Colorado League launched by National Interscholastic Cycling Association
The Colorado High School Cycling League has announced its launch date as October 25th, which it will celebrate with a fundraising road ride led by former Mountain Biker Tom Danielson of the Garmin-Slipstream team. The ride departs at 9:00 AM from the Bácaro Venetian Tavern in Boulder, Colorado..
As part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA), the Colorado League is based on and supported by a long-running, successful high school mountain biking program established in California, where mountain bike racing has become a varsity high school sport. Funds from Sunday's ride will seed the early activity of the Colorado League.
NICA executive director, Matt Fritzinger, said, This is an exciting step for all of us. The Colorado League sits on a foundation of many years of work in the state of Colorado, which as we all know has a rich history in the sport of mountain biking, having been the site of the first UCI world championship back in 1990 and again in 2001. Enthusiasm for mountain biking has not missed a beat since then, and it makes great sense that the Colorado community should launch the first NICA League outside California.
Leagues in Northern and Southern California have been established since 2001 and 2008, respectively, and following the Colorado League launch will be one in Washington state. These four leagues will complete the first tranche of NICA regional chapters.
Colorados mountain biking culture runs deep throughout the state. Numerous mountain biking legends including Ned Overend, Greg Herbold, Mike Kloser, Daryl Price, Travis Brown, Dave Wiens, Todd Wells, Jeremy Horgan Kobelski, Jay Henry, Ruthie Matthes, Heather Irmiger, Alison Dunlap, and Julie Furtado started their careers in Colorado. The 2009 USA World Mountain Bike Championship Team was composed of 45 athletes and 15 of them are Coloradans.
Colorado is the home of several legacy race series' from Colorado Springs, Winter Park, Crested Butte, and Summit County. More and more local events crop up every month, ranging from the opening of a new bike park to a new charity ride, and fat tire festivals abound from April through October. Several mountain bike industry innovators started in Colorado such as Rock Shox, Yeti, Maverick, Pearl Izumi, and CatEye.
Dave Wiens, one of the most accomplished of all the Colorado mountain bikers, says "It's fantastic, we're all really excited about this. There's a lot of buzz about this new league all over Colorado. Here in Gunnison, in Denver, for example, and at the Interbike trade show I spoke to bicycle sales reps from across the state who were very excited about it. This is big news for the sport of cycling in Colorado, and it's just what we need. I can see a lot of high schools signing up to it."
Colorado League representatives will distribute information at VeloSwap, Boulder, October 24, and the Boulder Cup USGP Cyclocross race November 1. Other fundraising and awareness-raising events will occur throughout the state from November 2009 through August 2010. The opening race of the first League season is planned for September 2010.
Gil McCormick of the Wheat Ridge Cyclery in Boulder, Colo., stated, Finally the long-overdue opportunity for high school cycling has arrived in Colorado. What is most exciting is this is an expansion of an existing successful model in California with solid leadership in place to help guide and shape the League here.
The Colorado High School Cycling League is currently recruiting founding board members. Interested individuals should contact League director Kate Rau (kate@coloradomtb.org).
Who: Tom Danielson of the Garmin-Slipstream team
What: Fundraising ride to launch the Colorado High School Cycling League
Where: Bcaro Venetian Tavern, 921 Pearl St, Boulder, Colorado
When: Sunday, 25th October, 8:30 AM cappuccino, 9:00 AM ride departs
Why: Fundraiser for the Colorado High School Cycling League
More info: http://bacaro.com/Events.aspx
About the Colorado High School Cycling League
The Colorado High School Cycling League (Colorado League) is a NICA chapter member. The Colorado League manages the full range of NICA League programming, bringing the highest quality racing and programs in the country to the high school riders in the state of Colorado. More info is available at www.coloradomtb.org.
About the National Interscholastic Cycling Association
NICA is the National Governing Body for grades 9-12 interscholastic mountain biking. With the support of National Founding Sponsor, Specialized Bicycle Components, and the Easton Sports Development Foundation II, NICA has been established to foster the development of high quality competitive cross-country mountain biking programs for high school aged athletes. NICA provides leadership, governance and program support to promote the development of interscholastic mountain biking leagues throughout the United States. More info is available at www.nationalmtb.org.
Visit us at norcalmtb.org
