The 2012 Tran-Sylvania Epic mountain bike stage race brings about a few upgrades for the event’s junior year. Scheduled for May 27 – June 2, 2012, the race covers seven stages in seven days. All but two start and finish at the Boy Scout camp near State College, Pennsylvania. Those two remote stages will get a bit shorter, and the Super-D/Mini-XC stage will likely convert to just an XC format to keep it from dragging out too long. The other, Raystown, will drop about four to six miles to come in around 35 miles total.
Other changes include the addition of singletrack on several pieces of private property near the start/finish, as well as a bit less fire road on other days.
If you really feel like traveling, the 2012 Absa Cape Epic stage race route has been released, too. It’ll cover 781km with 16,300m of climbing from Meerendal Wine Estate in Dubanvilla to Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West. All this happens in eight days from March 25 to April 1.
USA Cycling has announced their full 2012 schedule of championships for all disciplines, detailed after the break…
Dates and Event names listed in convenient bullet point form at bottom.
PRESS RELEASE: USA Cycling is pleased to announce its complete 2012 National Championship Calendar. Seventeen events in 13 states will present cyclists of all ages and skill levels with opportunities to race for national titles in all five disciplines of the sport. While several events will re-visit their 2011 host cities, four events are moving to new locations for 2012.
Cyclo-cross racers will grab the year’s first titles. Although BMX has typically been the discipline to kick off the national championship calendar, 2012 will mark the first year of the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships being held in January, instead of December. The event is one of the national governing body’s most highly attended national championships and is expected to draw more than 1,200 racers and 7,500 spectators to its venue in Madison, Wisc., right after the new year, Jan. 4-8. (Click here for the full announcement about this event’s date change.)
For the second year in a row, the USA Cycling BMX National Championships will be held at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The currently under construction London Olympic-replica Supercross track will host the elite and junior elite races while amateur racing will take place on an adjacent, traditional BMX track. This event is scheduled for April 1 and is expected to draw approximately 250 competitors.
Next up will be the USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships, May 4-6, in Ogden, Utah. Approximately 100 colleges and universities will send riders to this fourth and final cycling national championship event of the 2011-12 academic year. It won’t just be national titles on the line in Ogden as the overall rankings for the entire school year will be determined there as well.
Heading back to Greenville, S.C. will be the USA Cycling Professional Road and Time Trial National Championships, May 26 and 28. Dave Zabriskie and Matthew Busche will look to defend their time trial and road race national titles in this event which will attract an estimated 40,000 spectators.
After a successful trip to August, Ga. in 2011, the USA Cycling Elite, U23, Juniors, & Paralympic Road National Championships will return there for a second year in 2012. The event is slated for June 20-24 and over 1,100 will compete for national titles in the time trial, road race, and criterium events.
In its second year being separated from gravity competition, the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships will return to the Idaho Rockies. The event will crown national champs in cross-country, short track cross-country, and Super-D competitions in Sun Valley, Idaho, July 5-8.
Just before the world’s best track cyclists take center stage at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the nation’s future track cycling stars will take center stage in Trexlertown, Pa. as the USA Cycling Juniors Track National Championships roll into town July 11-15.
Moving to the heat of the summer, the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships will return to Beech Mountain, N.C. after a very popular debut year of being separated from the cross-country national championships. Gravity athletes will again fight for national titles on their own at Beech Mountain, July 20-22.
The nation’s top sprinters will return to Grand Rapids, Mich. on July 28 to race in the USA Cycling Professional Criterium National Championship. The new date puts the event just before the NRC’s Tour of Elk Grove, thus allowing for better travel flow for competitors.
Being held in conjunction with the track racing portion of the Olympic Games in London, the USA Cycling Masters Track National Championships will take place in Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug. 2-7. The United States Olympic Committee will play host.
One month later, masters cyclists will gather again, this time in Bend, Ore. for the USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships. The event, scheduled for Sept. 5-9, returns to the cycling mecca of Bend, Ore. after participants enjoyed competing there in 2011.
Next on the agenda, Bend will host yet another national championship event. This time, ultra-endurance mountain bikers will head to the Oregon destination, Sept. 15, for the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships.
Just as college students around the country return to school for the fall, the collegiate cycling season will kick off, Sept. 21-23 with the USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships. Valuable team ranking points will be on the line as coeds from colleges and universities across the nation converge on the Superdrome in suburban Dallas.
Many of those collegiate track racers will join the ranks of elite racers the following week for the USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships. The event is scheduled for Sept. 27-30 and the location will be announced soon.
After departing its traditional location of Moab, Utah and seeing 2011 success in Colorado Springs, the USA Cycling Mountain Bike 24-Hour National Championships will return to Southern Colorado, Sept. 29-30.
Collegiate racing will heat up Oct. 19-21 as the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships head back to Angel Fire, N.M. for a second year in a row. Student-athletes will fight for overall omniums, as well as national titles in cross-country, short track cross-country, dual slalom, and downhill competitions.
National champions will also be crowned in 2012 at the USA Cycling Tandem Track National Championships. The location and dates of this event will be made available as soon as they are determined.
Visit USA Cycling’s National Championship calendar page for a complete look into the calendar.
2012 USA Cycling National Championship Calendar
*All dates and locations subject to change.
- Jan. 4-8: Cyclo-cross National Championships – Madison, Wisc.
- April 1: BMX National Championships – Chula Vista, Calif.
- May 4-6: Collegiate Road National Championships – Ogden, Utah
- May 26-28: Professional Road & Time Trial National Championships – Greenville, S.C.
- June 20-24: Elite, U23, Juniors, & Paralympic Road National Championships – Augusta, Ga.
- July 5-8: Mountain Bike Cross-Country National Championships – Sun Valley, Idaho
- July 11-15: Juniors Track National Championships – Trexlertown, Pa.
- July 20-22: Mountain Bike Gravity National Championships – Beech Mountain, N.C.
- July 28: Professional Criterium National Championships – Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Aug. 2-7: Masters Track National Championships – Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Sept. 5-9: Masters Road National Championships – Bend, Ore.
- Sept. 15: Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships – Bend, Ore.
- Sept. 21-23: Collegiate Track National Championships – Frisco, Texas
- Sept. 27-30: Elite Track National Championships – TBA
- Sept. 29-30: Mountain Bike 24-Hour National Championships – Colorado Springs, Colo.
- Oct. 19-21: Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships – Angel Fire, N.M.
- TBA: Tandem Track National Championships – TBA
