South African National Championship Results

Anka Martin took home that National Championship jersey at the South African National Downhill Championships this weekend. Normally based in Bend, OR, South African Anka Martin has been training for the Cape Epic for the past month. She's fit and fast, and took second behind Helene Fruwirth (who is Austrian) in the downhill race on Sunday.

Elite Women
1. Helene Fruhwirth
2. Anka Martin
3. Gina Nixon
4. Tayla Brown
5. Victoria Phillips
6. Erna Nel

We found these results on CyclingNews.com.

New Zealand National Championship Results

Can you tell that it's officially become cycling season? There is so much going on right now! New Zealand's National Championships were held in Nelson last weekend. Although she took 4th overall, Harriet Harper was the top-ranking rider from New Zealand for the Elite Women. She takes the title of New Zealand's National Downhill Champion. Amy Laird took the title in dual slalom. New Zealand runs a 4x a their national championships, but it seems that there was only a class for Elite Men.

Downhill
Elite Women
1. Emmeline Ragot
2. Sabrina Jonnier
3. Harriet Ruecknagel
4. Harriet Harper
5. Amy Laird
6. Gabrielle Molloy
7. Katrina Strand
8. Dawn Daley-Coers
9. Rita Langley

Open Women
1. Georgia Wight
2. Sophie Tyas
3. Veronique Sandler
4. Madeline Taylor
5. Amanda Pearce
6. Sarah Atkin

Dual Slalom
Senior Women
1. Sabrina Jonnier
2. Amy Laird
3. Harriet Harper
4. Katrina Strand

We found these results on CyclingNews.com.

2009 USA Cycling Gravity Calendar

Well, here we go. USA Cycling posted their 2009 Mountain Bike National Gravity Calendar (MBNC) a few weeks ago. This season's calendar has some major changes from seasons past. There are a few things to consider when you look at this calendar.

First, this calendar represents the select few races that USAC has decided to call theirs. The full Mountain States Cup schedule hasn't been released yet. I've contacted Sho-Air, who is promoting a new version of what was previously the National Mountain Bike Series, about whether or not they'll be including gravity events in their calendar. Their series makes up a good portion of the MBNC-Cross Country, but we have yet to see which, if any, venues will also host gravity events.

The National Championships have been relocated to Sol Vista, CO. This change should be awesome. No one was going to Vermont for the Championships there, so we should see a larger crowd and higher level of competition at Sol Vista. Second, although it's in CO, where half of the MBNC is located, it should be pretty easy for riders from all over the country to get there. And the riding at Sol Vista is so rad, that riders from across the country should want to get there.

You'll also notice that there are no UCI points races currently on the calendar. I wouldn't count UCI options out, though. I've contacted Keith at RPM, to find out whether or not they're still finalizing the UCI races, or if there really won't be any options for gravity racers in 2009 (Snowmass, CO and Angel Fire, NM would be the two possible UCI venues).

Other major changes for 2009 include a super-early first race in Boulder City, NV in February; a 4X race at Crested Butte, CO, which usually does not offer a gated racing event; a 4X race at the National Championships, which usually offers dual slalom at the venue; a downhill race at Nathrop, CO, which has traditionally only offered gated racing; and no overlapping dates, which should allow rabid points chasers to make it to each race on the schedule.

I'm not trying to get all nit-picky on a calendar that I know took a lot of time and effort to put together, but I think it's important to take a good look at the schedule in order to make smart decisions about how we'll all spend our time and money next season. USAC's series points are less important than picking the races that we want to attend and can afford to attend. I'll post updates about the Sho-Air schedule, UCI points, and local series calendars as they emerge.

For now, though, here's your 2009 USAC Mountain Bike National Gravity Calendar:

Feb. 14-15 All Mountain Cyclery Mob 'N Mojave Boulder City, NV DH
May 2-3 MSC Chalk Creek Stampede Nathrop, CO DH, 4X, SD
May 9 Massanutten Yee-Ha! McGaheysville, VA DH
May 23-25 MSC Chile Challenge Angel Fire, NM DH, 4X, SD
June 13-14 MSC Wildflower Rush Crested Butte, CO DH, 4X, SD
June 27-28 MSC Blast the Mass Snowmass, CO DH, 4X, SD
July 16-19 USAC National Championships Sol Vista, CO DH, 4X, SD
Aug. 30 4th Annual Whiteface 5K Downhill Lake Placid, NY DH

British National Downhill Championships

'Tis the month of National Championships. The British Downhill National Championships were held last weekend at Bala, North Wales. Tracy Moseley took the title over Helen Gaskell. Rachel Atherton was in contention for the win, but nailed a tree in practice and was carried off the course. Apparently she appeared later at the venue in one piece, but on crutches. Tracy now holds 5 British National Downhill Championship titles.

Pro Women
1. Tracy Moseley
2. Helen Gaskell
3. Katy Curd
4. Emily Horridge
5. Sarh Newman
6. Calamity Jayne
7. Haby Blu Cann
8. Sue Mahony

Senior Women
1. Emma Wareham
2. Harriet Latchem

Junior Women
1. Jessica Stone
2. Monet Adams
3. Bex Reilly

Master Women
1. Kate Betts

Melissa Buhl Wins US Downhill National Championship

Melissa Buhl snagged her third US National Championship jersey of the year today. She won the women's pro downhill by 3 seconds over Marla Streb. Yes, Marla Streb. Kathy Pruitt, the 2007 Downhill National Champ, flatted in her race run.

Pro Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Marla Streb
3. Dawn Bourque
4. Darian Harvey
5. Allegra Burch
6. Lauren Petersen
7. Karen Eagan
8. Alexis Wruble
9. Kathy Pruitt
10. Kathi Krause
11. Stephanie Hatalsky
12. Alicia Hamilton
13. Jessica Vogt
14. Connie Misket
15. Kimber Gabryszak

Rachel Lloyd Wins Super D National Championship

For the second year in a row, Rachel Lloyd traveled to Vermont to win the US National Championship Super D. She bested a tough field of downhill and cross country pros like Marla Streb and Katie Compton for the jersey. Emily Parker, Joanna Tuttle, Rozanne Puleo, and Darlene Phillips each took Super D National Championship titles in their respective age groups.

Pro Women
1. Rachel Lloyd
2. Marla Streb
3. Katie Compton
4. Kyia Anderson
5. Pua Sawicki
6. Lindsey Bishop
7. Karen Eagan
8. Danae York
9. Rachel Throop
10. Jennifer Tilley
11. Connie Misket
12. Sarah Kaufmann
13. Shannon Morrison
14. Alexis Wruble
15. Kimber Gabryszak
16. Willow Koerber

Junior Women 18 & Under
1. Emily Parker
2. Elizabeth White
3. Lainey Aldridge
4. Jenny Lewis
5. Maddyson Page
6. Deidre York

Women 19-29
1. Joanna Tuttle
2. Lianna Miller
3. Laura Winberry
4. Emma Worldpeace
5. Gerilynn Swede
6. Kasey Sibrinsz
7. Eileen Dalton

Women 30-39
1. Rozanne Puleo
2. Amanda Pilling
3. Hillary Styer

Women 40 +
1. Darlene Phillips

Melissa Buhl Wins US Dual Slalom National Championship

Melissa Buhl took her second-consecutive US National Championship jersey in pro women's dual slalom today. She's racking up the jerseys this year. Melissa already has the World Champ and US National Champ jerseys in mountaincross. She bested Kathy Pruitt for the dual slalom win. The two will face off again on Sunday for the US National downhill title, which Kathy currently holds.

Pro Women's Dual Slalom
1. Melissa Buhl

2. Kathy Pruitt

3. Darian Harvey

4. Jessica Vogt

US National Championships Am. Downhill Results

Lainey Aldridge, Kelly Moore, Amanda Pilling, and Vicki Koch each earned a US Downhill National Championship jersey in their respective Expert Women's age groups today. In Sport Women, Lauren Daney and Kristine Koch each took the titles in their age groups. Beginner Women's winners were Amanda Doughty, Melissa Moran, and Taylor Allison. Yes, what you see below are the entire finishing fields.

Jr. Expert Women
1. Lainey Aldridge

Expert Women 19-24
1. Kelly Moore

Expert Women
1. Amanda Pilling
2. Joy Martin

Expert Women 40-49
1. Vicki Koch
2. Kathleen Herde

Jr. Sport Women 15-18
1. Lauren Daney

Sport Women 19-29
1. Kristine Koch
2. Kasey Sibrinsz

Beginner Women 19-29
1. Amanda Doughty

Beginner Women 30-39
1. Melissa Moran

Junior Women 11-12
1. Taylor Allison

US National Championships Kick-Off

The US National Mountain Bike Championships are underway in Mt. Snow, VT. The gravity events kicked off on Friday with dual slalom. Lainey Aldridge took the Expert Women's US National Dual Slalom title and Kristine Koch took the win for the Sport/Beginner women. The pros qualified today, and Melissa Buhl took the lead over Kathy Pruitt. The pro slalom finals are on Saturday.

Expert Women
1. Lainey Aldridge
2. Vicki Koch
3. Johanne Tuttle
4. Katelyn Parhiala

Sport/Beginner Women
1. Kristine Koch
2. Kathleen Herde
3. Amy Somers
4. Taylor Allison
5. Rebecca Bagley
6. Molly Seal

Pro Women Qualifying
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Kathy Pruitt
3. Darian Harvey
4. Jessica Vogt
5. Allegra Burch

Canadian National Downhill Championships

Sheila Morris claimed the title of Canadian National Downhill Champion this weekend at Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC. Sheila bested Micayla Gatto by 9 seconds for the win. The Canadian National Championships are part of the Velirium cycling festival, which is where we found our results.

Elite Women
1. Sheila Morris
2. Micayla Gatto
3. Marie-Eve Marcotte
4. Danice Uyesugi
5. Kim Huard
6. Claudia Paquin
7. Amber Zirnhelt
8. Sophie Poirier
9. Mylene Kim Fortier
10. Audree Vaillancourt

Junior Expert Women
1. Anne Laplante
2. Vaea Verbeek
3. Miranda Miller

Expert Women 30+
1. Caroline Milot
2. Helene Croteau
3. Marie-Josee Pomerleau

Under 17 Women
1. Eve-Marie Beaupre

Now That's a Long Drive

I just got back to Marin, CA from New Mexico. Ouch. That's a long one. And monotonous. What was not monotonous was the weather at the Angel Fire Chile Challenge this weekend. With dry-ish conditions on Thursday, sloppy muck on Friday, frozen mud on Saturday, nearly dry conditions on Sunday, and a dry and balmy Monday, the mountain kept us on our toes. The relentlessly rocky course only had a few high speed sections, and those were nearly as tough to hang on through as the bumpy stuff at the top of the course.

Melissa Buhl walked away with the Pro Women's downhill win. And she won the UCI mountaincross race on Saturday, as well as the National Championship mountaincross jersey on Sunday. Except for the National Championship race, the Chile Challenge races counted toward the National Mountain Bike Series, the USA Cycling Gravity Calendar, and the Mountain States Cup series. Jessica Vogt now leads the MSC series, Melissa will maintain her lead in the NMBS.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Lisa Myklak
3. Abigail Hippely
4. Jacqueline Harmony
5. Darian Harvey
6. Rachel Bauer
7. Addie Stewart
8. Wendy Reynolds
9. Stephanie Hatalsky
10. Mariska Chuse
11. Sondra Williamson
12. Michelle Rivera
13. Allegra Burch
14. Lisa Reinhard
15. Connie Misket
16. Kimber Gabryszak
17. Jackie Baker
18. Jessica Vogt

Expert Women
1. Jennifer Wolf
2. Erika Joehnck
3. Amy Scherm
4. Christen Boyer
5. Sage Wilderman
6. Lainey Aldridge
7. Nancy Harris
8. Soraya Khalje

Beginner/Jr. Women
1. Danielle Shewmake
2. Katy Monger

UCI Mountaincross
Pro/Expert Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Jessica Vogt
3. Neven Steinmetz
4. Stephanie Hatalsky
5. Rachel Bauer
6. Darian Harvey
7. Nadia Steinbrecher
8. Lainey Aldridge
9. Soraya Khalje
10. Christen Boyer

Sport/Beginner Women
1. Janna Renfro
2. Jennifer Johnson

USA Cycling Mountaincross National Championship
Pro Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Neven Steinmetz
3. Jessica Vogt
4. Sondra Williamson
5. Jackie Baker

South African National Championship Downhill Results

The first set of results from this weekend comes from Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The South African National Championships were held there on March 16. Gina Nixon took the win for the Elite Women.

Elite Women
1 Gina Nixon 6.42
2 Victoria Phillips 0.01
3 Rika Olivier 0.17

We found our results on www.cyclingnews.com.

USA Cycling Adds Mountaincross National Championship

Yesterday USA Cycling announced that it would add another event to the Angel Fire Chile Challenge event taking place in New Mexico at the end of May. A one-day mountaincross National Championship will be held for American Pros only. This race is slated in addition to the already scheduled UCI/NMBS/MSC mountaincross race open international riders as well.

On the upside, Pro riders get one more chance to earn some National Championship-level UCI points. On the downside, only Pros get to compete for a National Championship jersey in mountaincross this year. There will still be Dual Slalom National Championship in Vermont later this summer.

Click here to read the USA Cycling announcement.