Regional cycling news World Cup Comes to New Mexico Angel Fire, NM – In a mountain biking coup for New Mexico, the World Cup is coming to Angel Fire Resort on July 9-10. The mountain resort in northern New Mexico was chosen as the only U.S. location for the 2005 Mountain Bike UCI World Cup competition. “At nearly 11,000 feet, we have two high-speed chair lifts, the challenging trails and the facilities to make this the ideal racing location,” said Jon Mahanna, the resort’s general manager. “We’ve been one of New Mexico’s best kept secrets and that’s beginning to change.” World-class riders will descend on the resort, nestled high in the Sangre de Cristo mountains, to compete in three grueling events. The downhill course will send racers off tight technical drops, across a lava field and down a highspeed ski slope before screaming down to the resort base. The cross-country course will cover an 8-mile singletrack loop that climbs 1,500 vertical feet to the mountain’s summit. In the mountain cross, racers will go head to head on a course with 14
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huge jumps and berms. During the races, the resort village will host a shopping venue for bike gear and provide live entertainment.—Caroline Spaeth
Double Your Riding Pleasure: Valles Caldera, NM If you missed your chance at riding the Valles Caldera National Preserve in New Mexico last year, mark your calendar for this summer. Banking on doubling their big success of last year’s first-ever rides in the 89,000-acre federal land, the Preserve staff and a group of mountain bike volunteers are setting up two weekends of rides in the ancient sunken volcano. Choose from shorter scenic rides through expansive grasslands, rimmed by the resurgent volcanic domes. Or climb up those resurgent domes on a longer 30-mile loop. Rides are scheduled for June 18-19 and Aug. 13-14. The August rides coincide with the nearby Fat Tire Festival in Los Alamos. For more information, go to www.vallescaldera.gov—C. S.
Velodrome, BMX Track Planned for Albuquerque Albuquerque, NM – Plans are underway in Albuquerque for an indoor bicycle park, where city officials plan to build a BMX track, velodrome and training facility. In late 2003, Albuquerque voters approved a $1.96 million bond for the project, which is expected to produce a $10 million price tag. Albuquerque’s Mayor Martin Chavez announced in February that David Chauner, president and CEO of Threshold Sports, has been hired to help the city plan and develop the project. The American Bicycle Association (ABA), a BMX sanctioning body with 60,000 members, will stage events at the covered BMX track and help young riders prepare for international and Olympic competition. John Clayton, ABA president has called the facility, “A boon for BMX racing across the country and a site for our top national events.” According to newspaper reports, Mayor Chavez has indicated that money will be raised from city, state and private sources to fund the project. Ground breaking is expected to take place in 2005 with targeted completion in fall 2006.—C. S.