Sky-Hi News file photo
Elite mountain biker riders from throughout the U.S. will gear up to get down this weekend for the 2019 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships at Winter Park Resort.
The annual event pitting top tier riders from across the United States officially kicked off Monday as competitors completed their registrations and began holding initial practice sessions. Racing got underway on Tuesday and continues throughout the weekend with the downhill male and female pro finals set to begin at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
Riders participating in the Mountain Bike National Championships will compete on one of seven designated courses. Each ranges in distance from the cross-country short track circling the Vintage Hotel at just seven-tenths of a mile to the enduro track at 22.9 miles, which includes two separate lift rides and track segments in remote areas of the resort, such as the Eagle Wind Territory.
Other routes for the Mountain Bike Nationals include the downhill amateur course, leading from the Lodge at Sunspot down to the resort base via a series of downhill runs in Trestle Bike Park, and the 1.9 mile junior cross country course, which takes young riders on a steep climb from the Resort base up Turnpike and Turnpike Parkway Bypass before quickly returning to the base.
Event organizers anticipate more than 970 riders of varying ages, skill levels and disciplines competing in this year’s event. This year’s championships also features elite riders, including Seamus Powell, a four-time multi-discipline national champion, and Porsha Murdock, who will look to defend her 2018 women’s enduro championship win against a slate of other riders in 2019.
The 2019 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships will wrap up Sunday afternoon with an awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at the Winter Park Resort Village Stage.