of a function of people complaining and more of a function of racers finally feel like there is a race promoter (Sho-Air) who will listen to the racers feedback. Sometimes things border on the negative, but there is also a lot of positive feedback, too.

For so long, the racers have been ignored by the promoters or powers that be (USAC). With change comes opportunity for growth and improvement. I think that's what we're hoping for. True, you have to start somewhere and we shouldn't complain that there is a sense of renewed excitement around the US Cup.

 

DH racing

The Fontana and Los Olivos races will definitely be holding DH races at the same time, but I don't know about the other venues.

I looks like they have not posted the 2009 schedule yet. I sent them an email to find out when it will be posted. [email protected]

 

Our 2nd home is in Big Bear we were up there yesterday. Light snow cover in the higher ZERO sun areas's but bone dry in town!! (sucks) It sprinkled on us a bit but was too warm to snow.

(so for the derail)

 

some of these dates appear to be mid-week (wednesdays). could that be right? they dont call me a weekend warrior cus im available during the week.

how lucky are we that all these events are taking place here in so cal. this is going to be awesome.

 

So is my understanding correct that the Kenda Cup is just XC? I know a few may have DH/4X/DS too but is this something that is also backed by Shoair or just also happening?

 

I think we're all on board .. don't mistake feedback and questions for negativity

As evidenced by the many questions in this thread, there is still alot of confusion regarding dates, venues and the relationship between this US Cup series and others. This would be a good opportunity to ask the community what needs clarification so that you can provide the details on the website.

I'll start:

• Is the date for Sea Ottter really 4/15?
• Where can we find additional information about each race (links, flyers, contacts, etc)
• How does this series relate to the usacycling series (https://www.usacycling.org/forms/mtb/09_MBNCschedule_XC2.pdf)
• How will the points system work?
• Is it just XC or will there be other events?
• The usacycling calendar lists Fontana US Cup race as 3/20-22 . The US Cup calendar says 3/28-29 . Are both races on for different point series? Or does one calendar have the date wrong?
• What are the "United States Cup" events listed on the usacycling calendar? They are slightly different.

Not being pushy or negative. And I realize its all a work in progress and that details will be rolled out when available. But before we ask our bosses and families for some days off, It'd be nice to know all the details.

Thanks for all the work, Scott. We appreciate it :clap: