International MTB Racing Returns to the USA

Two events mark the return of international mountain bike racing to the United States of America in coming weeks. 

Enduro World Series
This weekend the Enduro World Series makes a stop at Northstar California Resort. 

The world’s fastest enduro racers will tackle dusty, rocky, and high elevation trails over the course of two days. The first day features two stages for over 8 kilometers of total riding. The next day includes four stages for 30 kilometers of riding, though both days include chairlift transfers. 

Three new sections of trail have been built for the course, including a 4-kilometer-long trail called Tell No Tales. The new sections of trail will be a part of Northstar’s trail network, and thus open to the public after their debut in the race. 

The EWS has not held a race in the USA since 2017, when the series went to Aspen, Colorado. This is the first time the EWS has visited California. 

Northstar has been home to elite-level mountain bike racing in the past. In 2012, the resort hosted a round of USA Cycling’s Pro Gravity Tour. More recently, it has also hosted EWS qualifier events. 

Currently, Florian Nicolai and Isabeau Courdurier lead the EWS overall rankings. 

World Cup 

On the opposite coast, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will head to Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia Sept. 7-8 for their series finale. 

Both cross country and downhill racers will face tough Appalachian terrain in their last chance to improve their overall ranking. 

USA downhill national champion Neko Mulally has consulted with the Snowshoe track builders for the brand new World Cup DH track. 

The UCI World Cup has not held a race in the USA since 2015 when the series made a stop at Windham Mountain in New York.  

Loic Bruni and Tracey Hannah lead the series rankings on the downhill side, while Jolanda Neff Nino Schurter lead the cross country rankings. 

Future Racing in the USA 

Despite 2019 being an exciting return to international mountain bike racing in the USA, the EWS and World Cup will not be coming back to the country in 2020. 

In the case of the World Cup, the 2019 and 2020 schedules were released at the same time. My guess is that Snowshoe and the UCI are both using the 2019 race to gauge whether or not to come back to the venue in future years. 

I think the same is true for the Northstar EWS. It just makes more sense for race promoters to commit to these big series for one year at a time. 

It’s certainly a good thing for the sport of mountain biking to have these events coming to the USA. American fans get to see the action up close. Riders get to experience new venues. And the cycling fans around the world will have their eyes on the action. 

If everything goes well, hopefully Snowshoe and Northstar will continue to invest in mountain bike racing. A strong reception from fans and good feedback from racers could influence the EWS and UCI to continue to come back to the USA. Seeing these races succeed could even inspire other promoters to hold international races in the future.

Public Planning for Cotoni-Coast Dairies Begins

The public planning process for Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument has begun. 

The Bureau of Land Management held two public meetings this week for residents to give feedback to the agency. The meetings officially kick off a lengthy process to expand public access to the roughly 6,000-acre property north of Santa Cruz. 

On Wednesday, July 17, the first meeting was held at the Louden Nelson Community Center in Santa Cruz. The second meeting was held on Thursday at Pacific Elementary School in Davenport. This author was present for the Thursday meeting.

Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument is located north of Santa Cruz and Wilder Ranch State Park. Map produced by the BLM.

Residents packed an elementary school room to hear a short presentation by the BLM followed by an hour-long public comment session. Comments included a wide array of topics from recreation opportunities to parking lots, traffic, and protection of natural and cultural resources. 

According to a graphic produced by Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, a local advocacy group, 53 individuals spoke at the meetings. Of that figure, 24 of the comments concerned recreation, and 13 were in favor of mountain bike access in the national monument. 

Developing recreation access on the property is a priority, according to the BLM. Therefore, it is likely that there will be trails built for activities such as biking, hiking and horseback riding. 

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz posted this graphic on Facebook.

Parking and traffic was brought up frequently by residents at the Davenport meeting. Local residents are concerned about increased traffic on Swanton Road, which parallels Highway 1 and accesses the highway in two places. According to the speakers, the road is already tricky for motorists to safely navigate, and increased traffic on the road would make it more dangerous. 

The BLM encourages individuals who spoke—as well as any other individuals who wish to provide input—to submit a written comment as well. The public comment period ends Aug. 2. 

Cotoni-Coast Dairies was first protected 21 years ago, and was donated to the BLM in 2014. The property is a part of the larger California Coastal National Monument. 

While the BLM is a national agency, Cotoni-Coast Dairies is managed by the BLM Central Coast Field Office based in Marina. The office also manages nearby Fort Ord National Monument near Monterey. Fort Ord boasts over 86 miles of trails over 14, 658 acres.  

More information on the national monument and the public comment period can be found at https://www.blm.gov/press-release/public-meetings-set-access-cotoni-coast-dairies-public-lands.