CU Boulder MTB race at Valmont, September 5 and 6.

CU Boulder is putting on a weekend of racing at Valmont Bike Park on Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6. Margell passed it along, and it is worth a look for anyone who wants more racing between Frisco and Steamboat.

It does not clash with anything of ours. Steamboat is Sunday, September 13, a full week after the CU Sunday race, so this is a free weekend on our calendar rather than a conflict.

What is on

Most of our riders would enter Category 3, which is the entry level in mountain biking rather than the bottom of a long ladder. Collegiate and non-collegiate riders start together.

Saturday, short track (XCC). Twenty minutes of racing. Men’s 3 at 8:30am, Women’s 3 at 9:00am.

Saturday, dual slalom. Practice runs from 8:30 to 11:30am, seeding from 12:00pm, then a sixteen-rider bracket from 1:30pm.

Sunday, cross country (XCO). An hour of racing. Men’s 3 at 8:00am, Women’s 3 at 9:20am.

Why it is worth doing

Short track and dual slalom are formats our season never gives you. Short track is twenty minutes of sustained effort with corners coming at you constantly, which is the skill that decides positions in a League race. Dual slalom is pure bike handling against one other rider, and it is enormous fun.

It is not a heavy training week either. Both Saturday races are short, and there is a full week to come round before Steamboat.

What it costs

Each event is a separate entry at $43.85 including fees, so a rider doing all three would pay for all three. Day-of registration is available for the short track and cross country but not for dual slalom, so that one has to be sorted in advance.

Details

Where: Valmont Bike Park, 3160 Airport Rd. Park on the east side of the park near the dog park.

If you are thinking about it and want a view on whether it fits your season, come and find me at practice.