The recent growth trends of participation in competitive cycling are continuing as USA Cycling this week exceeded 33,700 members for the 2008 season - an increase of more than 3.39% compared to this week last year. USA Cycling finished the 2007 season with 61,564 licenses sold. Currently, mountain bike license sales are up 2.2% while Road, Track and Cyclo-cross license sales are up 4%.

If you haven't yet renewed your license, remember you can quickly and easily renew online through your My USA Cycling account on the USA Cycling website. Also, as a reminder to those purchasing licenses online, please take the time to fill out the optional seven-minute survey that appears near the end of your license application. USA Cycling has implemented this survey to better serve our members. All members are encouraged to complete the questionnaire so that we can continue to provide our members with the highest level of customer service and support. Your feedback is vital to the continued service of our members and the implementation of future membership programs, benefits and partners. Renew Today! Thanks to the thousands of members who have already filled out the survey and offered valuable feedback.

Hertz and USA Cycling would like to announce additional savings at all USA Cycling National Championship events. Use promo-code CDP# 262813 and PC# 114612 for additional savings on car rentals at all USA Cycling National Championship events. Visit www.hertz.com or call 1-800-654-2200 for reservations. Please be prepared to provide your USA Cycling license number upon rental.

Colorado Premier Training is offering all USA Cycling members a 10% discount on wind tunnel testing sessions. Call 970-672-4780 or click here and provide your USA Cycling license number and USAC1 to access your savings.

All registered USA Cycling collegiate teams are now eligible for a free team account from TrainingPeaks, This account will allow each team to manage all training programs and data for free, leading into the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships this May. For more information on this offer, click here. Only one free account per registered collegiate team. To take advantage of this free TrainingPeaks offer, create your team account here.

As a reminder, all USA Cycling members, shop the USA Cycling online mall and receive a 10% discount on all official XP Apparel-branded USA Cycling merchandise. Check out the latest line of clothing and accessories in our online mall at www.usacycling.org/mall.

A reminder that all USA Cycling members receive a 10% discount off the "best available rate" at all Hampton Hotels. The offer is good at any of the following: Hampton Inn, Hilton, Conrad Suites, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacation Club, or Homewood Suites. Visit www.hamptonlovescycling.com for more information.

USA Cycling has announced the 2008 Regional Athlete Development Camps schedule. The goal of these camps is to provide development opportunities for young riders, as well as to identify future talent prospects. Top performing athletes will be invited to attend the National Talent Identification Camp at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., October 9-13. Registration begins March 1. To view the full schedule and to learn more about registration, eligibility and fees, visit www.usacycling.org/lajors or click here and scroll down.

USA Cycling currently has a job opening for a Service Course Mechanic. The Service Course Mechanic will build, service, and manage team equipment. The Service Course Mechanic will assist in supporting all resident athletes, athletes during training camps at Olympic Training Centers and USA Cycling supported athletes. A strong working knowledge of bicycle construction and maintenance is required. For more information on this and all USA Cycling openings, click here.

Levi Leipheimer (Santa Rosa, Calif./Astana) once again established himself as the leader on the USA Cycling Professional Tour after his overall victory in the AMGEN Tour of California. The eight-day, 650-mile stage race was the first of 16 stops on the USA Cycling Professional Tour calendar which is returning for its second year. Four Americans finished amongst the top 10 overall in the UCI 2.HC-rated race. For complete results click here. For more information on the USA Cycling Pro Tour click here. For more information on the AMGEN Tour of California visit www.tourofcalifornia.com.

Graduates of the National Development Team represent nearly a decade of USA Cycling's efforts to grow interest in American cycling by consistently feeding talent into the European and domestic pro pelotons. As that growing interest took center stage at the Tour of California, 18 graduates of the program lined up with the 136-rider field for 650 miles of California racing. For more on the growth of professional cycling in the United States and the USA Cycling National Development Team riders who are now a part of the international peloton, click here.

The Women's AMGEN Tour of California Criterium, formerly known as the Santa Rosa Women's Grand Prix, kicked off the 2008 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar on February 18. Brooke Miller (Los Altos, Calif./Tibco) took the victory in the women-only criterium in downtown Santa Rosa which served as a prelude to the finish of stage one of the AMGEN Tour of California. Laura Van Gilder (Cresco, Pa./Cheerwine) crossed the line in second place, while Emila Fahlin (SWE) was third. For complete results click here. The race was the first of 35 events and one of seven women-only events that make up this year's NRC. The NRC will feature more than $1.2 million in prize money, $523,000 for women, in 2008. For details on the National Racing Calendar visit USA Cycling's NRC page here.

The 2008 USA Cycling National Racing Calendar began with a women-only event on February 18. With the Women's AMGEN Tour of California the only event contested so far on the 35-event calendar, the latest version of the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar standings are as follows:

The 2.2-rated Geelong Women's Tour got underway Down Under on February 21. Eleven different Americans, including the USA Cycling Women's National Team, competed amongst the world's best in the unofficial kick off to the women's season. To read more about the ladies in action click here. In the eight-kilometer opening time trial on Feb. 21, Katheryn Curi Mattis (Mountain View, Calif./Webcor Builders) turned in the top American performance in fifth place, 54 seconds behind top-finisher Christiane Soeder's (AUT) time of 11:28. Kristin Armstrong (Boise, Idaho/Cervelo-Lifeforce) was only a second back in sixth and Christine Thorburn (Sunnyvale, Calif./Webcor Builders) finished 11th. The USA Cycling's Women's National Team's Alison Powers (Boulder, Colo.) and Katharine Carroll (Sausalito, Calif.) were 16th and 20th to round out the Americans in the top 20. In the stage-two Portarlington road circuit, Team High Road went one-two with Oenone Wood (AUS) and Ina Teutenberg (GER), but Tina Pic (Buford, Ga./ Vrienden Van Het Platteland) was able to pull of an eighth-place finish, while Lauren Franges (Asheville, N.C./USA Cycling Women's National Team) crossed the line 13th in the sprint to the finish. Stage three's 115-kilometer road race saw the two High Road riders swap places in first and second while Franges finished an impressive sixth place.

The 11-race UCI Women's Road World Cup series continues with the Trofeo Alfredo Binda in Italy on March 24, but the international peloton, including the USA Cycling Women's National Team, will remain in the Southern Hemisphere for next week's Women's Tour of New Zealand, Feb. 27 through Mar. 2. Recent Santa Rosa Women's Grand Prix winner, Miller, will join Franges, Carroll, Powers, Ruiter and Carmen McNellis (Durango, Colo.) on the U.S. squad.

The USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar kicked off February 14-16 with the Mas O Menos 100k in Terlingua, Texas. Jason Sager (Portland, Ore./MonavieCannodale.com) took the men's overall victory in 4:05:03, while Christina Smith (Denton, Texas/Lonestarworks-Austin Bikes) won the women's 100-kilometer overall with a time of 4:51:08. For complete results, click here.

The second event on the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar took place on February 16 in Bellview, Fla. The 12-Hours of Santos saw Independent Fabrications' Harvey Minton (Tampa, Fla.) take the win in the men's pro solo category. Carol Clemens (Pittsburgh, Pa./Dirt Rag-Hoss-Lupine) earned a close victory in the pro women's race. For complete results from the 12-Hours of Santos, click here.

The 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar began on February 14. With two of nine races completed, the latest version of the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra Endurance Calendar standings are as follows:

The next event on the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Ultra-Endurance Calendar will be Dirt, Sweat and Gears, May 2-3. Find out more about the 12-hour race in Fayetteville, Tenn. at www.dirtsweatandgears.com. For more information on USA Cycling's Mountain Bike National Calendars, click here.

The USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Cross Country Calendar will kick-off March 15-16 in Lake Isabella, Calif. The 20th Annual Keyesville Classic will be comprised of both a short track and a cross country competition. For more information on the category four race, visit www.ssfta.com.

The USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Gravity Calendar will also open at the Keyesville Classic in Lake Isabella, Calif., March 15-16. The gravity portion of the event will consist of a USA Cycling category-three downhill competition.

USA Cycling has announced the eight athletes it will send to the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup event in Adelaide, Australia, April 12-13. The Adelaide Supercross is the second of five UCI BMX Supercross events in 2008 and will also serve as the 16th of 18 races that factor into the USA Cycling BMX rankings on the men's side and the 14th of 16 for the women. Kyle Bennett (Conroe, Texas), Donny Robinson (Napa, Calif.), Steven Cisar (Altadena, Calif.), Mike Day (Santa Clarita, Calif.), Tyler Brown (San Clemente, Calif.), Arielle Martin (Pleasant Grove, Utah), Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash.) and Amanda Geving (Largo, Fla.) were named to the funded squad. For more information on the team, click here.

The 2008 UCI BMX Madrid Supercross World Cup was the 13th race to factor into USA Cycling's BMX Rankings for elite men. With only five races remaining the latest version of the USA Cycling BMX Rankings are as follows:

The next race that factors into the 2008 USA Cycling BMX Rankings for both men and women is the NBL Gator National in West Palm Beach, Fla. March 15-16.

All registered USA Cycling collegiate teams are now eligible for a free team account from TrainingPeaks, This account will allow each team to manage all training programs and data, for free, leading into the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships this May. For more information on this offer, click here. Only one free account per registered collegiate team. To take advantage of this free TrainingPeaks offer, create your team account here.

The Ryan Collegiate Women's All Star Team will once again take to the road at the Nature Valley Grand Prix, June 11-15. The team, sponsored by construction giant The Ryan Companies, will return for its second season in 2008 and is the result of a partnership between USA Cycling and the Nature Valley Grand Prix, a stage race ranked at the top of USA Cycling's National Racing Calendar. The team will be selected at the 2008 USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships, May 8-11, in Fort Collins, Colo. Selection will be based on the final omnium standings. The Ryan Collegiate All-Star Team will be composed of eight riders from different collegiate teams, four from Division I and four from Division II, who are not members of teams already attending the Nature Valley Grand Prix.

The 2008 USA Cycling Rulebook is now available on-line in the Rulebook and Officials Manuals portion of the USA Cycling website. Officials should be sure to purchase a license online in order to receive a hard copy of the new manual.

USA Cycling will also be hosting an upgrade seminar for National Commissaires in Colorado Springs, March 18-23. All Level A officials with two years of experience are eligible to attend. For more information please contact Shawn Farrell.

USA Cycling will be hosting a Level II coaching clinic in Morgantown, W.Va., March 7-9. For more information on upcoming coaching clinics visit the coaching program portion of the USA Cycling website.

USA Cycling is offering several upcoming coaching webinars. Webinars are web-based seminars open to any USAC member. Most require a fee of $35 for USAC members. Upcoming webinars include: The Business Side of Coaching on February 19, Mental Preparation for Competition on February 20 and Succesful Weight Loss Strategies for Endurance Athletes on March 11. Details on the webinars and technical information are available here.

All of USA Cycling's 2008 National Championships across all disciplines, ages, abilities and genders have been announced.
For more information on all of USA Cycling's 2008 National Championships click here.
A complete schedule of national championship events is as follows: