Venue, date change announced for 24-Hour Mountain Bike Nationals

Colorado Springs, Colo. (March 11, 2010) -- USA Cycling announced today a change in the dates and venue for the 2010 USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships. 

The event will now return to Moab, Utah for 2010, to be held in conjunction with the 24-Hours of Moab event, October 9-10.  

The USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships were originally scheduled to take place alongside the 24-Hours of Big Bear in Hazelton, W. Va., June 12-13. However, due to financial concerns, 24-Hour Race Series promoter Laird Knight cancelled the 2010 edition of the West Virginia race.

"It's been tough." said Granny Gear Production's President, Laird Knight, "I know how dissapointed folks are going to be. For myself, I was really excited to have the Nationals come home to West Virginia and I know there was a lot of excitement about this. But last year we were robbing Peter to pay Paul all year long and at the end of the year I had to borrow money to pay for Moab expenses. I simply can't afford to do that again. I made efforts to bridge the gap with extra sponsorships and I had some commitments in place but I didn't muster enough to move forward with confidence. As we move ahead, I'm looking forward to having the time and energy to pour into making this year's 24 Hours of Moab one of our best events we've ever produced and I will be hitting the re-set button on both 24 Hours of Big Bear and 24 Hours of 9-Mile for 2011. With the lead-time to put marketing and sponsorship programs together and with the commitment on the part of participants to put a shoulder into building our 2011 attendance, both of these events will be able to return and be successful. In the meantime, for all those folks who have raced with Granny Gear and dreamed of going to Moab, this is definitly the year to do it. In our new ten-year permit with the BLM, we secured a higher field limit of 550 teams and the venue can easily handle that."

In its second year being hosted by the 24-Hours of Moab, the USA Cycling 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships will award national titles in fifteen different categories:  Male and Female Solo, Single speed, Duo, 4-person team, Junior 4-person team, Master 4-person team 35+, Master 4-person team 45+, as well as Mixed Duo.

“It’s unfortunate that Big Bear isn’t happening this year,” said USA Cycling’s Mountain Bike Events Director, Kelli Lusk. “But it’s exciting to have the 24-Hours of Moab host our 24-Hour Mountain Bike National Championships again. We are certainly looking forward to a great second year in Moab.”

For more information about the 24-Hours of Moab, or to learn about registration for the event, please visit the official website by clicking here.